M) SANDAL WOOD. 
when they freely eat of it their milk becomes red, yet 
the cream which it affords makes a yellow butter, 
55. SANDAL WOOD, or YELLOW SAUNDERS, 
is a yellowish, odoriferous wood, which is imported from the 
East Indies in logs or short pieces, chiefly as a per fume, or for 
the manufacture of ornamental articles. 
The tree that produces it (Santalum album) grows princi- 
pally on the coast of Malabar, and in the island of Timor. 
It has somewhat the appearance of a large myrtle, with stiff 
branches, and smooth, shining, spear-shaped leaves, each about 
two inches long. The flowers grow in clusters, small and red, 
and are succeeded by berries about the size of peas. 
When the sandal wood trees are cut down they are 
stripped of their bark; after which the wood is usually 
chopped into billets or small pieces, and buried in a 
dry place for about two months. During this time the 
ants eat the outer part of it, without penetrating to the 
heart, which is the sandal. The billets are then taken 
up, smoothed, and sorted ; and the deeper the colour 
the higher is found the perfume. 
Jn China this elegant wood, when cut into large 
planks, is sometimes made into coffins for the principal 
persons ; and such coffins are said to resist the effects 
of air and moisture for many years. The Chinese also 
reduce the wood to powder, and, with the addition of 
water, convert it into a paste, which they apply to their 
bodies, their furniture, and about their houses, as a 
perfume. The powder of sandal wood is likewise em- 
ployed as an incense in their idolatrous temples. 
Hence it is that a considerable trade in this wood exists 
between the East Indies and China. 
Besides the logs, the chips and cuttings of the roots 
of sandal wood are an article of commerce. From 
these chips, and from the waste wood, an odoriferous 
oil is sometimes prepared, which is considered nearly 
equal in fragrance to oil of roses. 
Sandal wood is at present seldom used in medicine ; 
though, from its powerful qualities, it might probably 
be applied to many medicinal ourposes with success. 
