301 
One species of rattan—the Calamus Draco—from which is 
extracted a red, resinous substance, is employed for medicinal 
pur 
Poni India is taken the rattan used in making walking sticks ; 
its stem is very long, a little A er 0:29 inch in thickness, with 
joints 19:68 to 39:37 inches apar 
From Cochin China and ir Sunda Islands uS annually ex- 
joel i large quantities of Calamus rudentum, one of the largest 
kinds of m used for cables and ropes. Its dist is very lon 
and 0°78 inch thick near the middle, and from 1:37 to 1:96 inches 
in the lower part, its joints being often 7874 inches distant from 
each other. These natural cables are so resistant and strong that, 
from the Mieres Draco, the joints of the latter being from 5 
62 nn apar 
From the Sunda and Philippine mete = taken : (1) the 
Calamus equestris, used in the manufac riding sticks, a 
vae from 196 to 221 feet in length > no ans than 0:39 inch 
n thickness, with its joints 7°87. inches apart; (2) the Calamus 
viminalis, a es slimmer than the latter, which is used for 
wicker w 
The mtüfaptitors of rattan in the consular district of Rhei 
buy their raw material in Germany and Holland, whither iti is 
First of all, the bark is taken off and is used for making seats 
of chairs. The core of the stem is then split into settee thin 
pieces and rounded off, when it is ready for making 
To whatever use the rattan is put, it must be first E owani 
and scraped. If it is desired to bend or plait it, it is softened in 
Thi k rat 
hot water, to Rigor is eee muriatic acid. ic tan is bent 
with light saw cuts, as is done with. piene mouldings. 
The output t of the tactorlós of this region is men consumed 
in the neighbouring territory and sold to wicker workers residing 
therein; the balance is purchased by Paris and a few London 
firms 
ms. 
There are only two important and well-known rattan factories 
in this consular district which uo a very Lao aE eck 
Raw rattan, taken on board vessels in Fre sells as 
follows : First quality, $15.44, sent seed MAS d: 51, per 100 
kilograms (220.46 pounds.) 
HENRY P. DU BELLET, 
Rheims, November 27, 1897. Consul. 
. Sugar-cane in Sandwich Islands.—In the competition between 
the sugar-cane and the bounty-fed Se root it can hardly be 
doubted that with the increased amount of solar energy available 
= the tropics, the sugar-cane ought to: hold its own, if the same 
ientific resources were brought to bear on its improvement and 
out vat él. In other words, the s sugar-cane industry will have to 
e reorgani nised. What has been done in this direction in Queens- 
land is touched upon in the Kew Bulletin for 1897, p. 96. The 
