until
the heart is reached, which is the fine black ebony of commerce. Here
also, equally immovable, the calamander is growing, neglected and
unknown. This is the most esteemed of all Ceylon woods, and it is so
rare that it realizes a fancy price. It is something similar to the
finest walnut, the color being a rich hazel brown, mottled and striped
with irregular black marks. It is superior to walnut in the extreme
closeness of the grain and the richness of its color.

There are upward of eighty different woods produced in Ceylon, which
are made use of for various purposes; but of these many are very
inferior. Those most appreciated are--

Calamander, Ebony, chiefly used for furniture and cabinet work.
Satin-wood, Suria (the tulip tree). Tamarind. Jackwood. Halmileel.
Cocoa-nut. Palmyra.

The suria is an elegant tree, bearing a beautiful yellow blossom
something similar to a tulip, from which it derives its name. The wood
is of an extremely close texture and of a reddish-brown color. It is
exceedingly tough, and it is chiefly used for making the spokes of
wheels.

The tamarind is a fine, dark red wood, mottled with black marks; but it
is not in general use, as the tree is too valuable to be felled for the
sake of its timber. This is one of the handsomest trees of the tropics,
growing to a very large size, the branches widely spreading, something
like the cedars of Lebanon.

Jackwood is a coarse imitation of mahogany, and is used for a variety
of purposes, especially for making cheap furniture. The latter is not
only economical, but exceedingly durable, and is manufactured at so low
a rate that a moderate-sized house might be entirely furnished with it
for a hundred and fifty pounds.

The fruit of the jack grows from the trunk and branches of the tree,
and when ripe it weighs about twenty pounds. The rind is rough, and
when cut it exposes a yellow, pulpy mass. This is formed of an
infinite number of separate divisions of fleshy matter, which severally
enclose an oval nut. The latter are very good when roasted, having a
close resemblance to a chestnut. The pulp, which is the real fruit, is
not usually eaten by Europeans on account of its peculiar odor. This
perfume is rather difficult to describe, but when a rainy day in London
crams an omnibus with well-soaked and steaming multitudes, the
atmosphere in the vehicle somewhat approaches to the smell of the
jack-fruit. The halmileel is one of the most dur