October i, 1884.J THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST 



303 



East India Compauy, may then have had some found- I 

 atiou. And it may well be doubted whether such results 

 could now be obtained with our present timber— the pro- | 

 duee of free traffic— as for example such ships as the 

 English " Resolution" and " Canopus" which reached an 

 age respectively of 128' and si years, or as our Dutch 

 "Javaan launched in 1822 at Bandjar (Toeban, fiemoang) 

 as a corvette for the Colonial Navy, later long commanded 

 by ('apt. Dekker as a merchantman, and which after 50 

 years' service, requiring no repairs worth mentioning, was 

 engaged iu the Indian coasting-trade — whether now still 

 such temple-ruins, as Hitter mentions (Brdkunde, Asien. 

 IT, 813), of which teak beams had withstood, uninjured, 

 for more than a thousand years the open air and the in- 

 fluences of climate. With previous or timely orders, and 

 careful selection, this might, of course, be still possible, 

 but then at comparatively high prices, formerly unknown. 

 and with precautions of obtaining a gradual and equable 

 drying, formerly not even suspected, but now become 

 necessary by the evident modification which the climate 

 has undergone by successive-disforesting. These and sonic 

 other causes, taken collectively, render it at presenl im- 

 possible to furnish well-prepared timber at remunerative. 

 or even acceptable, prices, especially for ship-building pur- 

 poses. To this it is to be attributed that, among others, 

 the use of djati for this can no longer contend with 

 what it was formerly, and that we should be inclined to 

 deem earlier accouuts exaggerated, were not the contrary 

 satisfactorily attested. 



Yet the djati is still one of the best working woods 

 we are acquainted with, durable, hard, and yet not difficult 

 to work; more manageable, for instance, than good oak, 

 not easily injured, very equal and long of fibre, clastic, 

 and possessing great firmness and greater resistance to 

 strain than any European species of wood. 



Of all of these it most resembles oak, 'out is in genera] 

 of higher value, and has, especially for ship-building, a 

 very great advantage over oak, in that its specific gravity 

 is less. The djati has been tried repeatedly, and indifferent 

 periods and iu different places, as to its Specific gravity, 

 solidity and elasticity, the results were, as was to be expected, 

 rather various; but everything considered, more favourable 

 than of oak. Reckoning the solidity, power of resistance 

 against forces pressing vertically upon tin- direction of the 

 fibre, of the latter at 496 K.G. per e. M a then the djati 

 gives, according to the average of the trials made by Colonial 

 Von Deutsch, 52*18 K.G. and Dr. Nordlinger obtained still 

 higher figures. The last mentioned gentleman mentions 

 lin his " Eigenscbaf ten der Holzer." p. 367, 371) the teak- 

 wood in general as among the exceedingly elastic woods, 

 and among them the djati as surpassing all European 

 woods, ,v.c, built too upon the trials of Barlow, who taking 

 beams of equal dimensions (7 ft. long by 2 inches square) 

 supported at either end. found that the djati required a 

 weight of 425 27 K.G. in the middle to break it, while 

 Canada oak broke with 305T2 K.G. 



One of the most valued advantages, however, is the 

 specific gravity, which, though here too the trials diverge, 

 generally proved to be lighter than that of oak, stating 

 the latter on an average at 0'791. Dr. Nordlinger obtained, 

 as the average of his tests, 0680; Colonel von Deutsch 

 rather lower cyphers, (namely 0*659, 0'630 and 0'628 from 

 three scries of tests, — general average 0*639); .M.M. de 

 Bruijn 0*689, Delprat 0*692, Jordens 0*695*). Against 

 these stands the statement of Mr. de Keurenaar, who 

 fixed 810 i ? I 



Cordes in his in every respect trusty and elaborate 

 work, already quoted, adduces all the data and literature 

 on the subject, and adds graphic representations, also for 

 the illustration of further particulars, such as the con- 

 currence of a greater specific gravity with greater firm- 

 ness in one and the same sort of wood, at different I 

 of the same trunk, and some others, which tall beyond 

 our present limits, but taken all together constitute an 

 interesting whole. 



