184 [July, 1902.] 
IMPERIAL INSTITUTE JOURNAL. 
Vol. VIII. No. 91. 
sticks. A fibre of remarkable fineness and strength is prepared from the leaves. Both the 
gru-gru and gri-gri palms produce seeds which contain a large proportion of sweet palatable 
oil, which in St. Vincent is extracted and used for cooking purposes. This oil is also used 
for external application to ease pain. 
36. Hackia ( Siderodcndron trifiorum ), from British Guiana. The tree averages 65 feet 
in height, and will square 12 or 14 inches free of sap. It grows plentifully in some localities 
on dry sandy soil, and during the time it is in flower in November it is one of the most beauti- 
ful of the forest trees. The wood is exceedingly hard, close grained, and heavy, and of a 
brown colour. It is valuable for making cogs and shafts, but is almost too hard for any 
other purpose. 
37. Hiawa-BALLI ( Qmphalobium Lamberli), from the Itoori-bisci creek, Essequebo 
river. The average height is 90 feet, and it will square, free of sap, 12 inches. Iliawa-balli 
grows in sand 'and rocky soil, and often attains a large size. It is a rare tree, and the wood is in 
great request for cabinet work, being of great beauty and easily worked. It has a sticky 
gum. 
38. Houbooballi, from the same locality, where it grows plentifully. The tree 
reaches an average height of 100 feet, and will square 20 inches free of sap. The wood is of 
a light brown colour, variegated with black and brown veins; it takes a fine polish and is 
useful for making articles of furniture, and cabinet work of any description. Under water 
it lasts a long time, and on the bottom of a boat will outlast almost any other w T ood. The 
bark contains a sticky gum. 
39. Iron Wood ( Laplacea hcematoxylon ). Every timber region has its own iron wood. 
This particular variety is found in British Honduras, Jamaica, St. Lucia, etc. It is also 
termed blood wood, from its red colour. The tree is about 30 feet high, and a foot in 
diameter. It is the hardest timber in the West Indies, and generally found not far from the 
sea, and is of a deep reddish colour, heavy, with dense grain, and will not decay in wet or 
dry soil. It has much the same qualities as boxwood, and is useful for the same purposes, 
and for posts. Iron wood has no heart, so it makes little difference w hether it is cut young or 
old. A good dye is obtained from the rich red wood. 
40. Irriariadan, from the Moraballi creek, Essequebo river. The average height is 
80 feet, and it can be had to square 10 inches free of sap. It grows plentifully on high sandy 
soil, but is little known. The wood is fine, of a dark brown colour, and is suitable for 
cabinet work, partition boards, staves, and many other purposes. 
41. Itikiboura-bali. 1, from the same place. It grows on clay soil, and on the 
islands in the rapids of the Essequebo, The tree is comparatively rare below the rapids, and 
does not attain to an average height of more than 70 feet. The sapwood is white, and its 
junction with the heart, which is of a deep brown or almost black, is sharply defined. The 
timber can be had to square up to 15 inches free of sap, and is employed for making articles 
of furniture and walking sticks. Itikiboura-balli is one of the heaviest and closest grained 
woods in British Guiana, 
42. Jack Fruit ( Artocarpus integrifolia). Found in Jamaica and Trinidad. The 
wood is yellow, hard, takes an excellent polish, is beautifully marked, and is one of the 
handsomest for furniture. Weight, 40 lb, per foot cube. It yields, on boiling, a yellow dye. 
The bark produces a gum which is used as a cement and as bird-lime ; also a fibre. 
43. Kabukalli, from the Moraballi creek, Essequebo river, British Guiana. This 
tree is plentiful all over the colony, and thrives best in loose sandy soil. It is one of the 
tallest forest trees, and grows very straight ; its average height is 120 feet, and it can be had 
to square 30 inches free of sap. Kabukalli is used in boat building, and for timber is little 
inferior to Mora. It has a very unpleasant smell, and is disliked by worms. Weight, 
70 lb. per foot cube. The Indians living in the wet savannahs, or where the rivers are free of 
bush to form a shade, prefer canoes made of this wood to any other, as they will not split 
from exposure to the sun. A gelatinous substance forms on the stump after cutting down a 
kabukalli tree ; it has a disagreeable smell, and never hardens. 
( This article will be continued in the August Journal,). 
— <+» ■ 
LECTURES AND PAPERS. 
“ NOVA SCOTIA.’ 1 
( By John Howard, EsqJ 
Lord Strathcona presided on the 24th March at a lecture entitled “Nova Scotia,” 
delivered at the Institute by Mr. John Howard, Agent-General for Nova Scotia. 
The chairman, in his introductory remarks, referred to Nova Scotia as one of the most 
important provinces of the Dominion, notwithstanding the fact that the provinces further 
west had lately attracted more attention. 
