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Available Foreign Hardwoods 



SEVENTH ARTICLE 



HARDWOODS OF AUSTRALIA 



Editor's Note 



I'ollowins is tbe last of a series of articles on foreiKn hardwoods available for use in this country. The first 

 covered hardwoods available in the Central American countries; the second covered hardwoods available in South 

 American countries: the third covered hardwoods of Africa; the fourth covered hardwoods of Ceylon; tbe fifth cov- 

 ered hardsvoods of Burma and India, and the sixth covered hardwoods of Hawaii. 



The hardwood forests of Australia are exceedingly rieli in trees of 

 economic importance. The average American looks upon Australia 

 as a sparsely populated island Avhose two chief commodities are gold 



tp:.sms lo.vded with .tktty i'ill:.s uf r.i.ui: ia.\i 



and wool. Many will be surprised to learn that the continent of 

 Australia is appro.ximately as large as the United States, exdusivi- 

 of Alasiia, and when it is mentioned that there is an estimated 

 area of 47,000,000 acres covered witli mar- 

 ketable timber on the Australian louti 

 nent, one can readily see that it has con- 

 siderable claim as a timber-producing 

 country. In eastern Australia are vast 

 stretches of prairie land similar to those 

 in the Middle West. The forests are con- 

 fined chiefly to western Australia. In >few 

 South Wales, the supply of timber is said 

 to be practically inexhaustible. Here the 

 forests are vast and at the same time 

 workable. The entire coast washed by the 

 Pacific ocean is covered with gigantic 

 timber trees. Notwithstanding this enor- 

 mous supply of native timber, vast quanti- 

 ties of lumber are annually shipped into 

 Australia from New Zealand, Puget Sound. 

 Scandanavia, and other parts of the Bal- 

 tic. The timber which Australia secures 

 from other countries consists mostly of 

 pine, spruce afld some fir, used for con- 

 struction work in which is required ma- 

 terial that is light in weight, yet strong 

 and durable. Practically all the easily 

 accessible native timbers of Australia are 

 very licavy, hard, and in a number of 

 cases, very difficult to work. 



—so- 



Repeated efforts were made in the past by transportation com- 

 panies to introduce Australian forest products into this and other 

 countries, and the one great hindrance to a continued successful 

 shipment of timber to foreign ports is the 

 great dead weight of these hardwoods. It 

 has been ascertained that this is one of the 

 principal things against their profitable 

 shipment at current prices. The New South 

 Wales government furnished the following 

 weights for its chief commercial timbers: 



Blackbutt 0G.G9 lbs. per cubic toot 



Tallowwood 72. 9G * 



I!luo L:um G9.34 



Malui^auy 75.06 



Spotted gum 02.19 



Iron bark 73.85 



rurpentinc 69.30 



Uecch 63.03 



Red cedar 29.00 



There are on an average 281 i^j cubic feet 

 to a ton. It has been found that the freight 

 on full cargoes of 3inch planks used for 

 making paving blocks is prohibitive, unless 

 big jirices can be obtained. The freight 

 on one cubic meter of sawn paving blocks 

 is alout $3.1 from any point in Australia 

 to Philadelphia or New York. The cost of 

 idacing the wood pavement of native pine 

 is generally calculated to be about $2.50 

 or $3.00 per square meter, but it is esti- 

 mated, by using Australian timber, that 



the cost will be about $4.50 or $5.00. 

 The virgin forests now existing are largely tributary to unsheltered 



harbors, with bad bars and dangerous open roadsteads, where only 



PIT SAWYEUS SAWING RED GDM TIES 



