94© 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST, 



fjotffi t, 1885, 



Those roots are generally very bitter, and it is prob- 

 able that, if examined by a competed ch< 

 would be found to possess medicinal virtues*)! no 



° There arc numberless patches of cleared land, new 

 covered with strong crops of.lalang grass for no use 

 whatever apparently. These have been abandoned as 

 gambler and pepper plantations. Tho Chinese cultivators 

 do not use manure, because it is scarce ami far to carry, 

 so alter exhausting the soil, they seek for fresh forest, 

 where they begin anew to fell, burn, and destroy, then 

 plant gambier and some pepper* and repeat the-operatum 

 of taking aU tho pith out of the soil, and so go on from 

 generation to generation. Those patches are everywhere 

 ,„. I with within reasonable distance of water, and might 

 easily be utilised for the cultivation of tea or other pro- 

 ducts, after they have lain fallow for some years. 

 Nearly the whole of the interior of Johor is 

 virgin forest, and as there are no roads beyond a short 

 distance from the sea-board, and from the banks of the 

 rivers, there is no likelihood of the wealth of timber, 

 now locked up, being available, as it is well known that 

 timber beyond a certain distance from water carnage 

 will not pay tho expense of cutting and haulage. Near 

 the banks of the river, for some distance inland, ihe 

 land has been denuded of timber, principally by the 

 Chinese, whose clearaucesare of a wholesale character; all falls 

 before their axe; when sufficiently dry the wood is set 

 lire to, and everything is consumed. On the laud so cleared 

 eambier (terra japonic*) is .cultivated, and generally a 

 Quantity of black pepper, the vines being manured by 

 the spent leaves of the gambler. Two-thirds of all the 

 cambier exported from Singapore is raised on the Johor 

 territory. Each gambler plantation has its own cooking 

 place, SO that a large patch of forest IS required for fire- 

 wood used in the manufacture, which is of tho simplest 

 kind- the leaves are boiled and the juice inspissated poured 

 into 'shallow moulds when it congeals, it is then cut into 

 cubes about an inch square, put into bags and sent to 

 market where it is generally repacked, pressed and is 

 then ready for shipment. It is used for tanning, dyeing, 

 dressing silk, and a little is used in medicine Both gam- 

 bier and pepper have risen in price of late. Great Britain 

 and her Colonies, America and the Continent of Europe 

 are the principal markets. _ ' . ■ 



The magnitude and grandeur of those forests, viewed 

 from the summit of a mountain called Gmiong Filial 

 about twelve miles from Johor Bharu, fills the mind with 

 a feeling of something approaching to awe. It IS no ex- 

 aggeration to say that there exist millions of trees of 

 all shades of verdure; there they grow 111 silent solitude, 

 there they spring up, attain to hoary old age, drop, and 

 decay, others taking their place, and running their course 

 in rapid succession. The sizes of these trees vary greatly, 

 and are, generally speaking, from 1 to 8 feet in dia- 

 meter, and from 30 to 150 feet high. Specimens of ooO 

 kinds are in the Forestry Exhibition. Ihe useful kinds 

 are extensively used for local works and for exportation; 

 China, India, 'and Mauritius being the principal markets, 

 but considerable parcels are sent to the Dutch Colonics, 

 Batavia and other parts of. Java,and to Sumatra, Australia, 

 New Zealand and other places. Little has been sent to 

 Europe as yet: the difficulties are cost of freight and 

 prejudice against using a new kind of timber. Sooner 

 or later a trade will be done in some of the best kinds, 

 Facn wbaHou Isometimes called Johor teak), and camphor- 

 wood, both of bhese sorts hi ?ing been mtb 

 ... .i. ,,, -. i n foil 1 th bi| ' ■ : p-a 1 



purposes where get • ■ ' 



cellenl f* te b ? 



■ seel . ^; a ' ani l 



I. The. 1 an highl - steemed 



i„ i ib 1' ' :: ' " ' : '. w «ght in 



silv, , bh I is i" ; '■ i; ' th( inferior kund-i 



range from 5 dollars to 50 dollars pi catt; . .. lb.), 

 It is not every tree that yields gum 01 ill, 

 costliness. The natives of the Malay Peninsula use a 

 peculiar language whilst searching for the trees containing 

 this precious substance. It is a large tree, sometimes 

 measuring 6 feet in diameter, and attaining a height of 



5,50 feet H is known to wi e men 



■■ rueia classed 1 



to be confounded with the Qamphora lairms, which is 

 more a shrub than a tree, the champhof of which is 

 . , ■ ,\ from the 1 bi d too iling On cool- 



ing it solidifies. This is about fifty times cheaper. 



