PLANT PRODUCTS OF THE EMPIRE] 433 



To supply the needs of the traffic of London, until recently the magnifi- 

 cent Jarrah trees {Eucalyptus marginata) of Western Australia have been 

 felled to supply wood blocks for paving the streets of the capital of the 

 British Empire, while many other Empire timbers furnish sleepers for our 

 railways. 



I may also perhaps — with the permission of our medical friends — be 

 allowed to allude to our present-day habits of cleanliness ! — I might almost 

 say our excessive craze for washing, and for the use of soaps with their 

 many and varied perfumes. For all this we are dependent on the vegetable 

 kingdom, since the oils and fats which are the basis of our soaps, as well as 

 the essential oils which furnish the scents, are derived in the main from 

 plants cultivated in one or other of our tropical possessions, and in many 

 cases introduced to our domains from other parts of the world where they 

 are found in the wild state. 



Socrates has said, ' I hold that to need nothing is divine, and the less a 

 man needs the nearer does he approach divinity ' ; but in these modern days 

 we have to follow the general trend of events, and the economic botanist 

 seeks to satisfy our human needs, whether natural or artificial, as far as he 

 may be able. 



Fortunately for Great Britain, it is possible to meet the growing demand 

 from the vast resources of the Empire ; and this year, meeting at York- 

 close to Hull, one of the great centres of applied botany, the home of one of the 

 largest seed-crushing and oil-extracting centres of the world, not forgetting 

 also the manufacture of cocoa and chocolate in York itself — and with the 

 deliberations at Ottawa fresh in our minds, it seems fitting more seriously 

 to consider some of the contributions which the plant products of our Empire 

 make to satisfy our present-day human needs and cravings. 



The subject is so vast that, were I to speak of all the plant products of the 

 Empire which help to minister to our daily wants and enter fully into our 

 domestic economy, little as we think of it, I could easily address you for 

 several hours and thoroughly exhaust your patience. I must, however, 

 confine myself to the more essential products, and first let me draw your 

 attention to some of the food products which are supplied to us from our 

 overseas dominions and colonies. 



Among these may be mentioned wheat, which comes to us from Canada 

 and Australia ; rice from the Federated Malay States, Burma, British 

 Guiana and West Africa ; tapioca from the Federated Malay States ; and 

 sugar from the West Indies, British Guiana and Natal. 



The home market is largely dependent on fruits coming to us from all 

 parts of the Empire, which include — 



Bananas from the West Indies. 



Citrus fruits from the West Indies, Australia, South Africa, Palestine and 

 Cyprus. 



Apples from Canada, Australia, New Zealand. 



Grapes from South Africa and Australia (raisins). 



Pineapples from Jamaica, South Africa, Straits Settlements. 



Pears and Peaches from South Africa. 



Edible Oils are furnished by West Africa (palm oil), Malaya, Ceylon, the 

 West Indies and the Pacific Islands (coconut oil or copra). Ground-nuts we 

 get from India and West Africa, while the essential oils include geranium oil 

 from Kenya, patchouli from the Seychelles, and clove oil from Zanzibar. 



Foods for animals bulk largely in imports to this country from overseas, 

 including linseed from Canada and India ; cotton, rape and ground-nuts 

 from India ; the last with palm kernels we also get from West Africa ; all of 

 which are the main constituents of various oilcakes. 



