Sandalwood

12. SANDAL-WOOD (檀香)

Tan-hiang comes from Takang and Tiwu, as well as Palembang, Sumatra.

The tree, even its leaves, resembles the Chinese lichee.

The natives fell the tree and dry it in the shade. Its aroma is pure and strong and apt to evaporate; in burning

• A red-brown variety is called hsiang-t‘an (香檀);
• A light and brittle kind is called sha-t‘an (沙檀).

The aroma of these varieties is about the same.

The best quality is that derived from old trees, when the bark is thin and the full proportion of fragrance is contained in it.

The second quality so contains only seven or eight tenths of fragrance.

The poorest quality is called t‘ien-sing-hiang (天星香).

Pieces of sandal-wood which have dropped down like rain are called p‘o-lou-hiang (破漏香), or scented (wood) broken off and dropped down. The root of the tree is called hiang-t‘ou (香頭), or incense head.

13. CLOVES

Ting-hiang or nail-incense comes from Arabia and Java. These resemble the shape of the Chinese character ting, a nail.

It can remove bad smells from the mouth. High officials at court put it in their mouths when they have to say things to the Emperor.

The large ones are called ting-hiang-mu. This is the same as ki-sho-hiang, though some say that ki-sho-hiang is the stone of the Persian date.

14 NUTMEGS (肉荳蔻).

Jou-t‘ü-k‘ou are brought from the foreign tribes in the depths of the islands of Huang-ma-chu and Niu-lun (牛輪).

The tree resembles the Chinese juniper (桧), and attains a height of upwards of 100 feet.

Its trunk and branches, with the foliage, present the appearance of a large shady roof under which forty or fifty men may find protection.

When the blossoms open in the spring they are taken off and dried in the sun; this is the article now known as t‘ü-k‘ou-hua (荳蔻花).

The fruit (nut) resembles the fei-tz‘ü (榧子) nut; when the shell is removed the pulp can be kept a long time, if preserved in ashes (灰). According to the P‘o-ts‘au its properties are warming.