306 QUEENSLAND AGRICULTURAL gouRNAL. [1 Aprit, 1898. 
Divi-divi usually contains from 30 to 50 per cent. of tanning matters, whilst 
samples of the same product derived from India have furnished percentages of 
tanning matter varying between 12 and 25 per cent. It therefore appears that this. 
Queensland sample is of excellent quality, and, since the colour is no greater than the 
average, it should prove a valuable material. I may add that the present market value 
of Divi-divi varies between £7 and £10 a ton. 
WYNDHAM R. DUNSTAN, 
Director of the Scientific Department. 
25th January, 1898. 
A further report was forwarded on 25th January, 1898, by the Acting 
Agent-General to the Under Secretary for Agriculture, from Messrs. Fisher, - 
King, and Co., London, which reads as follows :— 
70-2 Weston street, Bermondsey, 
London, S.E., 24th January, 1898. 
Dear Srr,—We duly received your favour of 10th January, and subsequently 
the sample of Divi-divi. This sample we find to be mixed in quality, part good, part 
_ shelly pods, somewhat resembling Savanilla. It is a very fair growth. Shipments , 
should be as free from sheliy pods as possible, and the lighter in colour the better. 
The value of the sample 1s approximately £9 per ton in bags ex warehouse. If the 
quality were better-—i.e., not shelly—it would probably sell more freely, and realise 
from £10 to £10 10s. per ton. 
We are not quite sure if you are proposing to import this product, but a shipment 
would probably find a fairly ready market. Should you require any further informa 
tion, we shall be very pleased to do our best to afford you answers to any inquiries you 
may make. 
Yours faithfully, 
FISHER, KING, AND CO. 
Charles S. Dicken, Esq., 1 Victoria street, S.W. 
A sample of the seeds has been placed in the Queensland section of the 
Imperial Institute, where it will prove an interesting exhibit. We would, in 
view of the favourable report on the Divi-divi seed, strongly advise planters and 
farmers to devote some of their waste land to the cultivation of a tree which 
in a comparatively short time will yield a handsome addition to the yearly 
income. A plantation of a couple of hundred trees would form a nice legacy 
to a man’s children, even if he did not live to benefit by it himself. 
The following report was also received by the Acting Agent-General from 
Messrs. T. J. and T. Powell, London Bridge:—We have carefully enclosed 
the-sample of Divi-divi which you sent us, and we consider on the whole that 
it is a fair sample of this article. A good many of the pods have been burnt 
up in the drying. Some of them have also been slightly damp, and this has 
probably set up some heating action which has destroyed the colour and doubt- 
less a great deal of the tanning strength. In quantity, Divi-divi equal to 
the sample you have sent us would be worth here about £7 to £8 a ton 
to-day ; but if it was properly selected, equal to the sample we are returning 
to you, which we have sorted out from a portion of the large bag you have sent 
us, to-day’s value would be nearer £10 to £11 per ton. It would be much 
easier to sell such good quality, the commoner sorts having lately been almost 
unsaleable on this market. We think it would be possible to sell large 
quantities, especially if the quality is kept up. If we can give you any further 
information about this, we shall be glad to do so. 
