69 



SECTION C. 



FIELD NOTES DESCRIBING SPECIES THAT HAVE BEEN MORE OR LESS 



BOTANICALLY DETERMINED. 



Elsewhere* I Lave described the method employed 

 in collecting botanical material- 

 wood— 



w of the timbers b 



bark, and 



leaves, flowers, root, 



»» 



> 



and other field work. 



axe cuts 



rought back 



From the 

 from the 



forest hand specimens were prepared, and these were 



cut so as to expose the radial and tangential surfaces, 

 and so facilitate the macroscopical examination of the 

 rays, pores, soft tissue, &c. Also, solutions of the 

 sawdust of the woods were obtained and the colour of 



the solution noted. 



The same was done in the case 



of barks, only, unfortunately, a number of them were 

 lost in transit. 



mined generically, 27 having been given their family. 

 There remain 125 specimens of which material has 

 been collected which is insufficient for botanical deter- 

 mination. Finally, there are 220 blanks (125 of these 

 were specimens lost on the Ramu, and 159 numbers 

 between 441, end of Papuan collection, and 500, be- 

 ginning New Guinea collection) ; 69 duplicate speci- 

 mens, and eight numbers used twice and distinguished 

 thus: "157" and " 157a." 



It will be seen that only the first step to a systematic 

 botanical survey of our tree species has been made. I 

 have tried to give -all the information obtainable about 



To these solutions iron salts were added, and the re- the species, material of which was insufficient for 



botanical det 



action, if any, recorded as a rough guide to the presence 



of tannins. The weight per cubic foot was obtained section of the 



elimination, so that, when this important 

 ; scientific knowledge of Papua is seriously 



by comparing the weight of a specimen weighed in the 

 ordinary way with its weight when supported but im- 

 mersed in a vessel of water. The latter operation gives 



undertaken, there should not be any difficulty in match- 

 material with 



The 



ing new material wiui mine. l ne macroscopic 

 i xaniination of timbers was carried out in cases of 



the 



weight 



f the displaced water. The specimens woods which were obviously not commercial timbers, 



were dried out in a jacketed oven till they lost no more but I had this idea in mind : the leaf and twig specimens 



are easily confounded, and the macroscopical details 

 of a timber add an excellent check. 



The same for water solutions of woods and barks, and 



weight, and the specific gravity corrected to a moisture 

 content of 12 per cent., which is the accepted moisture 

 content for seasoned woods. From this figure the 

 weight per cubic foot was calculated, as it was possible 

 in the great majority of cases only to deal with two 

 specimens of each species, and these came from the same 

 tree and the same part of that tree, the weight per 

 cubic foot must be accepted as approximate. 



I think the descriptions require little explanation, 

 except, perhaps, those that record the results of the 

 macroscopical examination, where the following ex- 

 planation will assist" the reader : — 



the use of an iron salt re-agent. I found these a great 

 help when I have been at a loss to separate two species 

 otherwise similar. It is a thousand pities that the 

 systematic work so 



a 



Ray 



99 



is a contraction for medullary or pith 



u 



ray 



ably begun by Sir William 

 MacGregor in 1889 in Papua should have been allowed 

 to drop, and that no steps were taken to describe the 

 flora of Papua until Mr. White's visit in 1921. As for 

 the Territory of New Guinea, the work of German 

 scientists appears to have been wholly lost. It is to be 

 hoped the botanical work will now continue until the 

 bulk of the species is determined. The collection of 

 botanical material from tall trees is always troublesome, 

 but it is essential that this branch of the work be 



Pore " is the synonym for vessel. 



" Septate n means divided by a partition or parti- persevered in, for trees form a very large part of the 



tions. ^ flora of the Territory, besides being of more economic 



" Soft tissue " is the same as wood parenchyma — a value as a rule. I wish it to be clear, also, that T 



jaw-breaker beloved of Xylologists. 



am not a botanist, and my descriptions are purely notes 



The number of rays is given to the inch circum- such as a forester makes. A number of the species 



ference; the number of pores to the square inch; both 



ii i- „ T}_ it ~- -x -"« >9 . £(±l,„ 



were found to be new, and have been scientifically de- 



By 



quarter gram 



or 



on the cross section. 



quarter " the surface exposed by a quarter cut or radial 



cut is indicated. By " back grain" or "on the back," 



"the scribed by Mr. White. The remainder of the determined 



species have already been botanically described, and 

 those desirous of studying them should refer to the 



the surface exposed 'when the wood is backed off— cut authorities. A bibliography of the literature bearing 



tangentially— is indicated. The words "quarter" and on the New Guinea flora will be found in Appendix, 

 "back" are those commonly used by timber folk to The technology of the individual timbers of Papua 



denote these two surfaces, and cuts in between the two is a subject that requires long and patient study. .The 



extremes are known as " half quarter " or " half back." 

 It will be noticed that while Mr. White f has been 



number is so very great, and there are types allied to 

 almost all the well-known timbers of the world. To 



able, in the comparatively short time that has elapsed say definitely this timber is good for one purpose, and 

 since he received the material, to identify a number of that for another purpose, is not at present possible, 

 specimens, both generically and specifically. A number In my notes 1 have indicated obvious qualities and 

 still await specific determination. Some of the material defects; also T have stated whether the woods cut hard, 

 I sent him was not sufficient, or in too bad a condition firm, soft, and woolly. All such estimates are questions 

 for determination. Summing up the position, the last of comparison, and are not scientifically fixed physical 

 herbarium number is 811, and of these 226 have been characteristics. Indeed, in the hands of another, 

 fully identified by Mr. White; 136 have been deter- different results might be obtained. The only satis- 

 — — ■ ' factory way of testing the physical characteristics of 



J G^'n^ent Botanist, Queensland. timber's is to put them to USe— it is a question of " eating 



