170 



cniKi). There are two species of Garcinia — one with Of the above ; melila is reputed durable in the ground, 



a fairly large, and the other with a plum-sized fruit. Kasi kasi has a tremendous reputation for resisting 

 Neither is really pleasant, though one can imagine that shipworm, but this seems confined to the eastern end. 

 the bio-bio, with a century or so of cultivation, might It grows equally well in the west and in the north, 

 become another mangosteen. The bread fruit (Arto- 

 carptis incisa) of the forests has large nuts embedded 

 in the fruit, and when roasted thev have a chestnut- 

 like taste. The nut less cultivated variety has been 

 introduced here and there, but is not common. 



The natives eat the fruits of the cycad (Cycas media), 

 but they have to prepare them by letting them stand 

 in running water for some weeks. They do the same 



but the two common mangroves are usually preferred by 

 I he natives, and in the Central Division the paper 



in 

 bark of the swamps is esteemed by the JMotuan though 

 he will usually build his villages on the sea on props 



He is not a very energetic being and 

 the mangrove is close to hand, which may account 

 for his custom. The resistance that melaleuca shows 

 to the shipworm may be due to its layers of bark 



of mangrove. 



with the fruit of No. 12 — hodova (Tcrminilia sp.), and which seem to adhere very firmly. In the absence of 



the kernel has a rather pleasant taste. But these are 



really more or less dried nuts, and there is no doubt 

 that of all the nuts, ckari comes first. This is the 

 fruit of Terminal ia okari. which vields a big nut con- 

 taming a fine almond-flavoured desert kernel. Its 

 habitat is low down on the flats. It has two species 

 closely allied to it — Terminalia catappa, often called 

 galep nut, Java almond, or plain almond tree. It 

 grows wild behind or in the beach forest, and is also 

 cultivated in Port Moresby, Samarai, and other 

 divisional headquarters, and at Finsch Eafen. Its nut 

 is not as good as the okari. The other is No. 36 — 

 Okaka — which yields a small edition of the okari nut, 

 with the same taste. 



The cabbage tree, No. 80 {Gnetum sp.) not only 

 yields an edible leaf, which is a substitute for cabbage 

 if picked young enough, but also 



natives like. T have already mentioned that this species 

 yields a good bast fibre, so it is a valuable little tree. 



Betel nut. — A reca sp. — should 

 stimulant, not food. 



a fruit which 



5 



the 



be regarded 



as a 



It is universally chewed by the 

 natives, and while they prefer the introduced species, 

 which is cultivated all round the coast, they 



seem to 

 derive much pleasure from the indigenous" betel, of 

 which there are certainly two species, if not more. 



I have seen one edible fig, and that was not very 

 nice, though the natives seemed to enjoy it. 



One of the climbers yields nuts that have walmit- 

 like kernels which are good eating. 



The fruits of the raspberries — Tiubus moluecanus and 



//. rosaef otitis — and allied species are edible, and that 

 is all. //. mohircanus is found more plentifully in the 



lowl 



I 



and /i. row f alius in the 



of the 



amis, ,ui(i /i . ru*n< foi i us m me openings 

 upper fool hills and lower mid-mountain forests, from, 

 say, 4,000 to 12,000 feet. Others occur in the alpine 

 grasslands, and were collected 1 by Sir William 



MacGregor.* 



The two wild oranges described by P. M. Bailey {set 



Annual Report, 1900-1901) Citrus papuana and C. 

 Wnrhnnjutiui, and which are common enough in the 

 lowlands might prove good stock for better fruiting 

 species. Their fruits are not nice to eat. The fruits 

 of No. 27 — Uri — is quite appreciated around Port 

 -Moresby. It is said to be a lady's fruit, but I have 

 seen male natives enjoy it too. The wild cucumber is 

 about the only salad fruit obtainable in ihe bush. The 

 wild mainroe — Maanitera minor — vmlrl^ f]^ e usual 



all unculti- 



mangoe- 



Muni fit era 



yields 



like 



minor— 



st ringy and I urpentine-t ast ing fruil 



vated mangoes. 



