Note 162 — Chapter V · Magic Rites connected with the Several Departments of Nature

“The gharu-tree is a tall forest tree, sometimes reaching the size of fifteen feet in diameter. The bark is of a silvery gray colour, and the foliage close and dense, of a dark hue. The Malay name for the tree is “tabak,” and no other may be used by the Pawang when in search of the kayu gharu.162 Gharu, the diseased heart-wood of the tabak, is found in trees of all sizes, even in trees of one foot in diameter, thus showing that the disease attacks the tree at an early stage.