G04 
A TRIP TO TROBOLINGGO. 
Boats with cargo have thus to watch the opportunity of the tides to 
go out and return. This Brukan is nearly half a paul long and has cost 
much labour and expense, and after all is not a satisfactory piece of 
work, as the pier heads give way to the waves; we found them busy 
making repairs to this part. It is necessary to protect and strengthen 
the work by timber driven into the ground ; this the sea worm im¬ 
mediately attacks and in about three years the finest beams of teak 
crumble by its depredations. The part attacked and thus destroyed 
is such as the rising and falling waters work upon ; wood in deep 
water or in the ground is never touched. No attempt is made by 
engineers to obviate this evil, but they are perhaps hardly to blame 
as the government cripples them in their expenditure, and in order 
to make any new experiment, more writing, more talking and more 
troublesome forms have to be gone through, than in going on in the 
old routine; some one worn out beam is pulled out and another 
knocked down in its place, to be in its turn as speedily destroyed. No 
attempt has been made to “ Kyanize” the timber by soaking it in a 
solution of corrosive sublimate, and which in England is found to 
produce such beneficial effect on wood. The plan which is adopted 
in American ships to economise copper in the upper streaks, might 
perhaps be tried with advantage, viz. laying on a solution of Arsenic 
in the shape of a paint; this repeated occasionally might keep off 
the worm. Short nails with very broad beads might be studded 
over the surface with effect. But to any proposition of this kind, 
the immediately reply is “ Maar wat zou dat veel kosten,” (but what 
an expense that would be) which is quite enough to deter the autho¬ 
rities from bringing it to the notice of government, which adopts 
the maxin that that man is a good servant, who keeps matters in 
order without making any call ou “ ’sLands Kas”—(the public 
chest) no matter how the native population are worked and harassed 
or what valuable timder is consumed, which can be had for cutting 
in the forest. At Probolinggo they are just now dropping the use of 
Teak, as they fancy they have discovered that the sea worm either 
does not at all or very rarely molest the stem of the palmyra, bo- 
rassus, raphis flabelliformis. They have been brought to this con¬ 
clusion by observing its durability when employed as palisades or in 
the construction of bridges on the main road, where the salt tide 
reached ; ordinary timber soon perishing from the attacks of the 
worm, whereas this tree has been found to stand good for a consi¬ 
derable time. In common with all palms, the outer layer or wood 