Dukabi.k Timbers. 



No comprehensive tests having been carried out on 

 the timbers of Papua to prove the degree of resistance 

 thai they possess to destruction by insect and fungus 

 attack, I must fall back on the inadequate trials made 

 with certain woods by natives, whose word has 

 accepted by white men. There are four woods accepted 

 as duiable in Papua, and thev are: — 



1. Melila, Afzelia bijuga, 



2. Kasi kasi, possibly Xylacarpus sp. 



3. Paper bark, Melaleuca sp. 



4. Mangroves, Rhyzophora sp. and Bruguiera sp. 



• R Bulletin, 189», Nos. i.M-152; also Ann tra I Report, Now Guinea, 



1897-1808, i>|». 4<-.»0. ' 



been 



comparative tests of barked and un barked jjiles it is 

 impossible to prove this point. In the case of kasi 

 kasi I have been shown piles which have been twelve 

 years in harbour works and were still sound. I have 

 also been shown others riddled with shipworm after 

 three years. 



It may, I think, be generally accepted that while 

 many timbers are durable in the ground ashore, none 

 is really durable in harbour works. Some are slightly 

 resistant to shipworm, and that is all one can say. 

 The general practice is to substitute soft woods which 

 can be heavily impregnated with creosote rather than 

 rely on the inherent hardness or other natural durable 

 qualities of a wood. Unfortunately even the alleged 

 durable salt water timbers are of little service, for 

 they grow to no length, and are therefore of use only 

 for small jetties and shallow harbour works generally. 

 Long timbers suitable for Port Moresby jetty are not 

 procurable in the Territory except at a much heavier 

 cost than the piles bought in Australia. This is, of 

 course, due to an entire absence of timber organiza- 

 tion for the 80-feet piles are in the forest, but there 

 is no means of getting them out except by the brute 

 strength and awkwardness of gangs of natives. 



All harbour work wood 



should be sheathed with 

 metal however durable the timbers are said to be, and 

 in waters such asi these the sooner permanent stone 

 and concrete harbour works are substituted the better. 

 In the Mandated Territory Afzelia bijuga, under the 

 name of kwila or ironwood, is considered very durable, 



and next to it, Pteroearpus indicus, which is certainly 



lasting in the ground though subject to dry rot be- 

 tween wind and water. 



The mangroves are not counted as durable as piles, 

 and so the harbour works of Rabaul are built of New 

 South Wales woods. Paper bark does not occur in the 

 Territory, nor did I see any kasi kasi. 



For home props, ahsang, Vitex cofasstos, is used in 

 Lavongai and New Ireland, but elsewhere this excel- 

 lent canoe paddle and oar wood is not deemed durable. 



Gnetum gnemon affin. is counted durable in river 

 water, I saw it so used in the Markham for a jetty. 



On land the tests of melila seem to be generally 

 accepted, and house props of this wood are always 

 used by white people, if procurable at all. It is highly 

 probable that there are large numbers of woods that 

 resist the white ant and fungus disease as well as 

 melila. Their discovery would be a boon to planters 

 as at present there is often some trouble to get the 

 necessary poles, piles or beams. I would recommend 

 that test pieces of the more common woods be planted 

 in a position well known to be subject to attacks, and 

 they be examined from time to time. Certain planta- 

 tion managers have discovered durable pole woods, and 

 these might be tested also; e.g., the wood used for 

 house props in the S 



ogeri district, and the one used 

 by Mr. McDonald on the Vailala. Botanical specimens 

 should be collected from the same tree from which the 



pecimen was cut so that the tree may be identified 

 and scientifically fixed. Natives' views regarding dura- 

 bility must be accepted with caution, as in the matter 

 of the number of trees on an area of reputed forest 



rill say "plenty" meaning more than he can co 



he 



count 



conveniently, say three, and so with the years that a 

 pile will stand. 



