i§ 



fan -fmPiCAL AGmcvtttjm^f. 



[JvLY i, i986. 



kinds and dimensions will also cause a bn«!ker trade 

 in Australia, and thereby lessen ihe freight and the 

 co!=t as better means of obtaining these dimensions 

 are discovered. 



Foremost amongst the Eucalypts, of which a couple 

 of hundred species are known in Australia, the great 

 home for the whole Myrtle family, stands the Jarrah 

 tree (E, Marginata) of AVestern Australia, where it 

 is found on the ironstone ranges along the cost. The 

 exact extent of the .vast forest containing Jarrah 

 timber cannot be exactly ascertained, as this tree 

 gradually gives room for other trees, but Baron von 

 Miillor, the celebrated botanist, maintains that the 

 bt U stretches from the Collie River as the southern 

 boundary as far as the Hershel ranges in a width 

 of varying size. The wood is brownish, and if taken 

 from dense forest of a straight and even texture, 

 hard, resinous, closely grained, and particularly from 

 rocky ground of an oily appearance. It receives a 

 fine finish and polish, and shipbuilders prefer it to 

 teak and oak. This wood is exceedingly durable, but 

 its chief ^nrtue consists in the now recognized fact 

 that it resists the attack of the "teredo navalis " as 

 well as that of other insects destructive to timber 

 in exposed positions. It is therefore extremely well 

 suited for piles, wharves, railway sleepers, and 

 telegraph poles, and as it also resists the attack of 

 fungi or rot caused by putrid water, it should find a 

 prominent place as wood pavement. In Australia it 

 is a common theory that vessels built of this wood 

 do not require copperplating, a fact only men- 

 tioned to show that it resists animal or organic 

 parasitical life. India has alreadj' during several de- 

 cades been monopolizing this tree for railway sleepers, 

 and a great export trade has long taken place from 

 Perth to various places in India. On the south-eastern 

 part of Australia is found a congener, called the 

 Bastard Jarrah {E. hdtri/oides), which resembles the 

 Jarrah, but its wood is not so durable or oily and 

 does not le.sist the attacks of insects so well. The 

 Bastard Jarrah is found in Gippsland, in the colony 

 of Victoria, where it forms fine forests. It grows 

 taller and furnishes straighter and larger dimensions 

 than the Jarrah, and though not so durable as that 

 tree is still a most valuable timber tree. In Western 

 Australia there were about thirty saw-mills in 1882, 

 and most of these were only employed on the Jarrrah 

 for sleeper-cutting. 



The next in rank should be the Red Gum {E. 

 rostrata), on account of its durability when used for 

 underground work. This tree is a native of Southern 

 Australia, where it is found on river flats, in swamps, 

 and on the plains. The wood is reddish, resinous, 

 hard, works well, and receives a high degree of 

 polish. Ship-builders utilize it extensively for all purpo- 

 ses wheie stiength and hardness are required. If used 

 for planks the wood should be steamed befcre use. This 

 tree is being cuttiv<ited largely in Algiers, and it will 

 not be many years before its presence there will 

 make itself felt on the flats at Lacaile, and near Bona, 

 where this tree seems to prosper and grow exceedingly 

 well, but no information is as yet to hand about its 

 timber value. For railway sleepers it is extremely 

 well suited, and even in very awkward positions it 

 has been known to last for upwards of 23 years be- 

 fore showing sig!;8 of decay. Also for wood pavement 

 this timb. r should be utilized ; aud as it resists the 

 attacks of insects nearly as well as the Jarrah, it 

 should take a prominent place in importation for 

 that purpose. To this class belong also the so-called 

 "Flooded Gums " of South Australia and New South 

 Wales, but as transport to the seaports is difficult, 

 and they do not play a very prominent part, they 

 are only mentioned here. 



