134 QUEENSLAND AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. [1 Fres., 1899. 
Jarrah is undoubtedly the most valuable, and, at the same time, the most 
plentiful timber-tree of Western Australia, its durability in seawater and 
underground rendering it eminently suitable for piles and railway sleepers, for 
which, and for street-paving blocks, itis already largely employed. The present 
price of jarrah in London is 2s. 3d. to 2s. 6d. per foot (cube). The growing 
importance of the export timber trade of Western Australia, which consists 
almost exclusively of jarrah and karri, is well shown by the following values of 
the timber exported for the years named—z.e., for 1895, £88,146; 1896, 
£116,420; and for 1897, £192,451. Some interesting specimens of this wood 
are to be seen in the Australian Gallery of the Imperial Institute, one of 
which is a portion of a pile which was for thirty years in Bunbury Harbour. 
There is also a portion of a plank removed in 1895 from the Upper Brunswick 
Bridge, which was erected in 1862, and a beam from the roof of St. George’s 
Cathedral, Perth, which was erected in 1844; this beam was removed in 1895. 
Parts of the surfaces of all the specimens have been planed up and polished, and 
to all appearances the timber, in every case, is perfectly sound and fit for 
many more years’ service. 
Pisciculture. 
THE GOURAMT. 
Mr. D. O’Connor, who, it will be remembered, was most successful in intro- 
ducing live Ceratodi from the Burnett district into London and Paris, has, 
after one failure, succeeded equally in bringing to Queensland the Gourami of 
Java. Some seventy specimens have lately arrived in the colony, and will by 
this time have been placed in suitable lagoons and waterholes. Readers of the 
Journal will find an illustration of and some remarks on this valuable fish in 
the number for October, 1897 (page 340). 
In Ceylon great interest is being manifested in the introduction of the 
Gourami to the waters of that beautiful island. 
From the Tropical Agriculturist (Colombo) we take the following letters 
to the editor on the subject :— 
Mr. G. M. Fowler writes from Ratuapura— 
THE INTRODUCTION OF THE GOURAMI FISH INTO CEYLON. 
Iam glad to see that the Gourami is again attracting attention. Several 
attempts have been made to introduce it into Ceylon. Some were imported by 
Sir William Gregory, which arrived safely, and were placedin ponds in Kandy 3 
but, so far as I can learn, were no more seen. Another attempt was made later 
(by Mr. Le Mesurier, I believe), and a solitary specimen was to be seen for 
some time in the basin in the Gordon Gardens, Colombo. In 1894, with the 
kind assistance of Messrs. Bois Bros. and of the late Captain Bayley, I obtained 
a consignment from Mauritius. ‘They were most carefully shipped and cared 
for en route, but most unfortunately were all sent offto Nuwara Eliya at once 
on arrival, and next morning all were dead. 
Messrs. Scott and Co., of Mauritius, had warned uy that it was 
doubtful whether the fish would thrive in such a cold climate, and we had 
intended to distribute them at different elevations. I intended to try again, 
but was moved elsewhere a few weeks later. 