Mr. Howard began his lecture by giving an interesting account of the early history of 
the country. It was the most easterly province of the Dominion, and had been discovered 
in 1497 by the Cabots, who had first seen that portion of the coast of Cape Breton now 
considered to have been the Sugar Loaf Peak, in the Cape North Range, but which they 
had called Prima Vista. Nova Scotia had shortly afterwards been visited by the French, 
who had given it the name of Acadie, a word derived from the Indian “ Cadie,” meaning “ Land 
of Abundance.” Both the French and English had laid claim to the country, the former on 
the ground of settlement and the latter on that of discovery : the result being that for more 
than two centuries Nova Scotia became the scene of constant strife between the two peoples, 
and, either by conquest or treaty, had passed continually from the one to the other, until in 
1701, when it was permanently attached to the British Crown. 
Turning to the resources of the country, Mr. Howard said that since 1504 its fisheries 
had been famous for their variety and inexhaustible supply, and to-day the province con- 
tributed over 40 per cent, of the total yield of fish of the Dominion. 
The coalfields of Nova Scotia embraced an area of about 4,000 square miles, and the 
estimated deposits available were 40 billion tons. In proportion to the entire output of the 
whole of Canada, the province was responsible for 60 per cent, of the coal raised. One 
company alone was stated to have resources sufficient to supply 3,000,000 tons of coal for 
many years, and to own a colliery which last year had produced 751,000 tons, a yield said 
to be the largest of any single colliery in the world. The amount of wages paid in this 
industry amounted annually to upwards of .£1,000,000, Extended markets were being 
opened up in Europe for the trade, and the output of last year had shown an increase of 
50 per cent. 
The country possessed iron ores of the richest description in boundless abundance, which, 
being in close proximity of some of the largest coalfields in the world, and contiguous to 
lime-stone, rendered the establishment of a large iron and steel industry almost a matter of 
course. Mr. Howard contended, taking these advantages into consideration, that at the 
works at Sydney, Cape Breton, steel could be produced at 6 dollars a ton lower than at 
Pittsburg, a place which was usually considered to afford the facilities for the most economical 
production of steel. A few years ago Sydney had a population of between 2,000 and 3,000, 
but this, owing to the development there, had increased in 1901 to nearly 18,000. 
Gold was found scattered all over the province, the auriferous area embracing 3,000 
square miles, extending principally along the southern shore. Low grade ores were met with 
in wide belts in many districts, and were being profitably worked. The returns reported, 
however, had hitherto been comparatively small, as, until quite recently, gold-mining had not 
been systematically developed. 
The lumber and pulp industries were very valuable, and gave employment to large 
numbers of men. The province was also eminently adapted by nature for agriculture and 
fruit-growing, the soil being rich and easy to work, whilst the climate, neither too hot in 
summer nor too cold in winter, lent itself to the rapid development of vegetation of all kinds. 
The geographical position of Nova Scotia gave it a special advantage in connection with 
any proposed fast steamship line between England and Canada, as securing a short sea 
voyage, such a line would Mr. Howard contended, be of immense service to the Dominion 
in greatly accelerating the passenger traffic across the Atlantic. 
At the close of the lecture a number of excellent views were shown of the scenery of the 
province, and also of the various industries and resources, to which Mr. Howard had alluded. 
Lord Strathcona, in proposing the vote of thanks, said that he was sure the audience 
must have listened with great pleasure and interest to the account Mr. Howard had given of 
the country ; which account, combined with the views they had seen, could not fail to have 
brought home to them all a sense of the reality of the advantages Nova Scotia possessed as a 
field for emigration and as a valuable part of the Empire. Although had either Mr. Duff 
Miller been lecturing on New Brunswick, or Mr. Turner on British Columbia, the audience 
would probably have listened with equal pleasure, and been equally convinced of the 
Importance of those provinces. 
Nova Scotia possessed some of the best mines, so far as the precious metals were 
concerned, of any in Canada, and its coalfields were unequalled in the Dominion. He had 
been told that besides the mines at present in operation another was about to be opened 
which it was anticipated would contain, and would show, the greatest quantity of coal of 
any known coal-mine. He hoped that within a few years, the shipyards of Nova Scotia 
would be producing vessels quite equal to any turned out in the old country, not only merchant 
ships, but also war vessels. For the defence of the Empire, men to man these would readily 
be found in Nova Scotia, in the 70,000 to 80,000 hardy fishermen than whom there could be 
no better material for the British Navy. A great many wooden ships had formerly been 
built in Nova Scotia, but although the days of such ships were passed he had every hope that 
Nova Scotia would again become a ship-building centre for iron and steel ships. 
