914 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
October 31, 1903. 
It is a, large deciduous tree of the sub-Himalaya, Central and 
Southern India,, Burmah, Ceylon, Java, etc. It belongs to the 
natural order, Sapindaceiae, and is one of the most valued 
Indian trees, furnishing besides the best lac a valuable oil 
from, its seeds, an! edible fruit, and a very hard, strong-, and 
durable wood. 
The nest most important and valuable source of lac is the 
Dhak or Palas tree (Butea frondosa), a moderate-sized, 
deciduous tree, widely distributed throughout India and 
Bunn all and North-west. Himalaya. The tree belongs to 
the papilionaceous division of Leguminosae, and the bright 
orange-red butterfly-1 ike. flowers with which it is profusely 
covered in April and May make it one of the most attractive 
trees in India. Like tire last-named, it is a very useful tree, 
yielding dye from its flowers, green oil, kino., and a> coarse 
fibre from its stems. An allied species, B. superba, also 
furnishes a small portion of Indian lac. 
The third most important lac-producing plant is the Indian 
Peepul (Ficus religiosla), a large tree, usually epiphytic, 
occurring in the sub-Hi,malayan forests of Bengal and Southern 
India, and largely cultivated in other parts of India. It has 
the habit of the Banyan in sending down, aerial roots, which, 
indeed, is a. character of many species of Ficus. It is esteemed 
as a. sacred tree by the Hindus, and is largely planted by road 
sides and avenue®, especially around temples. So much is it 
venerated that none will destroy it, even, when, it grows in 
the crevices of walls and buildings, and thus; threatening their 
destruction. “ The Hindu who plants, a Peepul tree does so 
expecting that just as he thereby affords shade to his fellow- 
creatures in this world, so after death he will not be scorched 
by excessive heat in, his journey to, the Kingdom of Yarna,.” 
Besides lac, which is abundantly produced on this plant, it 
yields a tenacious milky juice which, upon hardening, forms 
a kind of caoutchouc. The bark and leaves are used for 
tanning as well as in medicine, and a fibre is, also extracted 
from the hark, while th© fruits and seeds are considered to 
have medicinal properties. 
Amongst other species of Ficus included a,s. lac-yielding plants 
are the Banyan (F. bengalensis), F. laeeifera, the India- 
rubber tree (F. elastica), F. glomerata, F. infeiotoria, F. cordi- 
folia, and F. cornosa. The Indian, Jujube, Chinese Date or Ber 
of India, a, small Rhamnaceous tree', found 'both wild and 
extensively cultivated in India, Ceylon, Malacca, and Burmah, 
a.s well as in Afghanistan, the Malay Archipelago, China, Aus¬ 
tralia and Tropical Africa, furnishes an, inferior quality of la,c, 
although it is said thei ease with which the tree is propagated 
is a great recommendation, for its extended culture. Though 
the plant has; many economic uses besides thei supply of lac, its 
greatest- importance is probably on account of the fruits, which 
are known, as jujubes. On, an. average they are about, the size 
of an ordinary Gooseberry, have a very acid taste, which is; 
greatly improved by cultivation, some varieties being sweet 
and palatable. In India the ripe pulp 1 of the fruit is dried, 
mixed with salt and Tamarinds, and thus forms a, good condi¬ 
ment, while the unripe fruit is used as a pickle. 
To give a complete list of the plants upon, which lac is found 
would probably hei somewhat, tedious, but, it is, estimated that 
between forty and fifty different, specie® furnish lac in, India 
in .greater or lesser quantities. 
Though lac is found in Siam (the quality being- of a very 
superior character), some of the islands of thei Eastern Archi¬ 
pelago, China, and Ceylon, the largest amount annually ex¬ 
ported from India, is obtained from the Central Provinces, 
Bengal and Assam, following with lesser quantities, and a, com¬ 
paratively small quantity being derived from Burmah. 
The principal markets, for Indian, lac are the United King¬ 
dom and the United States. Smaller quantities; go to the fol¬ 
lowing Continental countries': France, Austria, Germany, Bel¬ 
gium, Spain and Holland, as; well as to Australia, China, and 
other countries. In, this country shellac has usually a, steady 
demand, varying in price from £5 to £6 per cwt., according 
to quality' 
With regard to the use® of lac, they are numerous both in 
India, and in this country. The cheap bracelets, rings, and 
other personal ornaments so generally used by the poorer 
classes in the East, and which often possess, much merit in 
design, are mostly made of lac. For covering turned wooden 
boxes or caskets, however, it is very extensively used, with the 
result that very beautiful articles are so prepared, the lac 
being coloured before use or the article painted, and the design 
being afterwards fixed by a coating of lac. Indian lacquer- 
ware is, however, so, well known at the present time that it 
would be presumptuous to attempt to describe it further than 
a,s an illustration, of the use of the raw material. Amongst 
other uses to which lac is put in India is in the manufacture of 
grindstones, by mixing one part of lac with two parts of river 
sand and moulding the material to the required shape and 
size. It is also generally used for fixing the blades of knives 
and other tools in their handles. In Europe the principal use 
Butea frondosa, an Indian Lac-yielding Tree. FlowkrincG 
Branch. 
of lac is- in the preparation of French polish by dissolving it, in 
methylated spirit. It, also enters, largely into, the composition 
of sealing-wax, in the preparation of lithographic ink, as a 
substance for stiffening the foundation of silk hia.ts, and as an 
ingredient, in the lacquer used for covering brass work into 
which gamboge is used to, heighten the colour. 
It may perhaps be said, iu conclusion, that the term lacquer’ 
is sometimes applied to other preparations into which true lac 
does not enter, such, for instance, as the Japanese lacquer and 
thei so-called Black Varnish tree of Burmah. 
Mr. William Thicker, appointed some time ago as gardener 
to W. Iv. Vanderbilt, jun., at Great Neck, has made a change, 
accepting an appointment as superintendent of Mr. Samuel 
Untermyer’s fine estate, Greystone, Yonkers, New York. 
Famous Trees.— One of the finest Lime trees in England is 
that which stands in the grounds of Burghley House, in North¬ 
amptonshire. Tradition asserts that it was planted by Queen 
Elizabeth, who was the guest of her Minister Burghley at his 
country seat. Five feet from the ground it measures over 24 ft. 
in girth. Another fine tree in Northamptonshire is the Great 
Ash at Cranford, which measure's 21 ft. in circumference 6 ft. 
from the ground. The most famous tree in the county, how¬ 
ever, is the Salcey Oak. This tree appears to have lost girth 
since 1797, when it measured 39 ft. 10 in. 3 ft. from the ground, 
for in 1880 it only measured 36 ft. 6 in. Its age has been esti¬ 
mated at not less than 1,500 years. 
