55 



Throughout the Mandated Territory there is no 

 savannah forest such as occurs in Papua, but it is, I 



it is purplish — are very like this species. The crowns, 

 however, carry more spreading foliage. As is to be 



think, solely the absence of the dry country eucalyptus expected, the leaves do not hang down straight like the 



more sclerophyllous of the gum species, but spread out 

 rather straightly, and their texture is not so leathery. 



Like its Australian smooth-barked sisters, it suffers 

 dreadfully from fire, and large areas have been burned 

 out in tli is part. Some idea of the size of the indi- 

 vidual trees will be gathered from the following mea- 



that makes the difference. Just as in Australia, this 

 genus clothes what would otherwise be treeless wastes 

 in the dry interior. So in the south-western side of 

 ^N"ew Guinea, wherever the rainfall is so low as to give 

 the advantage to this sclerophyllous genus over the 

 tropical forest, the gumtree flourishes. 



Travelling round from the Eye coast into Astrolabe surements of a felled tree. 



iwn 



13ay the vegetation of the coastal belt gradually changes. 

 The narrow strips of woodland along the creek beds, 

 which on the Rye coast are the only forest areas in the 



"nt into eight mill lengths, ready to move to the Korin- 

 dal mill. 



sea of grass lands, little by little become wider. The Measi rements of a Mill Log of Kamakere lying at 



coast line is still abrupt, but the rainfall is increasing 

 and the areas of sufficiently watered soil are now more 

 extensive. Soon the woodlands assume the shape of 

 tongues growing from the high mountains and narrow- 

 ing down to points at the mouths of the rivers and 

 streams. The areas of grass lands and wood lands are 

 now about equal in extent and from there on along the 

 coast the wood lands increase and grass lands diminish 

 until the characteristic rain forest becomes the typical 

 vegetation. From the centre of Astrolabe Bay to the 



Kobindal, New Britain. 



1. Log, 20 feet in girth, S feet long. 



2. Log, IS] feet in girth, 10 feet long. 



3. Log, 15 feet in girth, IS J feet long. 



4. Log, 14 feet in girth, 19^ feet long. 



5. Log, 13 feet in girth, 18J feet long. 



6. Log, 12 \ feet in girth, 20 J feet long. 



7. Log, 11| feet in girth, 18| feet long. 



8. Log, 11 feet in girth, 17 feet long. 

 The total length of the mill log was, therefore, 136J 



Dutch border ram forest predominates, and such grass fwt and it| soli(1 mhk { . imtouts ^ out at 2 , 12 6 

 lands that occur have been created by the natives m their m ble feet, or 25,440 super, feet. The form, factor, or 



cleaning and burning operations. ^ Some of these areas t of the j ig pra0tica Uy .5. Unfortunately, like 



of grass lands are very extensive indeed, and dotted as 

 they are with trees, give the appearance of a natural 

 savannah forest. I shall describe the country in the 

 valleys of the Markham and Rainu Rivers, which 

 chiefly consist of such man-made savannah forma- 

 tions. 



Similarly on the islands of New Britain, New Ire- 

 land, and Lavongai, the grass lands that occur are not 

 natural xerophilous regions 

 forests. 



In Papua some fine areas of edaphic forests consist- 

 ing of almost pure stands of ilimo (Octomeles su- 

 matrana) occurred. These were not met with any- 

 where in the Mandated Territory. The species was 

 common enough, but nowhere did it grow in close social 



forests. The river banks in this respect were disap- 

 pointing. 



but are converted rain 



all eucalypts that grow very fast in early life, the 

 centre of the logs is apt to be unsound, and I doubt 

 whether a recovery of more than 33 per cent, can be 

 expected from these trees. About the top cross-cut came 

 45 feet of crown log, which was too scarred and knotted 

 witli old branch marks to be fit for the mill. At 181 

 feet sprang the main bifurcation of the crown, which 

 subdivided and spread into innumerable brandies and 

 branchlets to height of another 50 feet. So the tree 

 measured 231 J feet, as follows: — 



Mill log 



Crown 



Brandies 



1 Off 



• • 



• • 



• 



• » 



L36J 



45 

 50 



2:51 .i 



I 



"While these New Guinea eucalyptus forests look mud 



T N . T7 . . , _ like a tall Australian forest when lliey have been cleared 



In ]Sew Britain, however, occurs a very fine river- ( , f their Ull ,| 01 . story the vegetation 'in its virgin state 



side type of forest winch consists ot an almost pure preS( , Ilts au entire ly tropica l appearance. The lower 



stand of kamarere (Eucalyptus Naudiniana). Like storv ()f x rain * fall ios oWlirp8 tho vi( . w of tlu , 



Octomeles, this species thrives best in pure stands on the gum tn]nks to a lilI . i ,, 1 oxt( . ntj whil( , th(1 ( . 1WHS of th() 



alluvium in a valley which is fiat enough to be subject kamareres are entirely hidden from view, 

 to annual flooding in the height of the rainy season, 

 which in New Britain occurs in the north-west monsoon. 



Only when a break in the forests occurs, as, for in- 

 stance, the bed of a river, are the giant trees clearly 



The land^however, must be sufficiently well drained to see n towering over the few tall rain-forest species that 



grow in social formation with them, and leaving the 

 lower story quite dwarfed almost 200 feet below. The 



clear itself of water between the floods, for the kamarere 

 becomes stunted, gnarled, and asymmetrical in the 



water-logged portions. Though I have not found this sight of this'type of forest, when seen from the banks 

 species away from running water, I have it on very reli- f a wide river, such as the Powell, is a very fine 

 able authority that it occurs also on the lower slopes of one. The rich, yet sober greens of the tropical" lower 

 the high volcano on the northern coast, which is knoAvn story contrast very wonderfully with that curious blue- 

 as " The Father," and on several places at a relatively green colour which till now I 'had only associated with 



an Australian forest; find beauty is added to the scene 



southern side of the island of Xew Britain. Unfor- by the lighter reflection of the picture in the still water 



tunately, there are no large areas under this species and of the river. 



to-day owing to saw-milling operations; only one strip T man aged also to get a view of the Kamarere forest 



of virgin forest remains viz, that on the Powell and f rom a mountain side, and from that position the 



Henry Keid Rivers, which empty into Wide Bay on the tropical undergrowth and tall rain-forest species were 



high altitude on the flanks of the mountains on the 



south coast. The species comes under the category of 

 a giant gum, for it towers to a height of 240 feet and 

 yields a mill log of 140 feet. It therefore rivals great forest like tl 



all hidden by the spreading crowns of the gums, and 



the view presented was that of a very thick Australian 



gums of Australia. Entering a patch of kamarere. 



ie mountain asli at Warburton, looked 

 down on from the hills. The strip of cucalypt is always 



where the saw-miller has removed the undergrowth pre- very narrow, and it meanders its way, following the 



paratory to felling the main crop, the appearance of course of the river or Stream, a fringing forest itself 



the forest is very similar to that of a mountain ash forest fringed by the rain-forest proper. How pure is the 



in Victoria. The trees shed their hark in the same way kamarere'stand is shown by a survey made of an area 



and the colour and the boles though darker — sometimes 



at KorindaL 