Speaking of a fast-line service, Lord Strathcona way of opinion that before long one 
would be established and that ships would be making the passage from some port in Great 
Britian to Cape Breton within 4 days and that Montreal would thus be brought within 
5 days, and the Pacific within 9 days, of the United Kingdom. Also passengers by this 
Nova Scotia route travelling to New York would have 600 or 700 miles less of sea, and 
arrive at their destination a day earlier, than if [they had travelled by any of the direct lines 
to New York. 
“ A JOURNALIST’S SCAMPER TPIROUGH SIBERIA AND 
MANCHURIA.” 
(By Mr. John Foster Fraser.,) 
(ANGLO-RUSSIAN LITERARY SOCIETY.) 
At the meeting of the A.R.L.S. on June 3, Mr. E. A. Cazalet, president of the Society, 
in the chair, Mr. John Foster Fraser, the famous cyclist, and author of Round the World on a 
Wheel, The Real Siberia, etc., gave a most interesting lecture entitled A Journalist'’ s Scamper 
through Siberia and Manchuria, which was illustrated by a large number of excellent lime- 
light views. 
After describing his journey to Siberia, starting from Moscow and travelling by the 
Great Trans-Siberian riilway across the flat, featureless plains of Russia and then over the 
Ural Mountains — beautiful chiefly by contrast — Mr. Fraser spoke of the great surprise he 
experienced when the train at last steamed into Omsk. All his preconceived notions of wild 
and snow-covered Siberia, inhabited by wretched convicts and adorned by huge gloomy 
prisons, were instantly dispelled, and he found it difficult to believe that he was actually in 
the heart of that great country. It was true that the stations were a long way from the 
towns, and that the hotels were far from clean, but in the matter of fine buildings, universities 
and schools, also modern conveniences such as trams, electric light, amusements, restaurants, 
and so on, the large Siberian towns were little behind those of Europe. Unfortunately, the 
Siberian was not a good agriculturist and was slow to develop the resources of his country. 
He was also lacking in enterprise, so that nearly all the important business was in the hands of 
foreigners, especially of Germans and Americans. Great Britain was very poorly represented, 
except in the case of the well-known ice-breaker on the Lake Baikal built by Armstrong, 
Whitworth and Co. Many Danes had gone to Siberia and were engaged in a flourishing 
butter-trade ; large quantities were exported monthly, of which much was sold in England 
as “ Danish.” Mr. Fraser gave very interesting accounts of his visits to the Russian prisons 
at Tomsk and Alexandrovsk, showing photographs of some of the prisoners who had been 
sentenced for murder, forgery and various crimes. These convicts worked at different trades, 
for which wages in the form of pocket money were given, and Mr. Fraser thought that their 
treatment seemed, on the whole, to be humane and sensible. With regard to the “ politicals,” 
however, it was very sad to see young boys of eighteen years and upwards imprisoned and 
exiled, cut off from civilisation and from all their friends, merely for having taken part in 
some youthful student-demonstration. It was a good thing for Siberia, however, as these men 
rarely returned to Russia, but married and settled down in the Siberian towns, where they did 
much towards educating and enlightening the population. In conclusion Mr. Fraser gave an 
amusing and graphic account of his journey by the Manchurian railway, which was then 
unfinished, and by which foreigners were not allowed to travel without a special written pass. 
As may be imagined, therefore, it was only by the exercise of considerable ingenuity that the 
lecturer was able to penetrate into these regions and by the endurance of a good deal of hard- 
ship and discomfort. He discovered that the silver key opened most doors. lie stated that, 
upon the whole, the impression produced on him by Siberia was decidedly favourable. The 
undeveloped mineral and other natural riches of the country were most remarkable. 
After the lecture several of the audience made interesting remarks. Miss Meakin, 
author of A Ribbon of Iron, said that she had travelled to Siberia by the some route as Mr. 
Fraser, but had been obliged to return by sea vid Japan and Canada, owing to the Chinese 
disturbances which had broken out during her journey. 
Mr. Ruffmann, a Russian gentleman and author of Across Siberia by Rail, recently 
published by the Pall Mall Gazette , advised all who wished to undertake a trip to Siberia 
and Manchuria, either to learn Russian themselves, or to be accompanied by someone who 
knew it, also to obtain a proper written Government permission and introductions before 
starting. 
Mr. Skrine, author of The Heart of Asia, alluded to the famines in Russia and India as 
illustrations of the Malthusian doctrines. In the case of Russia he thought the opening out 
of Siberia would do much to remedy this evil. 
Mr. Cazalet, in returning the hearty thanks of the meeting to Mr. Fraser, said that all 
present must feel, as he did, almost as though they had actually travelled by train, boat and 
sledge in those far-off regions so graphically described by the lecturer. 
