_The tree that produces it_ (Santalum album) _grows principally on the coast of Malabar, and in the island of Timor. It has somewhat the appearance of a large myrtle, with stiff branches, and smooth, shining, spear-shaped leaves, each about two inches long. The flowers grow in clusters, small and red, and are succeeded by berries about the size of peas._ When the sandal wood trees are cut down they are stripped of their bark; after which the wood is usually chopped into billets or small pieces, and buried in a dry place for about two months. During this time the ants eat the outer part of it, without penetrating to the heart, which is the sandal. The billets are then taken up, smoothed, and sorted; and the deeper the colour the higher is found the perfume. In China this elegant wood, when cut into large planks, is sometimes made into coffins for the principal persons; and such coffins are said to resist the effects of air and moisture for many years. The Chinese also reduce the wood to powder, and, with the addition of water, convert it into a paste, which they apply to their bodies, their furniture, and about their houses, as a perfume. The powder of sandal wood is likewise employed as an incense in their idolatrous temples. Hence it is that a considerable trade in this wood exists between the East Indies and China. Besides the logs, the chips and cuttings of the roots of sandal wood are an article of commerce. From these chips, and from the waste wood, an odoriferous oil is sometimes prepared, which is considered nearly equal in fragrance to oil of roses. Sandal wood is at present seldom used in medicine; though, from its powerful qualities, it might probably be applied to many medicinal purposes with success. It has a bitterish aromatic taste, accompanied by a degree of pungency which is by no means unpleasant, TETRAGYNIA. 56. _HOLLY_ (Ilex aquifolium) _is a small evergreen tree, with shining, irregular, and spinous leaves, and white flowers which grow in clusters round the branches, and are succeeded by small red berries._ In those parts of the country where hollies are very abundant they afford a cheerfulness to the scenery in winter which is extremely pleasing. It is on this account principally that they are planted in gardens and shrubberies. The barbarous taste of our ancestors was such that they frequently clipped them into the shape of birds, quadrupeds, and other fantastic representations of nature.