lys 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



[Oct. I, i8S6- 



NEW RAW ARTICLES OF COMMERCE :— KAPOK. 



(Australian Report.) 



PursuiiiDg the course adopted some time ago in 

 publishing a series of articles on some ''I^Jew Haw 

 Articles of Commerce " we thought that ;i brief 

 review and history of a commodity, which, from its 

 importance in Australian commerce, must be classed 

 among its most staple imports, may not be without 

 general interest. Possessed of the knowledge o' its 

 origin and sources of supply, about which there is 

 almost comparative ignorance, a few observations 

 thrown together on the subject may serve a useful 

 purpose in the encouragement of so important a 

 trade, and may possibly suggest some means of attempt- 

 ing to meet at least a part of the enormous demand 

 there is in these Colonies for it. 



Kapok is both a Malayan and Java term for the 

 Eriodfiidrom Anfractuosum and Gosmmphws Alba. It 

 belongs to the Bomhacttos family, of whicli there are 

 several allied orders known botanically as B;/ttneriave(P, 

 Ghfenaceoe and Ternstrcemiaceie, of whicli latte ■ family 

 the Boinha.v Gos.-iipinum belongs. Amongst the most 

 remarkable of the Bombacece family is the Baobab, 

 the largest known tree in ihe wo Id, whose trunk 

 measures 90 feet in circumference a.id the Durian of 

 the Indian Archipelago, the most delicious of all 

 fruits, also the Qua tier {Bombax JLalabaricum) so 

 extensively planted iu India as a shade tree. In 

 their growth and products there is very little differ- 

 ence, nil are intertropical and exogenous, jjerhaps uo 

 trees in the world have a more loftj' and imposing 

 appearance, the untutored children of Africa are so 

 struck with the majesty of their appearance, Ihat 

 they designate them the god-tree, and account it 

 sacrilege to injure tlieni with the axe, they are also 

 remarkable for their splendid inflorescence, their 

 capsules on bursting display a flocculent substance 

 often mistaken by tra\'ellers for cotton, and the tree 

 hence called Cotton Tree, but as the substance is 

 more silky than cotton, it has been distinguished by 

 the name of Silk Cotton, or as more generally known 

 in Eastern and Australian commerce. Kapok. 



The fibre most imported here is of moderate length, 

 although some varieties are short, remarkably elastic 

 but unfortunately so very tender that it may be said 

 not to possess any staple. It was first brought into 

 notice in Europe on the occasion of the (rreat Ex- 

 hibition of 1851, beyond being recommended for 

 upholstery purposes, and in combination with other 

 substances iu the manufacture of mixed fabrics, to 

 wliich there were many practical obstacles, it was 

 generally considered as possessing little or no value, 

 consequently it was looked on with distrust, " it was 

 not in the market,"' '"Brokers did not know it," 

 uo pains were taken with it, and from want of 

 attention the article never gained more than noticf;. 

 In Holland it grew rapidly into favor, and until the 

 Australian Colouies became a customer, that country 

 was the only market for it. At the late Amsterdaiii 

 Exhibition it shared a much better fat.^ than when 

 exhibited iu IbSl, it was described a-s "vegetable 

 wool," commanded considerable notice from .all classes, 

 and was valued at a very high figure. The effect of 

 this exhibition was to excite the attention of mer- 

 chants in .lava, India and Ceylon to the article, for 

 almost up to this time its (|ualities and capabilities 

 remained unknown or so badly neglected that little 

 or no progress was made in it, large cousignin(!n(s 

 were made to Europe and to these Colonies, but the 

 residt so far as Kuropc; is concerned, placing Holland 

 aside, .seems not to have been encouraging. 



The extraordinary success which has .attended its 

 introduction, or literally .speaking its est:iblishm;iit 

 into Australian commerce, is, perhaps, without saying 

 too much, without a parallel, for only those who 

 have tried it know the difficulties of introducing a 

 new article of trade however good, tr.iders an 1 

 manufacturers cling with teoacity to old customs 

 and practices, and have almost a thorough disinclin- 

 ation to entertain new substances or new processes, 

 hence the rapid and increasing demand for the 

 product ig unmistakable evidenc(! of tin- favourable 



maimer it has been received by merchauts, the 



furniture trades aud the general public. 