There are many more valuable Eucalypts, but I 

 will not wearj' the reader with their names aud 

 descriptions, and only remark that amongst them are 

 found the hardest and most durable woods known, 

 for experience has shown that some of them aie 

 practically everlasting as fencing posts and sleepers, 

 wear and tear, of course excepted. The large giant 

 tree, the stringybark (ij. obliqua), furnishes immense 

 4imeii&iou9 of a li^bt Resile wopd, u»f tU for sbiogles, , 



rails, &c., and when it becomes more known, perHaps 

 some more paying use might ba found for it, while 

 some of the mahogany Eucalypts furnish beautiful 

 wood for cabinet-making and ornamental work. With 

 the present facilities for transport it is a curious fact 

 that these timber trees are so little known in the timbei- 

 market, where they ought to take a very prominent 

 place, and it is also curious that the greatest part 

 of these woods are exported to India and to America, 

 while Europe kuow.s little or nothing about them. 

 The most practical way to test the value of these 

 timber trees would most likely be to form a company 

 of timber merchants to deal with the matter, and 

 then, after having communicated with the various 

 agent-generals in Loudon to send a practical man out 

 to make himself acquainted with the various places 

 and to form business acquaintance with the saw-mill 

 owners, so as to secure a supply of good tipjber to 

 throw on the market. I have no doubt that the 

 public would back such an effort, and I feel sure that 

 the Australian colonies would, singly and collectively, 

 do their utmost to aid the success of the undertaking, 

 whereby everybody would be a gainer. 



The next important Eucalypt .should be the Karri 

 of Western Australia {E. diversi color, Miieller) ou 

 account of the large dimensions of a straight even- 

 grained timber which it furnishes. This timber is 

 much sought for masts and ship-building, and is not 

 so heavy as the before mentioned, but of a lighter 

 and more elastic character. The tree is of a rapid 

 growth and reaches a great height and considerable 

 girth. In the valleys and on the flats in South-west 

 Australia colossal Karries are found, frequently reach- 

 ing a height of 300 to 400 feet aud a girth of 40 

 to 50 feet about 6 feet from the ground, liut it is 

 rarely found except in mixture with other Eucalypts. 

 Most important is also the so-called Ironbark tree 

 (£". Lev.coxylon) found mostly in Southern Australia, 

 although it does not furnish such large dimensions 

 as the above named. The wood of this tree is close 

 grained, firm, and of remarkable elasticity and dura- 

 bility. Carpenters, ship-builders, and wheel -wrights 

 use it, and for treenails, rudder stocks, belaying pins, 

 blocks, &c., as well as for wheels, spokes, &c., it 

 cannot be surpassed. There are already several saw- 

 mills at work, and there is room for many more, as 

 the supply is very great. For axe handles and handles 

 in general it excels the hickory {Carj/a alba) both 

 as regards durability and elasticity, and as this 

 valuable tree prefers a rocky, stony ground it will 

 most likely be cultivated to a very large extent on 

 the otherwise useless ranges. This tree has received 

 some attention in Algier.";, whence it may confidently 

 be expected that a good supply will be obtained be- 

 fore manj' years. The Ironbarks of New South 

 Wales and Queensland furnish also most valuable 

 timber of this kind, and will, no doubt, be cultivated 

 largely as soon as the demand for them arises ; but 

 the ignorance of the European market with regard 

 to them has caused them to be but little appreciated 

 as yet, and consequently the forests have not been 

 properly protected. — I'hiihei- Trad.es Jvuraal. 



TEA IN JAPAN, 



Through the courtesy of Messrs. J. M. Robertson 

 k, Co. we have been enabled to Jnspect several models 

 of Japanese tea machinery aud implements which have 

 been procured by Mr. Drummoud Deane and which 

 are to be eventually present"d to the Colombo Musuem. 

 These miniature models are very neatly executed in 

 the material from which the originals are made, the 

 basket-work and sieves been really pretty specimens 

 of workmanship, and are worthy the inspection of 

 those who take an interest in knowing how the Jap- 

 anese manipulate their produce. It may also be of 

 interest to give some information as to the whole 

 coui-se of tea cultivation and manufacture in Japan, 

 The plantations are opened in similar localities to those 

 we have in Ceylon, the only difference apparently 

 being that on steep land the slope is cut into terraces 

 to prevent wash, A gently undulating country is pre* 



