654 JOURNAL OF FORESTRY 



of work, considering the short time the conservator has been em- 

 ployed, the small amount of funds available, and the difficulties of 

 tropical forest explanation. 



A very interesting table is also appended, giving the Borneo trade 

 names of the timbers and their equivalents in the markets of the 

 Philippine Islands, Singapore, Federated Malay States, and in other 

 parts of Borneo. The second part of the report considers the various 

 minor forest products of the island forests. Among those enumerated 

 and described are rattans, cutch (mongrove tannin extract), edible 

 birds' nests, gutta-percha, india rubber, damar, and camphor. The 

 importance of these products to Borneo is shown by a table of exports 

 for the last thirty years. The total export of jungle products for this 

 period was approximately 8 million dollars and this does not include 

 timber. The timbers exported during this period were valued at ap- 

 proximately 5 million dollars. This statement presents a very at- 

 tractive side of tropical forest administration. The forester in these 

 regions should be able to manage, protect, and develop his forests with 

 the revenue derived from the minor products, these light valuable 

 products permitting a long haul by canoe or on the backs of men or 

 animals over forest trails. The distant ports of the forests can thus 

 be brought under control long before the timbers can be profitably 

 harvested. 



The bulletin is an extremely interesting and creditable publication. 

 We congratulate the author and the conservator on its appearance. 

 It shows what a few well-trained men can do in a few years to bend 

 the tropical jungle to man's service. The world will draw from the 

 tropics, year by year, an ever-increasing amount of timber, both for 

 ordinary construction and for ornamental purposes. That these forests 

 are abundantly able to meet the demands of temperate wood users 

 is shown by the following quotation from Dr. Foxworthy in this 

 bulletin: "A popular opinion seems to obtain that the bulk of the 

 forest is composed of timbers which are heavier than water. This is 

 a very mistaken notion, as a little more than 50 per cent of the volume 

 of standing timber is contained in trees whose logs will float when first 

 cut." This statement will come as a surprise to many in the profession 

 who have not followed closely recent investigations of tropical timbers. 



H. M. CURRAN. 

 Yale Forest School. 



