115 



ascertained. It is believed to be still of considerable 

 value, and about 18 years ago it was worth 90/. per 

 tun. 



The clamanu (calophyllum burruanni), damanii 

 dilo dilo, and another unnamed species, yield the 

 " damami timber " of [Fiji. It is of a light brown 

 colour, beautifully but somewhat coarsely veined, 

 tough, strong, and bears a heavy strain. It is 

 deservedly esteemed in house and ship-building, being 

 durable in mostly all situations. It warps, however, 

 if not well seasoned, and the grain is rather curly, but 

 it is not difficult to work. Planks and logs of it have 

 been shipped to the Australian colonies, where they 

 have met a ready sale at remunerative prices, Some 

 of the timber has also been sent to the London market, 

 but the result has not been made known. The timber 

 of these species with that of the dilo, is celebrated 

 for making excellent spars for small vessels, where 

 strength and toughness are important requisites. The 

 trees are common throughout Fiji, in dense forests on 

 the windward sides of the islands, and near streams on 

 the leeward or dry sides. They grow to a large size, 

 and with what, in the tropics, is considered ordinary 

 rapidity. The annual growth in height of a well- 

 established young tree in fairly good soil will be from 

 3 to 4 feet. As the tree gets old the growth is slower, 

 and it will probably take about 80 years to reach 

 maturity, when it will have attained a height of about 

 60 or 70 feet, with a trunk, — a clean, smooth cylinder, 

 of some 35 or 40 feet in length, having a diameter of 

 2J feet at the base and 2 feet at the top. The timber 

 is useful for many purposes long before the tree has 

 reached maturity, on which account the tree is 

 especially valuable. 



H 2 



