Page:History of the Indian Archipelago Vol 3.djvu/438

 422 COMMERCIAL DESCRIPTION OF for this commodity, the wood is sorted into three classes, which bear the following relative values expressed in figures, 24<, 22, and I'J. The quan- tity of sandal -wood imported into China from Ma- labar annually is about 30(X) piculs, 357 1 2 cwts. There are no means of ascertaining the importa- tions from the Indian Islands ; but the produce of the island of Timur alone is not under 8000 pi- culs, or 9524 cwts. Sapan-U'oodi as mentioned in the agricultural department of the work, grows abundantly in se- veral of the Indian Islands, and is exported to Eu- rope and China. It is generally obtained at the cheap rate of 3s. 4d., or one Spanish dollar the pi- cul, and used as dunnage. Within the last twelvemonth, the sassafras tree has been discovered in great quantities in the island of Banca, and cut down for commercial pur- poses. The charge of hewing the wood, and pre- paring it for market, has been estimated at about two Spanish dollars the picul, or 7s. 5 per cwt. The ebony of the Indian Islands is much infe- rior to that of the Mauritius, being generally of a paler colour, and of less hardness. It is found in considerable quantities, and is an article of ex- portation to China. A species of wood, called hliang by the Malays, is abundant in Borneo, and forms a considerable article of exportation to China. This is a heavy