Till-: |;L.\( K WATTLK INDrSTRN. 283 



ated crops unthinned, takino^ the best trees out of the plantations 

 as they become lit. and leaving- the balance to struggle on till 

 tit — a practice long since condemned here as unsatisfactory. In 

 other places, bark is being realised as wattle is cleared for agri- 

 culture. But there are Australians so satisfied with these 

 methods that in the past the export of such ])roduct -to Europe 

 used to run to thousands of tons per annum, and being fairlv 

 mature, usually fetched a good price, whereas now the im{X)rt 

 into Australia from South .\frica is running to thousands of tons, 

 and the .Australian ( lovernments are being urged by their con- 

 stituents to ])lace an imjxjrt duty of 30s. per ton on South 

 African bark as a ])rotective measure — a duty which, considering 

 other markets for Natal bark, and also considering Australia's 

 local supply, will not affect the Natal grower, but will e\'entually 

 be paid by the Australian consumer withoiu keeping the Aus- 

 tralian grower alive as such. 



Australia exported tanning l)arks, including mallet, wattle, 

 mangrove, and all other kinds, as under : — 



T91T, 12,680 tons, value £103,971. 

 Tgi2, 7.884 tons, value £67.525. 



But still, during 191 1, 3,908 tons, value £22.570, were 

 shipi^ed from Durban to Australia and New Zealand. No later 

 returns have been seen by me, but I am aware that bark con- 

 tinues to be sent to Australia in quantity. 



New Zealand has suitable areas, and has planted to some 

 extent, the latest report I have being about ten years ago. when 

 4,500 acres were in wattle. The experience there is that labour 

 is expensive, and there is no demand for the timber, conse(|uently 

 bark alone has to carry the crop. 



liast Tropical Africa. — In the S.A. Trade Commissioner's 

 Re])ort on the Wattle Indu.stry (as it ajjpeared in the Natal press) 

 there were included figures so enormous and so extraordinary 

 in regard to the export of bark from British and German East 

 .Wrica, during 1910-191 1-1912, that enquiries were instituted as 

 to their correctness, and the official replies by the Conservator 

 of Eorests. British East Africa, and the Controller of Customs, 

 Mombasa, show that the wattle-bark industry there is still in its 

 infancv, and that, according to Blue-Books, the export has 



l)een : 



1910-191 1 . . 10 tons Wattle Bark, \alued at £47, all to Britain. 

 1911-1912 .. 43 „ ,. „ .. i333< - Germany. 



1 20 . .. .. £200, to Cjermanv. 



1012-1913 .. j^2 ,. £308, to Britain.' 



Xo tannic acid was exi)orted. except in bark form, but the 

 export of mangrove bark was: — 



T910-1911. 6,442 tons, value £6.059. mostly to ( iermany 

 and United States of America. 



1911-1912. 1,995 tons, value £1.950. mostly to ( icrmany 

 and United States of .\nierica. 



