164 



mangrove 



leather making, the use of 

 become more and more prevalent, 

 too, that Papua possesses, among 



It 



th 



extract must 

 is probable 



long list of 

 tannin materials, some which, when blended with man- 



All compare favorably with the European oak ^o 

 far as percentage of tannin is concerned, and practic- 

 ability of establishing extract works to treat their very 

 common bark is worth serious consideration. For the 



lower mid-mountain forests all round N 

 proper, but I did not oome across them in New lie- 

 land, New Britain or New Hanover. 



grove, would make it satisfactory for the production same reason as in the case of mangrove bark, the 

 of bright leather. How much objectionable colour and export of the raw material is not to be recommended, 

 smell are questions of prejudice remains for others These oaks have a wide range in the foot-hill and 



more experienced in the technicalities of the business | Awftr mid-mountain forests all round New Guinea 

 to say. It does seem curious that the colour of leather 

 used for making the sole of a boot should be an im- 

 portant matter. That scientific investigation of tan 

 barks is necessary is shown by the fact that West 

 Australia failed to sell her mallet bark {Eucalyptus 

 ornuta var. astritigens) in Australia and in England, 

 but found so profitable a market for it in Germany 

 that her forests of this tree were reduced to a neglig- 

 ible quantity in four years. The German leather 

 chemists extracted the tannin and blended it and sold 

 it to England and to Australia in the form of tannin 

 extract-, which was readily purchased. 



The import figures into Australia of tannins, sup- 

 plied by the Board of Trade, are instructive, and 

 would lead me to think that Papua has a good oppor- 

 tunity of developing the manufacture of extract to 

 sell to so good a buyer next door. 



Imports ok Tanning Substance, 1922-23. 



Natal 



Wattle bark 

 Other bark 

 Wattle extract 

 South America — 



Quebracho extract 

 Other extract 



Veil on ia w yrobalans 

 Cutch, etc. ... 



Total 



Cwt. 



... 93,666 



103 



£ 



» * » 



• • 



• • 



• « • 



■ ■ 



• * 



37,301 



48 



2,967 



14,209 



* • 



h * 



• • 



t • 



• * 



• • • 



• • • 



10,662 

 ... 28,358 



. • • cfc«.*» I , f_)"T» ) 



Other Tanning Materials. 



Alcohol. 



The proposal to manufacture alcohol in the Terri- 

 tory is regarded with a certain amount of disapproval. 

 The danger is, of course, that the native may become 

 addicted to the abuse of this stimulant. Everywhere, 

 I think, where very primitive people dwell, it has been 

 admitted that the free manufacture and sale of in- 

 toxicating drinks is harmful. Maily Crown Colonies 

 have faced serious financial crises through the falling 

 off of revenue, due to the prohibition of the entry ol 

 spirits. Primitive man, together with certain more 



highly civilized people, would appear to come within 

 the second category in the clergyman's quotations from 

 Scripture in the matter of the use of alcohol. While 

 not wishing to make any definite pronouncement as to 

 prohibition of alcohol, he quoted: 1. "Wine maketh 

 glad the heart of man"; 2. "The wild asses came 

 down and drank of the water." To give them any- 

 thing stronger would certainly be madness. But the 

 use of alcohol is not solely for stimulating a 

 civilization; it is used in a number of industrial pur- 

 suits, and as time goes on this distjlate will become 

 a more and more important factor in the progress of 

 Australia. She has within her borders but scant sup- 

 plies of mineral oil, and in spite of the many induce- 

 ments and rewards offered for the discovery of new 

 sources of petroleum, to date only indications have 

 been met with. The tremendous development in the 



j a d e d 



Thb natives of New Guinea have not discovered the use of the internal combustion engine, requiring oil as 



barks and woods were made, and 

 The 



art of tanning, so that I am unable to point to any 

 proved tan barks. In the examination of material I 

 have, however, tested the reaction to iron salts of all 

 the barks that I was able to save, and all the woods 

 that- were brought back. The information is contained 



in the description of specimens (see section C, under 



the heading of " Marks") and in the descriptions of 

 wood under the sub-head " General." Solutions of both 



iron salts added, 

 ture and colour of the precipitate, if any, was 



I have not tested any of the fruits, and 

 certain genera should receive attention, of which 

 Termifudia is certainly important. The common tan- 

 nin agent for brightening the colour of leather is ob- 

 tained from the fruits of T. chebula of India, and 

 they are known to the trade as Myrobcdan*. There 

 are several Terminal ia in Papua, and both barks and 

 fruits are worth investigating. The bark of the three 

 common oaks was submitted to the firm of Michaelis, 

 ITallenst. in, who kindly allowed their chemist, Mr. J. 

 If. Boas, to examine them. Here are the insults: — 



recorded . 





Tannins. 



N"ii- 

 t. ui n ins 



Xo. 

 No. 



1 . — Que re us J U »<jh uhn > 



2. — Qnereus spice -a 

 Smith, ww*. depressa King 

 No. 3. — Que re its camponga 



Miq. 



in-:; 



170 



• » 



IS-0 



5*0 



5-7 



IiHnliihle. 



Moisture. 



45 



H>-7 



10-8 



65-3 



65-5 



10-') 



ll-l 



The first is the oak without a true acorn, the second 

 is the small acorned oak. 



As for colour, the first gave a very dark reddish 



gave a bad colour, but the 

 second gave a yellowish fair colour. 



the fuel, means that very heavy imports of this com- 

 modity are made by Australia. In 1916 to 1917 the 

 imports were 20J million gallons,* and this quantity 

 has increased, and must continue to increase year by 

 year. Last year it rose to 46,809,212 gallons, valued 

 at £3,485,228. The world's supply of motor fud is 

 finite, and the consumption is very heavy. It is only 

 a matter of time for a serious shortage of supplies to 



occur, and Australia will feel the pinch par- 

 ticularly. The heightened cost o»f motor fuel will act 

 as a serious brake to industrial development, arid the 



absence of adequate local supply, would cripple Aus- 

 tralia were a war to cut her off from petroleum. The 

 solution lies in the development of another motor fuel, 

 and alcohol is one which offers every promise of taking 

 the place of petrol at an early date. 



Alcohol is an excellent liquid fuel, and it is more 

 satisfactory than petrol, for, according to the authori- 



a thermal efficiency of 30 per cent, can be ob- 

 tained against 20 per cent, for petrol. This means a 

 reduction in the quantity of fuel used, and the cost 

 of running the engine. While Australia has no prima 

 facie cheap source of industrial alcohol, her molasses, 

 now wasted, is the best, but is not large enough. 

 Papua has in her Xipa palm a very large source of this 

 motor fuel. It has the advantage that it has been 

 used for the manufacture of alcohol in other countries. 



In the Philippines f not only is the sap collected from 

 the forests of wild Nipa palms, but this species is cul- 

 tivated for its sap, which is distilled into alcohol. It 

 has an advantage over grain, as it does not require 

 milling. It is a short palm, so that the fruit is at a 



ties, 



colour, the third also 



* Power alcohol. Bulletin of the Advisory Council & [ndnstry. Government 



Printer, Victoria, Australia, 

 t Brown, W. H., Minor Product* 



cultural Bureau, .Manila. 



of Philippine Forests. Vol. 1, p. 2-20, Agri* 



