MEN OF THE TREES 



of air dry pulp when treated with a solution of caustic 

 soda. This pulp bleached well and yielded white paper 

 of good quality. The yield, including loading and size 

 was forty-one and twenty-three per cent of the weight 

 of the bamboos, which is considered satisfactory. 



The Kenya bamboo has a distinct advantage over the 

 Indian bamboo in that the knots are soft and do not re- 

 quire to be removed before pulping. This means a sav- 

 ing not only of labour, but also of material. 



For the manufacture of air dry pulp other raw ma- 

 terials in the form of fuel and soda and lime are re- 

 quired. Wood is available in sufficient quantities in near 

 enough proximity to the bamboo, while soda and lime- 

 stone are to be found in the Colony. 



Freight of pulp on the Uganda Railway from the 

 area indicated would be seven and a half dollars per ton, 

 provided pulp is compressed to twenty-five pounds or 

 over per cubic foot, and packed in bales so as to enable 

 eight tons to be loaded into a ten ton truck, but it is 

 not only from the export point of view that the ex- 

 ploitation of the bamboo forests is of interest. There are 

 numbers of local industries which might be begun if 

 once pulp were available, besides the fact that Africa 

 could be made self-supporting from the point of view 

 of paper for all purposes. 



The areas fitted for exploitation are all in the High- 

 lands where the climate is healthy and where Europeans 

 and Americans can live with their families and enjoy 

 the ordinary amenities of life. It is not often realized 



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