Am.  Jour.  Pharm.  \ 
January,  1914.  j 
Oil  of  Sandalwood. 
33 
rots  in  soil  where  stagnant  water  is  present,  more  readily  than  in 
most  plants. 
The  seed  of  the  sandalwood  tree  germinates  freely  in  the  thickets 
where  the  tree  grows,  within  a  month  of  being  sown,  although 
germination  may  occur  any  time  during  three  months  or  longer, 
but  if  the  seed  germinates  in  open  ground  where  it  does  not  meet 
with  other  roots,  the  seedlings  soon  wither  and  die.  The  young 
plants  for  plantations  must  therefore  be  raised  by  planting  them 
with  other  plants  on  whose  roots  the  seedlings  can  feed  as  soon 
as  they  have  exhausted  the  nourishment  of  their  own  seed  lobes, 
which  lasts  for  about  two  months.  The  seeds  are  therefore  planted 
in  short  wide  tile  tubes  resembling  drain  pipes,  but  shorter,  so  that 
the  young  seedlings  can  be  planted  out  without  disturbing  their 
root  attachments.  This  planting  out  is  done  when  they  are  about 
4  ins.  high  or  rather  more  than  a  year  old.  If  allowed  to  grow 
larger  there  is  likely  to  be  injury  done  to  the  roots  in  planting  them 
out.  After  planting  out,  the  seedlings  require  to  be  gently  but 
copiously  watered  until  well  established. 
Experiment  has  shown  that  the  best  plants  to  grow  with  the 
seedlings  are  Pongamia  glabra,  Gossypium  arboreum,  Albizzia,  Leb- 
bek  and  Cleistanthus  collinus. 
The  seedlings  need  protection  from  animals,  as  the  foliage  of  the 
sandalwood  plants  proves  very  attractive  to  them.  Cattle  and  goats 
will  greedily  eat  the  foliage  whenever  they  see  it,  and  deer  will 
leap  over  the  obstructing  bushes  to  get  at  it,  and  hares  will  creep 
through  the  thicket  to  reach  it. 
As  the  seedlings  in  a  wild  state  reach  only  a  height  of  3  ins. 
the  first  year,  and  12  ins.  the  second  year,  they  are  easily  destroyed. 
It  is  only  in  the  fifth  or  sixth  year  they  appear  above  the  surround- 
ing bushes  and  form  a  leafy  head.  At  this  time  the  stem  is  about 
1  in.  in  diameter. 
It  takes  18  to  25  years  before  the  tree  is  fit  to  yield  oil.  With 
respect  to  the  spike  disease,  the  trees  attacked  by  it  present  the 
appearance  of  being  dead,  but  on  careful  examination  many  leaves 
are  seen  to  be  scattered  over  the  tree  at  the  end  of  the  stiff  branches, 
but  they  are  very  small,  and  form  small  terminal  tufts,  hence  the 
name  "  Spike  "  disease.  The  shoots  are  found  to  be  full  of  starch, 
indicating  that  the  plant  has  not  been  able  to  utilize  its  stored-up 
nourishment.    The  disease  is  pronounced  to  be  infectious,  because 
