Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1873-03-26
The Forest frees of Hiud0stan.

Foremost among the crowd OF leafy
princes, in ornamental beauty and con mer-
cial value, stands the iron wood tree Of the
Burrampooter Valley. Tall, strai ght, and
symmetrical, it rearS itself some sixty or
seventy feet high, taperlDg upward in its
glossy green mass OF wax-like foliage be-
set with snowy, fragrant, goIden-centered
flowers of the camella character, its tim
Der unmatched for weight and hardness by
any other in all the immense wilderness of
Ind, and its worth enhanced by its com
parat,ve rarity; for the ak has played
sad havoc with the very partially scattered
groups to be met with at the present time
The dried flowers are sold as a perfume.
There are certain conditions of soil, cline,
and natural production which have hither-
to baf1ied the jealous arboricuturist IN
his labors to propagate this beautiful
wonder Of the woods.
\ rival in beauty and utility, though
quite OF another type, appears in profuse
array-the gorgeous Lagerstramia regina
every spike OF rose-red flowers enough
to fill market-basSet Grand in its re
gal bloom, and stout in its growth, yielding
durable though crooked logs, preferred by
the Burmese for ships " knees" and by
the cute Anglo Indian adventurer for the
roof supports Of his residence, this lovely
tree attalns moderate size in cultivation,
and flowers annually i'll the gardens of
Lower Bengal.
On entering Central and Lower Assam
hn Gfr .aI
with admiration OF the gigantic woodland
scenery. As he ascends the noble Bur
rampooter, winning among ranges of
little hills and grand mountains, he will
with his telescope sean the interminable
tracts of dark forest, and occasionally de-
fine its constituent "Sylva." Spreading
over the lower country, his glass will, from
the poop Of the steamer, proclaim that
here Shopea rObusta is Indigenous and
paramount, its sombcr and silent shade
telling the welI-known tale of death deal
ing malaria, which has laid low many a
bold hunter and brave botanist in the re-
giobs Of heat and moisture the combna-
tion so necessary to the life of this valu-
able timber-tree, attaining It's proudest
dimensions here, and in the equally nox-
ious atmosphere of the Nepaul Teral
The Government gun carriages, the trans
port-train, the military buildings, the
warehouse Of the merchant, the craft of
the native boat-builder, all constructed Of
the heavy 6brous wood, supporting great
strain and shock, while so heavy as to sink
in water, and hence requiring RATS of
bamboo and earthern pots to give 1t float
age in conveyance by river. Were 1t not
for the annual confagrations caused by
the primitive custom of burning the old
grass lands, India would, at the present
time, have been indeed overstocked with
this valuable tree. The grain of the wood
is much like that Of the English elm.
The railways have availed themselves
largely Of its comparative abundance and
good qualities, and the Government con-
servators are keeping strict eye upon
the herdsmen and other incendlary tramps,
to save the young seedlings (selfsown)
from annihilation.
This is not the only precious individual
in that remarkable order, Dipterocarpa-
cea; 70; Vateria Indica supplies that
elegant resin known to commerce as g East
India Copal," closely resembling amber,
an often containing flies and other minute
natural objects. Combined with boiling
linseed oil and little pale dammar, it is
in general use by carriage and house
painters in the East as a varnlsh while
among the aborigines Of Malabar it is
manufactured into candles, which burn
with clear light, no smoke, and fragrant
odor. This gum resin is highly electrical.
Vateria lancifolia yields the incense used
in Hindoo temples near the coast. Dip
terocarpus lanis and augustifolius furnish
the balsamc oil known as gurjun. An
old tree will supply, by tapping and cnar
ring, forty gallons in one season, but will
soon perish; for this reason the product
is rapidly rising in price.
The virgin forests of the northeast
fronties. and also Burmah, are its local
tiles, growing in the most dark and pes
tiferous jungles. Cedrela species are
superb timber-producers, yielding the
finest woods for cabinet work, the dark
kinds being equal to mahogany, and taking