It is now abo'-t fifteen years ago .since the first 

 shipment of Java kapok came to this market; but 

 in couse(iuence of the trade in it at Java being con- 

 fined to Dutch and native hands, i-egular shipments 

 were not kept up, and, when they did arrive, it was 

 only in small lots; consequently, the trade was so 

 unimpo;taut as not to deserve more than notice 

 here, except a passing reference to one or two 

 eventful facts in connection with it. The price which 

 it fetched in those days must have been different 

 from now, for it is said that the purchasers of the 

 first consignment netted a profit of .1^7,000 on the 

 transaction. 8o firmly did it establish itself with 

 t'le trade on its introduction, that when supplies were 

 not regularly forthcoming they sought out a substitute. 

 Various fibres were experimented upon, aud much 

 valuable information obtained, till, at last the trade 

 settled down to the use of " Pulu," from the Sandwich 

 Islands, which grew rapidly into favor; but after a 

 few years" trial, though not until the trade had assumed 

 considerable dimensions, was it found to be totally 

 unfit for bedding and upholstery purposes. In a very 

 she -t t "me it went to dust ; in fact it possessed a^ 

 peculiar property of dry decomposition until nothing 

 w j,s left, thus pulu had a short but curious history, 

 being of a fibrous silky .substance. It was thought 

 to be of the same order as kapok; but au examin- 

 ation of the plant proved it to be of the Cibotium 

 species, a quite distinct family altogether from the 

 Bomhax, and possessing none of its elasticity aud 

 durability. In proof of the lasting qualities of kapok, 

 we have to relate that i-ecently a pillow was shown 

 us by a gentleman in this city, who was a non- 

 commissioned officer in the imperial service engaged 

 in the Mahratta war of 1S43, who on noticing the 

 tree, picked sufficient of the fibre to fill a pillow-case, 

 which has been in constant use ever since (43 years), 

 and still retains its elasticity and fulness, and who 

 assures us he has fouud nothing so cool or healthful 

 to sleep on in warm climates as this article. Such test- 

 imony is most valuable. It was not until the year of the 

 Melbourne Exhibition (1881) that the first .shipments 

 arrived from India and Ceylon. It is diflicult to 

 obtain reliable statistics concerning the trade, for 

 there appears to have been a determination, which by 

 some houses is maintained to this day, on the part of 

 shippers and local merchauts to keep the whole thing 

 a secret, ^^^e find it catered at the local Customs 

 under all manner of names, such as •' vegetable fibre," 

 "vegetable wo)l," "silk cotton," •'•tree cotton," "raw 

 cotton," and " Simool cotton." Even now, all the im- 

 ports from India aud Ceylon are entered at the Cus- 

 toms either as raw or Simool cotton ; oidy the Java 

 imports are described as kapok. 



Tabulating all the values described under the above 

 headings passed through the Customs in 1881-2-3 the 

 trade seems not to have been followed up or pro- 

 secuted to any great measure of success, it may be 

 said that no decisive and important progress was 

 made with it luitil the year 1884, when the firm of 

 Messrs. Catherwood, "Welsby and Co. of this city went 

 largely and solely into the trade, Mr. E. A. Cather- 

 wood when passing through Ceylon in 18S3 became 

 attracted by the article, and at once perceived its 

 economic uses^ and the future there must be for it. 

 On retuiiiing to V^ictoria his firm entered with zeal 

 upon the trade, and it is due to Mr. Catherwood's 

 foresight and tenacity of purpose, as well, perb;ips. 

 to his firm's enterpri.-.iiig aud venturous spirit for the. 

 wonderful development Ijy leaps and boULuls the trade 

 has assunied today. IS'ot only may it Ite said with 

 truth that Messrs. Cathtrwood, Welsby and Co. ccmtrol 

 the market throughout .\ustralia aud New ;^ealand, 

 but also the Java maricet their large purchases abroad 

 arc not oidy felt ou the spot, but have a correspond- 

 ing effect <ui the market in Holland. Hail i', not been 

 for the heavy piachases of tliis iMelboiu-ue fir)u, it 

 would have been a sorry time for both .Java and 

 Holland, at the opening of the last seison December 

 1884, Holland had stored up in its warehouses 12,000 

 bales with a strong "ring" formed by dealers to bear 



