Aug.  I,  1895.1 
THE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST. 
79 
On  the  whole  therefore  we  have  to  congratulate 
ourselves  that  we  have  been  visited  by  so  close  an 
observer  and  one  who  while  friendly  is  quits  pre- 
pared to  be  critical  as  Mr.  Strutt  is,  for  the  more 
keenly  everything  in  connection  with  the  country 
is  looked  into  the  better  the  facts  will  show. — Bn- 
iiah  North  Bormo  Herald. 
AUSTRALIAN  HARDWOODS  AND 
THEIR  USES. 
(Being  the  snbutanie  of  a I’apcr,  read  at  the  hnperial 
institute^  hg  C 11.  Fenwick,  Esq.,  A.M.I.C.E.,  some  time 
Manager  of  the  ll'cst  Australian  Land  Company.) 
In  the  forests  of  the  Australasian  Colonies,  and 
especially  in  those  of  Victoria,  New  South  Wales. 
West  Australia,  Qeensland  and  Tasmania,  there  is 
a great  variety  of  excellent  timbers,  which  come 
under  ihe  designation  “ hardwoods,  ” the  chief  of 
which  are  the  iron  barks,  ( Euealgptm  sideropldoia. 
(E.  crehra.  E.  Sidero.vi/lon,  E.  panic.idata,  and  E.  r rgataj, 
stringy  barks  (E.  obliqiia  and  E.  piperita)  blue  gum 
E.  giolndus),  flooded  gum  fE.  saligna).ho'i  (E  henri- 
pliloia),  black  butt  ( E.  pilularis),  woolly  butt  ( E. 
longifolia),  black  wood  (Acacia  Jldanoxylon).  beech, 
banksia,  the  so-called  myrtle,  rose  wood  (Dysoxyhn 
fraserianum),  m-^untain  ash  (amygdalinaj.  and  two 
varieties  of  the  Euo  dyptus  peculiar  to  West  Australia, 
namely  the  Karri  (di  versicolor)  and  the  Jarrah 
(viarginata). 
These  timbers  are  applied  to  numerous  purposes. 
The  iron  bark,  black  butt,  and  box,  are  extensively 
used  in  harbour-works  and  railway  construction. 
Iron  bark,  however,  has  practically  become  scarce, 
as,  although  there  are  large  areas  of  tins  timber  in 
the  interior  of  New  South  Wales  and  Qiieenslan  h 
most  of  the  accessible  timber  has  already  boon  cut. 
The  question  has  been  raised  by  the  Governments 
of  the  above  Colonies  as  to  the  policy  of  encouraging 
the  export  trade  in  timber,  in  view'  of  its  growdng 
scarcity  and  of  future  local  requirements. 
As  regards  West  Australia,  however,  no  doubt 
can  be  entertained  as  to  the  supsrabundanc  i of  timber 
in  that  Colony  ; moreover,  the  climate  there  is  more 
favourable  to  rapid  growth  than  that  of  the  Eastern 
Colonies. 
Of  the  hardwoods  of  West  Australia,  Karri  and 
Jarrah  possess  the  most  practically  useful  qualities, 
and  at  the  same  time,  command  facilities  for  transport 
and  shipment,  as  these  trees  flourish  in  vast  quanti  ies 
in  near  proximity  to  the  coast.  They  have  been 
used  extensively  in  railway  construction,  in  harbour- 
works,  and  for  bridges,  roof-timbers,  ship-building, 
etc.  The  opinions  of  many  railway  engineers  may 
be  quoted,  testifying  to  the  strength  and  durability' 
of  Karri  timber,  as  well  as  to  its  superiority  over 
Baltic  pil  e for  railway  sleepers. 
Among  the  smaller  varieties  of  timber  Yate 
(Eucedyptus  cornuta)  should  be  mL-ntioned  as  a hard, 
dense  wood,  somewhat  similar  to  lancewood,  adapt  d 
for  w'heel-spokes  and  carriage-shafts.  Its  co.sl,  in 
the  Thames,  .should  be  from  .ff)  to  AlO  per  load. 
The  Jamwood  tree  (rLcacia  acuminata)  is  close-grained 
and  hard,  takes  a high  polish,  and  merits  the  notice 
of  cabinet-makers.  The  she  oah  (Casuarina)  is  a'so 
worthy  of  mention  as  being  useful  fo  ■ ligh'er  work, 
such  as  panels,  wheel-spokes  and  tool-handles. 
The  question  as  to  the  paving  material  best  ad- 
apted to  the  heavy  street  traffic  of  our  large  to  \ i b 
is  one  of  very  great  importiuce',  and  opportunities 
have  been  taken  for  testing  the  adaptability  of  the 
Australian  hardwoed.s  for  street-paving  purposes. 
Many  of  these  have  been  tried,  out  Karri  and  darndi 
assert  for  themselves  a marked  individuality  ; they 
have  been  laid  in  many  parts  of  London  and  in 
other  towns,  and  with  them  the  nearest  approach 
to  the  perfection  of  street-paving  has  been  attained, 
the  difference  between  the  wear  of  ./arrah  a .d  of 
Karri  having  proved  to  be  inconsiderable.  Both 
preserve  an  excellent  surface  under  heavy  trafilc, 
and  they  have  out-worn  soft  wood  laid  near  tirem 
to  a remarkable  degree.  A pavement  of /.Yorf  blocks, 
laid  in  the  City  of  London,  on  a gradient  of  1 in 
27,  has  remained  dry  and  not  slippery,  while  the 
adjoining  soft  wo  d i avement,  which  retains  more 
moisture,  was  slippery  and  dangerous. 
