November, 1908. J 



421 



Dyes a) id Tans. 



or 4 feet above the ground, or (b) as close 

 to the ground as possible. If the former 

 method is adopted the strip or sheet of 

 bark is pulled off downwards, thus obtain- 

 ing much of the bark from the upper 

 roots winch is frequently the richest in 

 tannin. In the second case, by a series 

 of strong jerks a broad strip is pulled- 

 off up to the height of the lower bran- 

 ches. Sheet after sheet is thus removed 

 from the trunk until it is quite bare, 

 after which the tree is felled and the 

 stripping completed on the portions 

 lying between the branches. A strip- 

 ping machine has been invented which, 

 it is claimed, removes the bark close up 

 to the leaves, and higher than can be 

 stripped by hand, and it has been stated 

 that its use would reduce the cost of 

 stripping by at least 25 per cent. In 

 using the machine the wattles pass be- 

 tween two revolving rollers, thus receiv- 

 iving pressure on two sides, which 

 causes the bark to crack and spring from 

 the complete circle of the stern in two 

 halves. 



The long strips of bark are hung over 

 poles in the drying sheds, which are 

 arranged to hold about six tons of fresh 

 bark. Drying should take place in the 

 shade, and the operation generally lasts 

 several weeks. Although in some cases 

 artificial heat may be employed for 

 drying, care must be taken to avoid too 

 high a temperature, otherwise a diminu- 

 tion in the tannin content will take 

 place. When dry the bark is taken in 

 bundles to the mill, where it is usually 

 cut into short chips or pieces about two 

 inches long by one inch wide, and then 

 after being packed into sacks it is ready 

 for export. 



The stripped wattle-tree trunks are 

 generally cut into six or twelve feet 

 lengths for mining timbers, but their 

 use as a source of wood pulp for paper 

 manufacture (see Technical Reports mid 

 Scientific Papers, published by the Imp3- 

 rial Institute, p. 311), and more recently 

 the distillation of the wood for the pro- 

 duction of acetic acid and wood alcohol 

 has been suggested in Natal. 



As previously stated, the same ground 

 will bear several successive crops of 

 wattle trees without becoming ex- 

 hausted. In the ordinary a wattle forest 

 replants itself, and an area once cleared 

 of trees is quickly covered again. The 

 naturally grown seedlings are allowed 

 to grow until they form a thick mass 

 covering the held, when they are thinned 

 out, leaving rows twelve feet apart 

 standing. It is stated that replanting 

 from natural seedlings is no great 

 advantage, as the cost of thinning out 



is greater than that of starting a fresh 

 plantation. 



Production of Wattle Bark : 

 Australasia. 

 South Australia. — The wattle baric 

 of South Australia is almost exclusively 

 derived from the "broad-leaved or 

 Golden Wattle," A. pcynantha. This 

 bark is one of the richest of tanning 

 materials, although recently the 

 eucalyptus" mallet bark" of Australia 

 (this Bulletin, 1905, 3, 69) has been found 

 to overstep it in actual tannin content. 

 It is found chiefly on the Adelaide hills 

 and plains, but in the north of the colony 

 a narrower leaved variety exists which 

 is of slower growth and yields bark of 

 less value. The broad-leaved wattle 

 bark of South Australia generally con- 

 tains from 40 to 45 percent, of tannin, 

 tans very quickly and produces a good 

 light-coloured leather. It is worth 

 about £8 to £9 per ton at present. 



New South Wales. — This colony at one 

 time produced and exported large 

 quantities of wattle bark, but of recent 

 years the export trade has been nearly 

 lost, although the price per ton has risen 

 from £6 in 1890 to £8 at present date. 

 Most of the bark is "green" or " black " 

 wattle, and contains about 35 to 40 per 

 cent of tannin. A. pycnantha cultiva- 

 tion is practically confined to those parts 

 of the country bordering on South 

 Australia and Victoria. 



Victoria. — In Victoria no other crop 

 is regarded as so profitable as wattle, 

 especially for poor soil. Thousands of 

 acres are under cultivation, and Victoria 

 is the greatest producing area of black 

 wattle bark in the Commonwealth. 



Tasmania, — This island possesses large 

 natural supplies of black wattle, and at 

 one time was the chief Australasian 

 source of thij variety. Owing to indis- 

 criminate destruction of the forests and 

 failure to systematise the planting of 

 fresh trees, Tasmania has lost consider- 

 able ground, both in the quantity and 

 value per ton of bark exported. 



Queensland and Western Australia.— 

 Among the wattles termed " black," 

 there are several mountain hickories of 

 much less importance than Acacia 

 deourrens, although containing from 30 

 to 35 per cent, of tannin. Chief amongst 

 these is A . penninervis, which may be- 

 come of great commeicial importance, 

 especially iu Queensland, where it is 

 very abundant. At the present time 

 Queensland produces and exports com- 

 paratively little wattle bark. 



In the last few years Western Aus- 

 tralia has exported greatly increasing 



