24 



however, be made in the case of dead or dying camphor trees, and unsound 

 or badly shaped trees interfering with promising camphor poles ; these should 

 be felled wherever selection fellings of other species are in progress. 



Where camphor is present, the main fellings should consist of the felling 

 of all camphor trees except those which are too small to exploit, with the 

 view of obtaining reproduction by suckers and stool-shoots. Cleanings will 

 probably be necessary from 3 to 5 years after the fellings, and possibly again 

 later. Further experiment is necessary before determining on the precise 

 treatment of the other species, but in areas where camphor is not present it 

 is not improbable that clear fellings with artificial reproduction may prove 

 to be the most economical and satisfactory method of obtaining a complete 

 stock of valuable species. It should not be difficult to obtain labour for this, 

 as the camphor forests border on the Kikuyu reserves. 



Experiments are desirable in the artificial reproduction of camphor by 

 means of cuttings taken from vigorous shoots or from roots. Thinnings in 

 clumps of young stool-shoots might supply a certain proportion. If plants 

 can be raised successfully by such means, advantage might be taken of the 

 regeneration fellings to increase the proportion of camphor artificially. 



12. TIMBERS AND TIMBER TRADE. 



23. UTILIZATION OF LOCAL TIMBERS. A useful account of the more 

 important timbers of Kenya Colony is contained in the publication entitled 

 t: The Forests and Timber Resources of British East Africa," prepared by the 

 Forest Department for the Empire Forestry Conference in 1920. It is not pro- 

 posed to delay this Report by the inclusion of further information regarding 

 them which is not yet complete and which may take some time to compile. 



The most plentiful and widely used constructional timbers are those of 

 coniferous trees, namely, cedar (Juniperus procera) and podocarpus 

 (Podocarpus gracilior and P. milanjianus). Cedar is the most important build- 

 ing timber in the country, mainly owing to its great durability and its immun- 

 ity from the attacks of white ants. The question of its utilization for 

 pencil manufacture is dealt with in paragraph 25. Selected planks of suffi- 

 cient size, free from defects, would command a high price in the London 

 market for panelling and mouldings, for which it has been pronounced by a 

 leading timber merchant to be superior to any other pencil cedar yet imported. 

 Podocarpus, when properly seasoned, is a wood of good quality, well adapted 

 to take the place of imported pine and deal. It has, however, undeservedly 

 acquired a bad name in certain quarters, mainly owing to faulty methods of 

 stacking and seasoning, or to its having been used unseasoned, in which condi- 

 tion it shrinks and warps badly. In South Africa, it has been made the 

 subject of trials in artificial methods of seasoning, the results of which have 

 been published in a pamphlet entitled " The Seasoning of South African 

 Woods."by Nils B.Eckbo (Office of the Chief Conservator of Forests, Pretoria). 



Among hardwoods camphor or muzaiti (Octea usambarensis), which is 

 obtainable in planks of very large size, stands first in point of quality and 

 durability. Its merits are known locally, and it commands a high price : if it 

 were available in larger quantities it would be more widely used. It could be 

 employed effectively for many purposes for which teak is now used. 



Without going into further detail regarding the timbers of Kenya 

 Colony, it may be said that the variety and quality of these is such that there 

 is scarcely any purpose for which one or other of them could not be used, thus 

 dispensing to a large extent with imports not only of timber but also of manu- 

 factured wooden articles, which latter were imported in 1920-21 to the value 

 of 3,113. Much remains to be done, however, in the way of collecting 



