132 
TIMBER AND TIMBER TREES. [chap. 
reddish in colour, but rather paler than the Padouk. 
There is also the Thingan (Hopea species ), a wood 
heavier than Teak, and which lasts under water far 
better. It grows abundantly on the Tavay coast and 
islands.* 
The above are all very compact woods, close and fine 
in texture, of good quality, and no doubt durable. They 
have long been in use in Burmah, and in the Madras 
Presidency, and are fit and suitable for use in works of 
construction, but, up to the present time, they are scarcely 
known in this country. 
Of a less useful character, but still of some value, is 
the Thitkado, the Toon of India, a kind of bastard 
Cedar, which yields timber 11 to 26 inches square, and 
14 to 40 feet in length. 
The wood is of a pale red colour, clean and straight 
in the grain, moderately hard, and not difficult to work. 
It is not mild enough for.pattern-making, but, for general 
purposes in the domestic arts, it might be used in lieu 
of the better kinds of Cedar from Cuba and Mexico, 
whenever these are scarce in the market. 
The Thitkado is subject to heart and star-shakes, and 
in seasoning is very liable to split from the surface if left 
long in the round or unconverted state, consequently we 
need not look for any very extensive business to be done 
in it. There have been some importations of this wood 
into the London market, and to the Continent. 
Small quantities of Thitka or Kathitka, a kind of 
bastard Mahogany, have also been exported from Burmah, 
for furniture and other purposes, but I have not yet met 
with it in London. It is thought to be a species of 
Tiliaceae, and is named by Kurz as Pentace Burmanica. 
* Report of the officiating Inspector-General of Forests. 
