178 
TIMBER 
colour similar to the European variety. It is used for 
house-building and for canoes. Box grows to a considerable 
size in the Himalayas. 
Weight 55 to 65 lbs. per cubic foot. 
Kosum or Gausan, which also goes under other names 
{Schleichera trijug a), a large deciduous tree found in various 
parts of India, as well as in Burma and Ceylon, yields 
timber with a heartwood of reddish brown which is very 
hard, strong, and durable. It is used for oil and sugar 
mills and is considered the best timber in India for rice 
pounders, and also used for agricultural implements and 
carts. It seasons well and takes a good polish. This is 
the best tree for lac. Bays very fine and numerous. 
Weight 50 to 70 lbs. per cubic foot. 
The Khair or Kath Tree or Cutch {Acacia catechu) is found 
in most parts of India and Burma and furnishes, besides 
gum, a useful hard timber of dark or sometimes light 
reddish brown colour, close and regular in grain, which 
is used for general building purposes, agricultural 
implements, etc. 
Palu (Miimisops hexandra), one of the most important 
forest trees of India and Ceylon, is a very hard, dense wood 
to be had in logs up to 2 ft. 9 inches diameter. The sap, 
about an inch thick, is of straw colour, the heartwood dark 
walnut, and the annual rings are very distinct. 
Pyinkado [Xylia dolahriformis), called ironwood and Acle 
in the Philippines, is found in the Bombay district, where 
it goes by the name of Jambu and Errol, and it is one of 
the chief timbers of Burma (Pyinkado is the Burmese 
name). The wood is very hard, dense and close grained, 
often beautifully marked and with a wavy grain ; the colour 
