196 
TIMBEE 
stacked. It is imported into Great Britain in the shape of 
planks, and is probably, as a rule, the same timber which 
goes by the name of Java teak, and of which there are 
extensive plantations in the island. 
Weight with V2 per cent, of moisture 41 lbs. per cubic 
foot and 37 lbs. when perfectly dry. 
Billiaii or Ironwood {Ensideroxylon zirafieri), a very hard, 
heavy brown coloured timber suitable for shipbuilding and 
pihng, comes from North Borneo. It is not to be obtained 
in large quantities or in long lengths ; the largest sizes run 
from 25 to 45 ft. long and about 10 inches by 10 inches 
square, and it is obtainable also in the round. It is one of 
the few timbers which are practically impervious to the 
teredo. A log of this timber was bolted to the jetty at 
Port Darwin or Palmerston, on the northern coast of the 
colony of South Australia, by Mr. J. W. James, M.I.C.E., on 
2nd November, 1886, and it remained intact until examined 
in December, 1889, when no trace of the teredo could be 
found in it, and this of several timbers tried was the only 
one which withstood the teredo, and that in a locality 
where it is so particularly voracious that the piling of the 
jetty, which was of Karri timber, liad to be encased with 
Muntz metal. Billian was afterwards used to replace Karri 
for chafing pieces between high and low water on this same 
jetty. Billian was not proof against attack by white ants, 
but was not materially damaged in twelve months, and 
hereabouts the white ant is as destructive as in any part of 
the world. There are two varieties of this timber, Billian 
Chingy and Billian Wangy. The latter, which is much the 
best, is of a brown colour, and has a structure not unlike 
greenheart. A small quantity of Billian comes into the 
English market. 
Weight about 70 lbs. per cable foot. 
