284 FORESTRY IN THE CROWN COLONIES. 



that the waste is almost equal to the annual consumption. During 

 the last 20 years it has certainly been much greater, as at least 

 50,000,000 tons of timber have been burnt by the rubber planters. 

 On the above lines the following estimate has been prepared : — 



Area of merchantable forests 



under State control . . 24,166 square miles. 



Increment in cubic feet . . 394,000,000 cubic feet. 



Waste 206,000,000 



Net annual Increment . 188,000,000 



The annual UtiHzation is estimated at : — 



Straits Settlements . . 75,000,000 cubic feet. 



Federated States . . . 150,000,000 



Unfederated States . . 50,000,000 



Total utihzation . . 275,000,000 



Of this quantity, 25,000,000 cubic feet are timber and the rest is - 

 firewood. 



9. Forest Industries. 



The only forest industry of any importance is lumbering and 

 firewood cutting, whereby some 30,000 people are employed for 

 part of the year. A match factory is under erection at Selangor ; 

 wood distillation is under consideration. Other industries are all 

 on a small scale, such as the collection of dammar and gutta-percha 

 tapping. Canes are extracted under licence. The leaves of Nifa 

 fruticans are used for thatching. Other small branches of 

 industry are cart and boat building, charcoal burning, the weaving 

 of mats from species of Pandanus, the tapping of wood-oil trees, &c. 



10. Exports axd Imports. 



The following data represent the annual averages of the years 

 1913 to 1918 :— 



