206 
in the Matura and Tangalla districts and in the Central Province. The 
season commences. in May, and only one crop can be obtained in the 
year. The trees do not attain come until the fifth year. It is not 
uneommon to gather 1000 to 1500 pods from one tree. preparing 
the article for ‘export the chief dificulty was — in freeing it 
from the seeds. The improved Patent Saw Cotton Gin imported in 
1884 was very satisfactory. The industry in Ce a on was started in 
consequence of letters written from the Melbourne Exhibition by the 
r. A. M. Ferguson, C.M.G. 
Kapok had already attracted considerable attention in Australia 
Messrs. Buchanan, of Melbourne, in their Mud y dude dated 
21st June 1886, gave the following . account of it: —“ It is now 15 years 
since the first shipment of Java kapok came to chis iaket . . 
but so firmly did it establish itself : that when supplies 
were not regularly forthcoming a substitute was sought for. In proof 
of the lasting Steet of kapok, a non-commissioned officer engaged 
‘in the Mahratta war of 1843 has a pillow-case in constant use ever 
since which sn retains its elasticity and fulness, and who assures us 
he has found nothing so cool or healthful to sleep on in warm climates. 
It is difficult to obtain reliable statistics concerning the trade 
We find it entered at the local Customs under all manner- of names, 
regetable wool,’ ‘silk c otton,' * tree cotton,’ 
‘ we 
Ceylon about 200 Ibs., and a bale of India about 400 Ibs.’ 
Serious complaint i is made in Australia wits elsewhere of the quality 
of the kapok shipped from India. “ Even the low price of India 
kapok it is found better to pay 83d. and Bight per lb. for Javan than 
3d. for Indian. The Indian is frequently received in such a filthy 
condition as to be almost unsaleable.” It is stated that hydraulic or 
steam-press packing of kapok tends to destroy that peculiar elasticity 
to which it owes its value, “for without its springy nature it is 
unsuitable as a stuffing material.” Moreover, by hard packing, when 
which is suffused over the kapok, ‘ ce a noticeable difference in 
colour between the Indian and the besntifally white Java products." 
* At Java the trade has assumed a uniform practice. -No unclean 
stuff i is spipped, but the different grades of cleaning denote standards of 
UN e first, *extra ned, being cleaned by machinery, and 
rst picking "of the crop; the second, denoted as ‘best cleaned 
iie; being oll hand-picked and free from seeds, except an odd one 
here and there ; the third is simply designated < amet '- Tt contains 
a few seeds, together w with the ‘slubs,’ or little knotty, curly Jumps, 
highe grad 
class is found most uniform throughout the bales. Packing is all done 
.in straw mats, and never tightly pressed; the first quality, ‘extra 
cleaned,’ weighing about 65 Ibs.; the second and third from 75 lbs. to 
90 lbs. Bales over 90 Ibs. to 95 Ibs., on account. of bering to be 
dumped by fischer’ diae the elasticity of the fibre, are 
. reckoned. not to be worth within 4d. to 1d. per lb. in value of bales of 
“Tn fact, it is a peculiar feature of the Java trade that weight at 
_ bales form an essential edigion, of prionta lighter, the bigti and 
he 
rcg EE 
