Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XIV.djvu/621

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SANDAL WOOD felled and the branches removed, the trunks are allowed to remain on the ground for sev- eral months in order that the white ants may eat away the worthless sap wood ; the trunk is cut into pieces 24 and 30 in. long, carefully trimmed, weighed, and assorted for shipment. SANDEMANIANS 597 Sandal Wood (Santalum album). The wood is very heavy, its density and aroma being greatest when it grows on dry and poor soil ; the color is a pale brown, varying in dif- ferent samples; it splits easily; has a persis- tent odor which is agreeable to most persons ; its taste is strongly aromatic. The aroma of the wood depends upon a volatile oil, which is light yellow and thick, and begins to boil at 385 F. ; a resin is also found in the wood. Sandal wood is mentioned in a Vedic work written as early as the 5th century B. C. ; it was used in sacred buildings in India ; the gates constructed for the temple of Somnath in Guzerat, and carried off on its destruction about 1025, are of carved sandal wood, and though over 1,000 years old are in good pres- ervation. It was used in embalming princes. The great consumption of the wood is in Chi- na; in 1866 there were received at the vari- ous ports 5,197 tons. The oil is made at the localities where the trees grow ; the roots are dug up for the purpose, and the chips and sawdust are also used; in 1872-'3, 10,348 Ibs., valued at 8,374, were imported into Bom- bay, a large share of which was reexported. In the East the wood is used in religious cere- monies, and the wealthy Hindoos add sticks of it to the funeral pile to show their respect for the departed. In India it is the best substi- tute for box wood for engravers' use ; it is used largely by the Chinese for cabinet work, as its odor repels insects, for small boxes, and the framework of fans; they also burn it as incense in their temples. Within a few years the oil has come into use as a substitute for copaiba in the treatment of gonorrhoea. RED SANDAL WOOD, or SAUNDEBS WOOD, is fur- nished by pterocarpvs santalinus, a tree of the leguminosce, and a native of various lo- calities in southern India. It is 20 to 30 ft. high, and seldom over 4 ft. in girth ; like the true sandal wood, it is controlled by govern- ment, and is now raised in plantations; it is found in commerce in irregular logs consisting of the heart wood of the lower part of the trunks and the larger roots ; it is of a deep red color and takes a fine polish. The natives of India use it in their temples, and for turned work. It was formerly supposed to be me- dicinal, but is now used only for coloring ; the compound spirit of lavender, popularly called red lavender, owes its color to this, as does Stoughton's bitters. The coloring matter is santalic acid, or santaline, a resinoid, soluble in alcohol, ether, and alkaline solutions. SAND BLAST, a method of engraving figures on glass or metal, or cutting away or boring holes in hard substances, by a rapid stream of sharp sand, invented by Mr. B. C. Tilghman of Philadelphia. The jet of sand may be driven by a blast of steam from a boiler, at high pres- sure (from 50 to 300 Ibs. per square inch), or by an air blast produced by a fan blower re- volving with great velocity (a 30-inch fan 1,500 to 2,000 times per minute). The sand is con- tained in a hopper, and is let down through a tube with a fine orifice, which may be in- clined at any desired angle. Surrounding the sand tube is the blast pipe, the effect being to carry the stream of sand with nearly the velo- city of the steam or air jet against the object to be operated on, which is placed in a box, and adjusted by means of slides so that it may be moved in front of the jet as the figures are being cut. The box must have openings for the exit of the air. In an experiment with this apparatus a hole an inch and a half in diameter and of the same depth was bored through a piece of corundum in a little less than half an hour, the sand being driven by a steam jet at 300 Ibs. pressure per square inch. A diamond was easily reduced in weight and a topaz completely dissipated in one minute. Patterns of objects may be laid upon the glass in the manner of stencil plates, and en- graved with great facility. An engraving of a photographed coating of gelatine upon glass may also be taken. SAND CRAB. See CEAB. SANDEAC, Leonard Sylvain Jules, a French au- thor, born at Aubusson, department of Creuse, Feb. 19, 1811. He was a lover of George Sand, and published with her the celebrated novel Pose et Blanche. A complete collec- tion of his novels appeared in 2 vols. in 1859. One of his most successful plays is Mile, de la Seigliere, adapted from his novel of the same title. He is a member of the academy and a director of the Mazarin library. SAND EEL. See EEL. SANDEMANIANS, a sect of Christians who ori- ginally separated from the Presbyterian church of Scotland. Their actual founder was the