: wc get in the shops in this country. It is the 

 product, of Formosa, China, Japan, and Oosbih China. 

 It readily evaporates. Tho JCapnv Bairns does nut, it 

 being a natural gum. 



It ought to have been noted that the Ballon is not 

 yet classified; it appears to be a link between teak and 

 greeuhart ; partaking of some of the. best qualities of 

 both. It has been greatly sought after and is now 0. - 

 coming scarce and dear. 



At one time a species of Hnpet was very abundant. 

 It is a good useful wood, and at present a great variety 

 of sorts of the same order are being sold under the name 

 t trayah or Serai. It still exists in quantity in the 

 interior of the forests, but all near the banks of rivers 

 have disappeared either from tho ruthless clearing of the 

 Chinese planter or the axe of the Malay wood-cutter. 

 It yields good planks for house building and general pur- 

 poses, masts and spars. 



It is also known as Johor cedar. Billion and Kranje 

 f UialivonindcumJ are most durable woods,- but no longer 

 to be had in quantity. 



Mirabov) (Afcelia palembanica) is an excellent wood, and 

 is used for furniture and ship-building. It is easy to 

 work, and, like the others already mentioned, stands a 

 grent breaking strain, and is also proof against the 

 attacks of white ants. It polishes well. 



Ebony, slow of growth, is small and scarce. Ballon- Bungah, 

 a yellow wood with some figure, is adapted for furniture- 

 making. Buitanr/or, or I'oon (Calophyllvm inophylhm), 

 good, useful wood, not so hard or heavy as the fore- 

 going kinds, is extensively used for masts, spars, scaf- 

 folding poles, &c. _ 



Byass, brass brass, manyas, merauti puteh,&nd a hoi id- 

 red others, are too soft for general purposes, but perhaps 

 all of them might suit for couvertion into pulp for tho 

 paper-maker, who, when he visits Johor, will find an un- 

 limited supply of raw material at a very low cost. 



There, are many sorts of the same species. The tree 

 called madany comprises madana sirayah, katanda, sisik, 

 tandok, trawas, kumyit, paom, pittih, batu, barony, possah, 

 sama, koh, kladi, and aboo. 



Meranti, a soft poon, varies in colour and quality; of 

 it there are half a dozen sorts. 



Maraboo Ian and Ghnngal are impracticable woods, very 

 difficult to saw, but easily wrought with edge-tools. They 

 bend a long way before breaking, suggesting their useful- 

 ness for gig shafts, carriage poles, fishing rods, &c. TJaroo, 

 a dopi/tes species has an agreeable smell, stands well if 

 kept all dry or all wet. 



The forests contain timber trees adapted for house and 

 ship-building and general purposes and some kinds admir- 

 ably suited for railway sleepers ;_ these could be supplied 

 in large quantities at various prices. The costlier kinds 

 would last for a generation; 6ome of the best sorts arc 

 almost indestructible. Nowhere could such a variety be 

 obtained suitable for use on Indian railways. 



It is desirable that the Johor timber trees should be 

 named and classed botanically. No botanist has ever spent 

 much time in Johor, so an interesting field is open to the 

 first who goes there. 



The sea-worm, or Teredo navalis like the Xi/ophaya 



dorsaiis in salt water, and the white ant (Termite) on 



shore, are tho two chief agents in the destruction of 



timber within the tropics. The first attacks wooden ships, 



.', od< 1 ft, piles, &c>, unless sheathed 



with copper or son..' other metal. i f lives whereyei the 



atei is brackish. It outers timbor wh< making 



a hole i.o bifjgi : hat pin : d It apidly grows and 



increases in number* until it atti size of one's 



little finger, and measures from to it inche* long. By 



t'i me it arrives at these dhnensi he tree, boat, 



ip in whisb it has been committing its ravages must 



he otti ■ ' i I ri " ocean, Thej arc not lo g 



lived. It is said to ba mi like many 



other low forms of life, is very prolific.- A writer in 



" Woods and Forests " says s single one deposits from one 



. threi lilliom oi ggs in a i 01 Rain or 



ire U. *atei kills thi heir 



