488 AUSTRALIAN NATIVE PLANTS. 
they nearly all do so under some reserve, such as insisting upon 
the felling being done at a certain time of the year; getting it 
from some particular district, and so forth. Lloyd’s agent at 
Fremantle, however, does not report quite so favourably of it; 
indeed, he differs so widely from the rest, that perhaps it would be 
well to quote his report 7” extenso :— 
‘Tn reply to your letter relative to the qualities of the Jarrah 
of this country as a ship-building timber, I consider it valuable 
wood for planking purposes as high as the wales, and I also 
consider it especially excellent wood for small craft which are not 
intended to be sheathed with metal, inasmuch as it resists the sea- 
worm better than almost any other wood, and is less.liable to foul 5 
but I do not consider it suitable timber for top sides, or deck 
work, where it must necessarily be much exposed to the effects of 
the sun, it being, in such conditions, more than ordinarily subject 
to shrink and warp; and it is rather deficient in tenacity of fibre, 
so that in situations where eccentric or sudden bends occur it 
cannot generally be employed with advantage. It is probable you 
may have heard of the Honourable East India Company’s pilot 
brig Sa/ween, taking in a cargo of Jarrah at Bunbury. This was 
supplied by Mr. W. Pearce Clifton, and the vessel was sent at my 
instance in order to a series of trials of the wood in the Kidderpore 
Dockyard. These trials I regret to say were not favourable to the 
character of the wood, and the result was that no further supply 
was ordered. When last at Calcutta, I obtained the sanction of 
the Government of Bengal to further tests of the wood, the greater 
portion of the Sa/ween’s cargo being then still in store, but I am” 
sorry to say that the result was not more favourable than before.” 
The Clerk of Works at Fremantle, reporting summarily upon 
the opinions expressed by the ship-builders and others, says :— 
‘‘The sound timber resists the attack of the Zeredo navilis and 
white ant. On analysis by Professor Abel it was found to contain 
a pungent acid that was fatal to life. The principle, however, was 
not found to be present in the unsound portion. Great care is 
therefore necessary in preparing wood for use by flitching the log 
so as to cut all the defective portions of the heart out, and using 
only the perfectly sound timber. Much has been said about Jarrah 
