August, 1912.3 161 



year, after which full crops are then 

 produced for six or seven years, when 

 the plants become sickly, and commence 

 to decay. Then in February some large 

 trees are felled across the plot, killing 

 many of the aerial stem*, and stimulating 

 the rhizomes to produce new adventi- 

 tious shoots, thereby renewing the pro- 

 ducing capacity of the plot for another 

 eight years, when the process of renova- 

 tion is repeated. 



In South Mysore the forest cultivation 

 is carried on by a departmental agency 

 in the Nassau district and in the Ghat 

 forests the Coorg system is being follow- 

 ed, and blank spaces filled with young 

 plants from bulbs. Two large cardamom 

 planters (Messrs. Middleton and Brooke 

 Mockett) store their clearings with nur- 

 sery-raised seedlings in " stools " about 

 7 feet apart. The Mysore Conservator 

 considers that with this system the risk 

 of interference with rainfall is increased. 



In Kanara the cultivation carried on 

 in the betel and pepper gardens of the 

 Sirsi and Siddapur talukas is from seed- 

 lings, bulbs, and cuttings, being also 

 used for propagation in the old gardens. 

 They are usually planted in " stools " 

 alternately with the betel-palms. 



THE TIMBER INDUSTRY OF THE 

 DUTCH NETHERLANDS. 



Mr. J. V. de Coque, an authority on 

 timber, contributes a paper on the 

 "Forest Wealth of the Netherlands East 

 Indies " to the " Tijdschrift Voor Nijver- 

 heid En Landbouw In Nederlandsch — 

 Indie," in which he deprecates the lack 

 of enterprise on the part of the author- 

 ities responsible tor the exploiting of 

 the local timber trade. 



It would appear that the forest offi- 

 cials have given their attention solely to 

 teak (which is acknowledged to be the 

 most valuable timber known to com- 

 merce for general structural purposes) to 

 the exclusion of other forest timbers, 

 21 



which are unfortunately and erroneous- 

 ly termed "wild timber " though they 

 comprise many good woods. 



Teak Getting Scarce. 

 Teak is now, however, becoming scarce 

 and has naturally increased in value : 

 and this has influenced the British 

 Indian Forest Department to adopt a 

 strong policy for keeping up the sup- 

 ply by regular replanting and other 

 conservancy measures. 



The New South Wales Government 



had a similar problem to face some years 

 ago in connection with the exportation 

 of their two most valuable timbers, viz : 

 Eucalyptus paniculata (iron bark), and 

 Eucalyptus microcorys (tallow-wood) 

 chiefly for sleepers. The result both in 

 the case of Java and New South Wales 

 is that the estimates for public works 

 and railways show a considerable annual 

 increase. 



In the case of the Australian colony 

 referred to, the Government met the 

 difficulty of imposing a heavy export 

 duty which turned the attention of 

 European buyers to other species of 

 Eucalyptus : and Mr. de Coque suggests 

 that similar measures should be adopted 

 in Java, and the authorities made to 

 realise the forest wealth of Sumatra, 

 Borneo, the Celebes and the other 

 islands of the archipelago, with their 



THOUSANDS OP SQUARE MILES OP 

 VALUABLE VIRGIN FORESTS 



hitherto referred to as " wild woods," -a 

 term suggestive of inferior material, — 

 and bring them within the reach of the 

 markets of Europe, which are always 

 craving for fresh supplies of timber. 



As a substitute for teak, Mr. de Coque 

 recommends Statis sidcroxylon (Tem- 

 penih) and Parinirium vblongifolium 

 (Balau) both suitable for sleepers and 

 general building work. He also mentions 

 the local "iron- wood" (bat this common 

 term conveys no definite idea to what 

 he refers) and other useful trees called 

 by their local names and therefore not 

 identifiable, 



