190 



The Supplement to the Tropical Agriculturist 



I might add, with reference to the working 

 qualities of the wood, that a furniture-maker 

 to whom I submitted samples in India found 

 it by no means difficult to work, as compared 

 with many other Indian woods. 



Weight. — The weight per cubic foot has been 

 ascertained from specimens, all of which were 

 thoroughly seasoned. The average weight 

 works out at 61 IV). per cubic foot (excluding 

 Nos. 7 and 8 which consist only of sapwood 

 and heart wood respectively). 



Strength. 



In 1906 Professor Everett, of Sibpur Engi- 

 neering College, published the results of tests 

 carried out on three specimens of marble-wood. 

 The figures are higher than those obtained at 

 the same time for teak in all four classes of tests. 



Seasoning Qualities.— Messrs. Heinig and 

 Ferrars say the wood is difficult to season 

 and is liable to shrink and warp ; Mr. Osmas- 

 ton adds that it is liable to split and warp 

 if felled green. Undoubtedly it requires groat 

 care in seasoning, but the marble-wood planks 

 which I have received from Andamans have 

 shown less tendency to warp and split than 

 planks of several other Indian woods. I selected 

 one of these marble-wood planks and carefully 

 measured its volume by means of a Xyloineter 

 in November 19U7 and again a year later ; the 

 shrinkage was only 0"2 per cent., which is 

 practically negligible. The plauk was a seasoned 

 one, and the experiment would indicate that 

 after seasoning there should be little foar of 

 shrinkage with age. 



So far the marble wood logs in the Andamans 

 have always been kept in the sea, and the 

 wood has therefore never had a chance of being 

 seasoned in any other way. It is possible that 

 girdling some time before felling, or dry seaso- 

 ning, may have a better effect on the timber 

 than salt-water seasoning. In any case it would 

 appear necessary to season thoroughly before 

 converting into scantlings of small size. 



Price. 



The price at which the wood has been 

 supplied to the Government Workshops at 

 Port Blair is R90 per ton of 50 cubic feet, 

 which is far too low, as it does not even pay 

 the cost of extraction. Mr. Osmaston considers 

 that it would probably cost the Forest Depart- 

 ment R4 per cubic foot of heartwood f.o.b. Port 

 Blair, and that in order to be remunerative the 

 price should be fixed at about R6 per cubic foot 

 of heartwood. 



A small trial consignment of 8'5 cwt. sent 

 home and sold by auction by Messrs. Churchill 

 & Sim in London in 1878 fetched £2-15-0 per 

 ton weight. Regular consignments at the present 

 day would probably bring a much higher price. 



Uses of the Wood. — The wood is used entirely 

 for ornamental purposes, for which it is one of 

 the handsomest woods in the world. It is par- 

 ticularly suitable for cabinet-work, ornamental 

 furniture, walking sticks, fancy boxes, carving, 

 turning, iulaid work, picture-frames and other 

 similar articles. 



WEST AFRICAN RUBBER 

 CULTIVATION. 



Sir Alfred Jones on Developments. 

 A meeting of the members of the African 

 Trade section of the Liverpool Chamber of 

 Commerce was held yesterday in the Board- 

 room of the Chamber, Exchange buildings, 

 for the purpose of hearing an address on "The 

 Prospects and Possibilities of Rubber Culti- 

 vation in West Africa," by Mr. J J Fisher. 

 Sir Alfred Jones presided. Sir Alfred Jones, 

 in opening the proceedings, said they offered 

 their congratulations and welcome to their 

 friend, Mr. Fisher, who had been out to West 

 Africa in an endeavour to utilise the British 

 territories for the purpose of growing rubber. 

 He was sorry to say that the British people 

 had not made the best use of their territories 

 under their Hag. The Liverpool merchant had 

 not been quite so smart in making money as he 

 might have been. Ceylon and Malaya had 

 very profitable rubber plantations, paying from 

 100 to 300 per cent, and it proved that the 

 British had been very apathetic in availing 

 themselves of a great source of revenue. In 

 his efforts to make his rubber plantations 

 successful in West Africa he had consulted 

 men who had had a great deal of experience, 

 and the African trade section of the Liver- 

 pool Chamber of Commerce had done a great 

 deal in bringing forward the best views. They 



HAD HAD MR. HERBERT WRIGHT DOWN TO 

 LIVERPOOL, AND SIR DANIEL MORRIS. 



There was no reason why they could not grow 

 rubber in West Africa as well as others did 

 in Ceylon and other parts of the world. . . . 

 There was no doubt that other nations were 

 ahead of them in rubber production, and the 

 French, Belgians and Germans were produ- 

 cing better rubber than they were. The Afri- 

 can trade section of the Chamber was making 

 every effort to improve the production of 

 rubber and encourage its growth. The Liver- 

 pool merchant was celebrated for his enter- 

 prise, and he hoped that they would show their 

 enterprise in rubber growing. (Applause.) 



Mr. Fisher— said the possibilities of rubber 

 cultivation in West Africa were immense. In 

 proportion to her territory the Gold Coast came 

 first ; then the two JSiigerias, Southern and Nor- 

 thern ; and Sierra Leone, and last the Gambia. 



"funtumia elastica '' 

 was indigenous through central or equatorial 

 Africa, from 13 to 15 degrees North, and not 

 quite so tar South. The supply had gradually 

 diminished, because the natives had cut down 

 most of the trees (in doing so they got the latex 

 quicker and in larger quantities). They were 

 told by the Government not to cut the trees 

 any more, but only to tap them, and there were 

 now agricultural instructors showing them how 

 to do it. The idea came to some merchants that 

 rubber should be planted in West Africa. The 

 Germans and some French ordered seeds and 

 seedlings from Para, but had no success after 

 having made various attempts. The Germans 

 then started to plant Funtumia, and had now 

 large plantations in Cameroon beginning to 