The cyphers given above, the consequently greater float- 

 ing power, the little liability of splitting when exposed to 

 climatic influences, all the other qualities already summed 

 up, justify the eminently favourable opinion prevailing iu 



* My own tests with Djati soeugoe and lenga, gave 

 60*69,121 as the average of a pretty large series. 



gen -nil about the Djati wood as a building and working 

 material, and for ship-building in particular, expressed every- 

 where and almost unanimously by good judges. Yet the 

 balance, cbe complete co-operatioa between the several 

 branches of production and industry, was not generally 

 attained by us, an I such was also the case with the tell. 

 ing of the djati. Most of the dimensions observed in 

 foiling answer indeed the purposes of the native ship- 

 building, but not those of European, and this is one of 

 the causes why it is so little used in Europe, ami es- 

 pecially in our Netherland shipbuilding yards. 



In conclusion I must observe that as with some other 

 verbanacere, the young shoots and leaves of the djati 

 contain a reddish brown dye, which is occasionally used 

 for dyeing wood. 



Java, at least the central part, and chiefly the eastern, 

 was originally overgrown with djati woods. 'The centuries 

 of misgpvernment, or rather of destruction by the native 

 population, the government, of Java came by degrees under 

 our rule, and we saw ourselves placed, with" regard to 

 these djati forests, or rather what remained ol them, 

 face to face with au intricate and comprehensive, but 

 especially for us, unknown-problem. There had been no 

 lack of counsels and hints — among .the rest of Mr. I'. G. 

 Van Overstiaeten, in 1791), and 'especially of D. Van 

 Hogendorp in 1799, nor of good and telling measures, 

 though abandoned by force of circumstances — those of 

 Daendels in 1808—1811. The disastrous results of the 

 succeeding half-century, the results of trials and regul- 

 ations in various directions, iu fact of neglecting aud 

 damaging the whole business, we will pass ovc . The ' 

 Governor-General Sloet van de Beele proclaimed by St. bid. 

 1865 No. 96, the " Ordonnantie" of Kith Sept. 1865, for the 

 management aud culture of the Forests of the Slate in 

 Java and Madura," in which the claims of private interest 

 were fully regarded, and the principle of free labour- 

 thus the abolishing of the blandong-system — was carried out. 

 In the very next St.bl. No. 97 was added to this 

 "Ordonnantie" a Manual for the cutting or felling, test- 

 ing and measuring of djati-wood "; and a "Manual for 

 the planting and training of dajati trees in the Forests 

 of the State, in Java and Madura. 



A turning point in the history of Forestry ! 

 Those "Orduittinnties," indeed, proved to have still many 

 shortcomings, hut the impulse was given, and the improve- 

 ments soon followed, contained in a number of amplific- 

 ations, and which soon ended in file withdrawal of the 

 "Ordonnantie" of 1865, and the promulgation of a new 

 "Ordonnantie" for forestry, containing a " Regulation for 

 the management and Culture of Forests in Java and 

 Madura. St.bl. 1874, No. 110." This was enacted by Decree 

 of 23rd March 1875, St.bl. 1874. No. 84, on May 1st 1875. 

 It is this Regulation that now governs the whole affair. 

 As principle was adopted : — 



"That the forests be distinguished into djati woods and 

 savage woods. 



" The djati-woods are all brought under a regular manage- 

 ment. 



" The cultivation of all the djati-woods, and of the wild- 

 wood forests brought under a regular management, takes 

 place by means of private industry in two ways: — 



a. With the free disposal of the wood by the planter. 



against a payment of a sum according to agreement; or 



/.. With delivery of the wood to the "Government. 



against payment to the o\vner of a fixed amount for 



expenses of cutting and conveyance per Cub. Metre ' 



The minutes of the condition upon which the cultiv- 

 ation of the Forests of the State iu Java anil Madura are 

 undertaken, are inserted in the Bijbladen No. 3,230 ami 

 3,389 while in St bids. L875 No. 119 and 1882 No. bill 

 some modifications were made in the Regulation. 



In preparing the "Ordonnantie" of 1865 a resolution 

 was passed in 1859 to have the djati forests surveyed 

 aud mapped out. In 1860 a Commission was appointed 

 for this purpose, who in 1871 were almost ready with 

 their task. The main result of this was that our Govern- 

 ment had the disposal of more than six millions of bunders 

 (6000 KM 2 ) of djati forest-land. If there were among 

 these unimportant, inacessible, or otherwise worthless por- 

 tions, yet on the other hand the regular Government 

 plantings, among which some of considerable value, were 

 not included 





