CHAPTER XXII. 
BORNEO AND THE CHINA SEAS. 
THE Chow, or Menkabang Penang tree, is found in the 
Island of Borneo, where it is said to be very abundant. 
It attains large dimensions, is of straight growth, and 
yields timber in the log of from 30 to 70 feet in length, 
and from 15 to 26 inches square. 
The wood is of a yellowish or straw colour, close and 
fine in texture, straight in the grain, hard, heavy, tough, 
and exceedingly strong. It is used in Borneo and the 
countries bordering on the China seas, for the masts of 
junks and other vessels, for house and ship-building, and 
for a variety of minor purposes. 
The earliest importation of the Chow, or Menkabang 
Penang timber, into this country was, I believe, in 
1860-61, when it came direct to the London market, 
and thence passed into Woolwich Dockyard, to be 
experimentally employed for beams, keelsons, and other 
purposes where strong, straight timber is required in 
ship-building ; and in this way it gave every satisfaction. 
One or two cargoes of Borneo timber, including the 
Chow, subsequently reached this country, and were 
delivered at the northern ports, where they were 
gradually absorbed, chiefly in ship-building ; but, cwing 
to the more extended use of iron in ships, the wocd is 
not now inquired for, and the importations appear, for 
a time at least, to have ceased. 