^ The  Surveyors  to  the  Vestries  of  St.  Pancras  and 
Ghel-ea,  in  w'hicu  districis  hardwood  pavements 
have  been  laid,  are  of  opinion  that  it  is  economical 
to  use  these  flocks  for  stref t-paviug  where  there  is 
hea^-y'  traffic. 
In vestigatious made  by  Mr.  Thos.  Ltslett,  Insp.oc'or 
of  Timber  for  the  Admiralty',  into  the  relative  merits 
of  some  of  the  best  known  timbers,  show  that 
Australian  hardwoods,  when  under  tensile,  transverse 
and  cruslii  g ►■trains,  take  high  rank  as  compared 
with  British  oak,  greenheart,  teak  and  red  pine. 
Thus,  among  seven  timbers.  Karri  stands  fourth 
under  the  heading  of  tensile  strain,  and  second 
under  crashing  strain,  and  ranks  next  to  greenheart. 
Under  crushing  strain  the  resultant  figures  are 
Karri,  5‘1'd  tons;  English  oak,  3’4l  tons;  Jarrah, 
3T9  tons  per  square  in  di,  and  blue  gum,  3'07  tons. 
It  is  to  the  high  resistance  to  crushing  strain  that 
Kurri  chiefly  owes  its  superiority  as  a paving  materiah 
The  hardwood  pavings  preserve  a more  even  surface 
than  those  of  any  other  woods,  hence  they  are  much 
more  durable.-  Those  of  Jarrah  and  Karri  having 
lasted  at  least  three  or  four  times  as  long  as  soft 
wood  p.ivc-raents,  ihe  cost  of  relaying  and  the  con- 
s-rqu-.-nt  serious  interference  with  traffic  and  public 
convenience  are,  therefore,  very  greatly  r.duced  by 
the  employment  of  those  woods. 
All  hardwood  paving  should  be  laid  with  close 
joints.  A better  and  more  even  surface  is  preserved 
with  closely  laid  bitumen-jointed  blocks,  and  the 
objection  that  space  is  afforded  by  wood  pavement 
for  the  accumulation  of  foreign  matter,  is  thus 
reduced  to  a minimum.  One  square  yard  takes  46 
bio  ks,  closely  laid.  The  price  on  railway  trucks, 
in  Lmdon,  for  most  of  the  Australian  hardwoods 
is  about  ,£6  par  load,  for  large  scantling  and  piles 
about  £7  10s.  per  load.  (A  load,  50  cubic  feet,  weighs 
about  Ij  tons,  or  tons  ship’s  measurement,  and 
contains  800  blocks  9 ins.  by  3 ins.  by  4 ins). 
A word  of  advice  may  be  given  to  the  producer; 
it  is,  that  more  care  mu-it  be  exercised  than  at 
present  in  the  selection,  cutting,  and  seasoning  of 
timber  intended  for  the  European  market.  Com- 
plaints have  been  made  of  samples,  that  they  have 
been  shipped  when  green,  and  therefore  unfit  to 
stand  the  ordeal  of  a voyage  through  the  tropics, 
the  result  having  been  their  condemnation  at  sight. 
A bad  impression,  thus  created,  is  not  easily 
overcome. — Imjjerial  Institute  Journal. 
THE  CULTIVATION  OF  COFFEE 
IN  MAURITIUS. 
He  who  would  advocate  the  culture  of  coffee  in 
Mauritius  would  probably  be  looked  upon  by  those 
who  consider  ihemselve.s  to  be  in  the  know  as  a fit 
subject  f'lr  Beau  Bassin  Lunatic  Asylum.  Yet  on 
a close  examination  of  the  subject,  it  will  be  found 
that  the  reasons  which  can  be  given  why  the  cul- 
tivation should  not  bo  a success  are  but  few. 
^Yc  admit  of  two,  and  those  probably  powerful 
ones,  namely,  leaf  disease  ( Hemilia  Vastatrix ) and 
the  havoc  that  hurricanes  might  produce. 
Although  coffee  was  formeny,  to  a very  limited 
extant,  grown  in  Mauritius,  it  was  never  cultivated- 
that  is  to  say,  it  never  received  that  cate  and  treat- 
m out  which  is  usually  accorded  to  the  plant  when 
grown  as  an  article  of  commerce.  It  was  left  in  a 
wild  state:  topping,  handling,  and  pruning,  if  ever 
heard  of,  never  being  carried  into  practice  ; in  fact 
it  was  left  i I that  state  which  is  generally  known 
as  Native  Coffee. 
There  is  no  doubt  whatever,  that  leaf  disease  does 
still  exist  in  Mauritius  on  the  few  remaining  trees 
that  are  occasionally  to  be  met  with,  and,  in  any 
experiment  that  may  be  made  to  promote  the  industry, 
the  ar  a brought  under  cultivation  would  certainly 
be,  more  or  less,  att.icked  by  it.  But  it  must  bo 
remembered  tha  in  Southern  India  and  Ceylon, 
where  the  disease  was  most  virulent,  it  took  many 
years  before  the  tree  was  rendered  too  weak  to 
