? 



This description of the forests at the head of the 

 Gallery Reach would apply to all other rain forests in 



the Territory. Others have a greater height growth; 

 in no two localities is the composition the same, while 

 the quality of the stand of timber varies everywhere ; 

 but while all these differences are there, and may be 

 ascertained by careful inspection, measurement and 

 the counting of trees, to the eye the general view 



which I have attempted to give is the same. 



There is another type of forest along the banks of 

 most large rivers in the Territory which consists prin- 

 cipally of ilimo (Octomeles sumaf rana) 9 a magnifi- 

 cent tree which yields a timber which has much to 

 recommend it for all indoor work. It reaches a height 



O 



of 180 feet and sometimes 200 feet in favorable locali- 

 ties, and has a girth above the buttresses of about 15 

 feet. The buttresses are heavy and spread out 8 feet 

 from the bole, and rise to- 10 or 15 feet up it. The 

 bole is generally clear and straight for 100 feet. It is 

 found in two formations: — (i) scattered singly or in 

 groups of two or three in the damper places along the 

 river and creek banks of the rain forests; (ii) in dense 

 formation along the banks of large waterways. It is 

 the second formation that I am about to describe, as it 

 differs very much from any other in the Territory. 

 Ilimo is a social species and anywhere i hat a large 



river, such as the Vanapa or the Brown, has deposited 

 a mass of alluvium and made new ground, it comes up 

 in a dense mass. All who have travelled up the huge 

 rivers of the Territory will have noticed these patches 

 of young trees. They are most conspicuous, not only 

 because with them is associated no other species, but 

 because they are of even age ; they have all grown up 

 together. The young ilimo is a remarkably attractive 

 tree with its symmetrical arrangement of branches, its 

 large green, heart-shaped, drooping leaves, and its 

 freedom from creepers and epiphytes, so that one in- 

 stinctively remarks on the healthy appearance of the 

 clump one passes. Very few of these clumps of ilimo 

 reach maturity; a river, as a rule, in the flat country 

 where alone such tree formations are possible, is con- 



i i o t 



lately made, with its fine growth of young ilimo, is 

 swept down to the sea. Wherever the ilimo has suc- 

 ceeded in establishing itself and growing for a genera- 

 tion, it stands a good chance of reaching maturity. 

 It has by this time bound the ground together with a 

 network of loots, and it takes a very great flood indeed 

 to tear the soil away; only an entire alteration in the 

 course of the river can destroy the young forest now. 

 The ground which, when the ilimos were quite young, 

 was covered with rushes is now covered with much the 

 same growth as the rain forests; here and there a few 

 third story trees have found their way in, but they are 



numerous. The same may be said of lianas, 

 creepers and epiphyte, which are only met with m 

 small quantities. The first story is no longer all ilimo 

 a number of lop story rain forest trees have come 

 in and are competing with the original trees, and these 

 have not quite finished making their height growth. 

 One second story tree — tdtoa of the Bemcndele people 

 (} T tlc.r cofassiis.) — is found here and there. All 

 these intruders do not, when counted up, exceed the 

 number of ilimo even in second quality stands, while 



in the best the ilimos exceed them by .")() per cent. The 

 mature Iciest does not differ very much from the ilimo 

 stand of middle age, except thai the top story is now 



quite distinct and is all ilimo; the intruding species are 



now in the second story, and being much more slow- 

 have not ye! readied maturity, and 

 very small compared to the ilimo that 



15 feet i ]1 girth and have buttresses standing out all 

 round, making them look still bigger. 



Here are the figures relaling to an 8-acre patch of 



over-mature ilimo on the Vanapa. It is sufficiently 



aged for the intruding species to be fen- the most part 

 mature. It will be seen that there are only ten species 

 and that there are 62 individuals in all, of which 

 there are 39 ilimo, or 64 per cent, of the stocking, and 

 these cubed 14,130 fvei. The largest girth was 15 

 feet, and the highest clear bole 120 feet. It is very 

 unfortunate that these heavy stands of ilimo are not 

 more numerous, for there is no doubt that the timber 



giowmg, 



seem 



now up to 



tmually changing its course; where one year it may be is sufficiently useful to command a good price, the ex- 

 depositing alluvium on one side, another year it may traction offers no difficulty, its transport down stream 

 have ceased to do so, and the new ground is now being is simple, and it mills very well indeed. I have not. 



however, found any but small patches of such forests 

 in the parts of the Territory I have visited. 



made on the other bank; and later a great flood comes 

 and bends are washed away and the new ground so 



| Description of Timber on an area of 8 acres — Fewer/"'.] 



Herbarium 



No. 



Native Name 



Botanical Name, 



Number of 



Individuals. 



Cubic Contents. 



Pen-entases of 



1 



Damoni 



2 



Karcla 



4 



Nam* 



5 



Okamu 



13 



Sihu 



20 



i'ri 



34 



Ilimo 



36 



Okaka 



51 



Habere 



106 



Atuiabialmna 



- * 



• • 



• • 



Draco a torn dwm mang ift rn m 



Pla n choni'i Umorrtt.s i.s 



Pierocarpus indicus 



Pom* tin pinntita 

 Ptrrocymb'uim sp. 



Qaruga sp. 



Octntn* I* s snmntnnm 



Ti nti it* alia catappoirfes 



l)rtirto/ru turn sp. 

 Licit. 



Total. 



Per Acre. Per Tn 



• • 



• • 



• • 



• • 



• ♦ 



• • 



• • 



6 



1 

 2 



1 

 I 

 4 



1 



6 



1 



r>2«i 



128 



403 



208 



2r>!) 

 <i|0 



I M30 



118 



406 



2 \ } 



&2 



IT.o 



<;ti 



16 

 32 



7b 



1,766 



15 



57 



a » 



i i 



2,259 



ss 



64 

 201 



2< >5 

 259 



I 52 

 31 i2 

 IIS 



76 



212 



565 



To 



Total 

 Coble 



Contents 

 % 



31 



0-75 

 2 1 

 1-2 



15 



8-6 



82 7 

 0-7 

 2-7 

 14 



100 



To 

 Total 



Number 



of Trees. 



O' 



/o 

 11-7 



1-6 



3 • 3 



In 



1-6 

 6-4 



lb 

 97 

 1-6 



100.0 



* One of the Naras had a girth oi 15| feet the I- -t I have Been, 



The timber from these forest is supposed by while 

 people to be less valuable than that which is obtained 

 from the few scattered ilimo that are to be found in 

 the mixed forests further from the bank of the river. 

 Some loner residents in Papua affirm that there are iwo 



1 r* "I 



species of ilimo — a large-leafed and a narrow-leafed, 

 and that it. is the timber from the latter that is the 



better. I was unable to find any difference between 



the timber of the trees inland and on the banks, nor 



The tree is dioecious, and that may have given rise to 

 the theory of two varieties. There are differences in 

 the quality of the timber, but these arise from usual 

 causes, and of them over-maturity and consequent de- 

 crepitude of the wood is one, though perhaps the 

 attacks of borers, followed by fungous disease and rot 

 of the wood is more common. 



The natural Succession to thego even-aged fnn-sM of 



ilimo is the mixed rain forest. As the ilium- begin 



have I been able to find different varieties of ilimo. to die their place is taken by the intrude 



ig ram forest 



