'• Tiinelivi" and Development. 20!* 



Taking the first 70 miles of railway beyond the unobstructed water- 

 ways, the timber, hitherto uncut and rendered accessible tor the tirst 

 time, will be found to be similar — except that Greenheart may be 

 substituted for Mora and Kakeralli — to that in areas of which sectional 

 surveys have been made by the Forestry Officer (vide, Forest of British 

 Guiana. Series 1. August, 1912, Append Form No. 7, 8, 9, 10, 11.) The 

 area within easy reach of this section of railway embraces, say. 700 square 

 miles of timber rendered accessible for the first time. 



Taking only twenty-six of the timbers counted and tabulated by the 

 Forestry Officer with the character of which I am familiar and dividing 

 them according to their uses into five classes the supply of timber 

 squaring over six inches may be stated for this area as 



1. Woods (5) of "Mahogany" type ... 5,436 logs p. sq. mile. 



2. Woods (4) of Lance Wood type 



3. Fancy Woods (4) 



4. Soft Woods (3) (Simarupa type) 



5. Construction timbers (10) 



Total 



of average girth 40 inches, and length, say, 30 feet, that is 900,000 cub. 

 ft. of timber per square mile. If one-tenth of the timber in this 70 square 

 miles is cut in 10 years freight at six cents per cub. ft. on its carriage 

 to a port of shipment would yield $378,000, plus freight of supplies 

 carried to the timber grants. Put the possible timber development at 

 ),000 freight per annum for this section of the railway. 



It may be possible for the Committee to work out figures for 

 other sections and other industries on a conservative basis of traffic 

 and in a detailed form which will satisfy the Colonial Office that 

 at least we know our business at this end, an assurance which will 

 go far to further the purpose for which the Committee was appointed. 

 The figures for balata for example should not be difficult to ascertain, 

 and an allowance for expansion of 50 per cent, would certainly not be 

 excessive. The Gold Industry's demands on rail facilities might be 

 approximately ascertained within a small percentage of error. The live 

 stock figures have no present basis of calculation, but a nominal 

 annual sum might be set against that prospect. 



The extent of the rubber exploitation of the Rio Negro and its 

 tributaries is not easy to ascertain, but it is a very large industry and 

 quantities of supplies are used which would certainty be more economi- 

 cally carried to the working base via a border railway. There is indeed 

 a probability that this wild rubber area would be put in a position to 

 compete with plantation rubber more successfully than it has ever done 

 before. It is well known that the very highest class of Para rubber is 



