INDIA, BURMA, AND ANDAMAN ISLANDS 167 
as well as for tar and pitch, is obtained from the trunk. 
Chir pine is often palmed off as deodar on the unwary, 
but the latter possesses no resin ducts. Its durability is 
shown by its having existed for hundreds of years in some 
of the mosques and in old bridges. 
Weight 37 to 45 lbs. per cubic foot. 
Indian Ebony {Diospyros ehenaster), a tree of medium 
height and seldom more than 8 to 12 inches in diameter, 
is found in great profusion in Bengal, Coromandel, and 
Ceylon. It is the chief ebony-yielding tree, and the only 
one giving a black wood without other markings, although 
occasionally it is striated with lighter markings. The rings 
are scarcely recognisable, and it takes a high pohsh. The 
sapwood, which is of a dingy grey colour, is a good deal 
used for door frames. The heartwood is made into furni- 
ture, and also for the axles of carts, for which ifc is admir- 
ably fitted by its extreme hardness, toughness, and strength. 
Besides being used for ornamental furniture it is also used 
for ceilings, wood carving, etc., and in Europe for turnery, 
cabinet work, keys of pianos, and rulers. It comes into the 
market generally as logs, and is sold by the ton. 
Weight often exceeding 70 lbs. per cubic foot. 
Palmyra Palm {Borassus flahelliformis) grows in India, 
Burma, and Ceylon, and is the only timber growing in the 
Jaffna district, of about 400 square miles in area, in the 
north of Ceylon. The tree grows to a height of about 
60 ft., perfectly straight and of uniform diameter — almost 
perfectly circular — from 10 to 14 inches a few feet above 
the ground ; the wood is very dark. Although consisting 
largely of pith, it is sufficiently strong to stand driving 
as piles in bridge- work, and was used for this purpose 
many years ago by Mr. H. J3yrne, M.I.C.E., instead 
