262 
Fragrant  IV oods. 
Am.  Jour.  Pharxn . 
May,  1870- 
diameter.  It  has  a  peculiar  odor,  from  which  it  is  sometimes  called  camphor-  wood,, 
and  it  is  said  to  be  obnoxious  to  the  attacks  of"  insects.  The  dark  beauty  of  its 
wood  makes  it  useful  for  many  articles  of  small  cabinet  furniture.  The  mountain 
sandarac  pine,  another  species  similar  to  the  preceding  one,  is  available  for  identical 
uses. 
The  sassafras-tree  [Atherosperma  moschata)  has  an  aromatic  bark,  which  yields  an 
essential  oil,  resembling  the  sassafras  oil  of  America,  with  an  admixture  of  oil  of 
caraways.  The  timber,  which  is  useful  to  the  cabinet-maker,  has  a  dark  duramen,, 
and  frequently  exhibits  a  pleasant  figure,  it  has  also  the  quality  of  taking  a  beautiful 
polish.  Sassafras  wood  [Sassafras  officinale),  which  is  brought  over  from  North 
America  in  billets,  is  highly  aromatic,  both  in  smell  and  taste,  owing  to  a  yellow 
volatile  oil  it  contains.  As  this  repels  insects,  the  wood  is  used  in  India  for  the 
interior  work  of  trunks,  drawers,  boxes,  etc. 
Brazilian  sassafras  is  the  aromatic  bark  of  Nectandra  Cymbarum  (Nees).  The 
fragrant  bark  of  the  swamp  sassafras  of  the  United  States  (Magnolia  glauca)  is 
greatly  sought  by  beavers,  and  hence  is  often  called  beaver-wood.  A  common 
deception  is  much  practiced  in  the  streets  of  London  in  selling  artificially  scented 
woods  and  roots  which  have  been  steeped  in  citronelle  and  other  pleasant  essential 
oils. 
The  sandal-wood  of  commerce  is  the  product  of  various  trees  belonging  to  the 
genus  Santalum,  and  that  species  called  Santalum  album  for  a  long  time  furnished 
the  principal  supply.  Being  a  hard,  close-grained  and  ornamental  wood,  it  is  used 
for  some  descriptions  of  cabinet  work,  and  various  carved  ornamental  and  useful 
articles,  such  as  fans,  writing  desks,  work-boxes,  card-cases,  album-covers,  etc.,  are 
made  of  it.  But  its  chief  characteristics  consists  in  the  remarkable  smell  of  the 
wood,  which  it  owes  to  the  presence  of  a  peculiar  volatile  oil,  extensively  used  by 
the  natives  of  India  as  a  perfume.  This  also  has  caused  it  to  be  largely  used  as 
incense  to  burn  in  the  temples  of  China. 
The  roots,  which  are  the  richest  in  oil,  and  the  chips  go  to  the  still,  while  Hindoos- 
who  can  afford  it  show  their  wealth  and  their  respect  for  their  departed  relatives  by 
adding  sticks  of  sandal-wood  to  the  funeral  pile.  The  wood,  either  in  powder  or 
rubbed  up  into  a  paste,  is  employed  by  all  Brahmins  in  the  pigments  used  in  their 
distinguishing  caste  marks.  The  oil  forms  the  basis  of  many  scents,  and  is  some- 
times used  for  impregnating  with  its  scent  articles  which,  being  really  carved  from 
common  wood,  are  passed  off  as  if  made  from  true  sandal. 
In  course  of  time  sandal-wood  was  discovered  to  be  abundant  in  some  of  the 
South  Sea  Islands,  where  it  is  the  product  of  several  species  of  Santalum,  different 
from  the  long-known  Indian  one  5  there  are  about  ten  species  of  the  genus,  which 
are  chiefly  restricted  to  the  East  Indies,  Australia  and  Oceania. 
The  Indian  species  are  Santalum  album  and  S.  myrtijolium.  The  former  is  a  srnail 
tree  from  twenty  to  twenty-five  feet  high,  which  is  found  on  the  border  of  Wynaad 
in  the  Peninsula,  and  in  Mysore.  The  exports  of  the  wood  from  Madras  are  con- 
siderable to  Bombay,  Bengal,  Pegu  and  the  Persian  Gulf.  The  wood  is  burnt  to 
perfume  temples  and  dwelling-houses.  The  same  tree  yields  both  the  white  and 
yellow  sandal-wood,  the  last  being  the  inner  part  of  the  tree ;  it  is  very  hard  and. 
