The evening times., 1901-05-20
STATE OF THE TEAK INDUSTRY.
How This Wood for ShipbuiIdinG Is
C.rnHxn md Marketed.

Nsilt1bLt 1LIlDtT 1OT SIllDbtLllA4ll4S5 h-l III
world.
1t does not yield to the influences Of
moisture and drought" says Mr. King.
1t IS not liable to the attack of borers
and other insects; it does not split or
sprawl: and, while it is strong, durable
wood, it is easy to work and very light
in the water AS beautiful. dark-coI-
ored wood susceptible of very high de
gree of finish, it will continue to be in
demand wherever fine finishing lumber is
needed in shipbuiIdins, and because Of its
peculiar qualities that resist the in
fuences Of iron when brought in close
contact Herewith, there is no substitute
for it yet discovered as the backing for
armor plates in vessels of var.
The area of the earCh's surface in
which valuable teak forests are found is
not extensive, being restricted to Burma
Siam, and Cochin China Some teak has
been found I'm Java, but it is not of a su-
perior quality, and as yet the forests OF
Cochin China and a part of Siam are in
accessible The limit of their area and
the increasing demands now made upon
these forests. because of the rapid growth
Of shipping throughout the world, is PIE
senting q problem which the British Gov
erument has attempted to solve by plant
MS AlCH lDItStS. DuL iIidi4A VI liit-t sAb-
tempts have proved failures, and at best
it takes from sixty to eighty years to
grow a tree large enough for superior
lumber.
There are but three ports in the world
from which teak is exported-Rangoon
Moulmein, and Bangkok. Of these,
Rangoon stands first and Bangkok and
Moulmein rank about equal in the amount
exported by each.
The term teak forest is a misnomer,
for the teak trees do not form a forest as
the term Is understood in America, but
generally are rather found in clumps. OF
peTchance as individual trees. in forests
and jungle among other timber. This
wood grows upon the mountain sides and
IN high, broken country, and is Segregat-
ed to the extent of one tree for every ten
or 100 trees of other kinds throughout the
forest in which 1t is found. 1t is much
more expensive to work such timber out
to the streams than it is TO work the for
ests of America, where the trees grow
nearer together and roads are construct
ed by which the entire product can be
! removed
1t is this heavy timber thus scattered
that renders the use of the elephant in
/ the teak forests imperative, for teams Of
any kind would be prevented from doing
the work by the dense jungle This great
beast, accustomed TO making his way
through the undergroWth, is strong
enough alone to handle the logs and
work them to the stream. But elephants
are expensive and at the same time are
singUlarIy delicate animals. On an av-
erage. an elephant viii work only FIVE
hours q day in the week, and seven
months in the year. And even at this, he
and the owner is fortunate who escapes
with not more than ) per cent loss per
annum by death.
Siam furnishes about one-fOurth OF the
teak of the world. and the quality of the
teak timber found here probably ranges
/ with the best It IS customary for trade
reports to rate it second to Burmese teak;
but ali these reports come from British
sources, and the British control the teak
( interests of Burma The British aGmi-
rally contracts have for many years been
placed in Burma, and that department is
! proverbially slow in accepting a change:
again. greater experience there may have
/ resulted in greater care in manufactur-
! ing the product for the market. Be that
: as It may, the streams tnat bear the
Burmese and the Siamese teak to the
/ seas pierce the same regions and find
their product in the same forests
The teak forests of Siam are situated
IN the upper provinces at distance Of
several hundreds Of miles from the CaDi-
tai, Bangkok, with which they are
/ brought into communication by the KITeT
Chow Pnya,' commonly called the Men
! am, and its tributaries In these forests,
/ which are leased for terms Of years to the
! up-CCuntTy traders. The trees are first
( 'girdIed'-that is to say, at the proper sea
/ son of the year the bark and sap are cut
/ through all round the trunk close to the
ground, in order to make the wood light
/ er and better for land and water transport
| before IL is carried away, and to prevent
what Is known in America as sap rot
/ Unfortunately, it is by no means in ev-
I cry year that there is enough water in
| She creeks to float the logs at al, and still
I leSs certain is II that they Will be hOated
/ as far as the deep stream before the
/ foods subSide. out Of ten years, there
" i'll not usually be more than two or three
/ when there are full foods, and three or
/ four when there are floods of average
height and duration The other three OF
four or even five years viii be dry
1 years, and viii only permit of a very
1 small quantity Of wood being brought out
/ Of the forests
Thus, taking one thing with another
and allowing for the average delay caused
! by more or less dry seasons, 1t appears
! that from the time when money begins
/ to be expended upon z teak tree until l.
arrives in Bangkok and can be exported,
d period Of from three and one-half to
! seven years, or even more. must eIapse,
during the whole of which money con-
tinueS to be expended on the tree. either
/ in working il or watching 1t, while no re-
/ turns can be had Besides the actual cx-
IseEfSeS OF IeillnE ana transporting Dy
/ land and by water, there is the royalty
10 be paid to the lessor Of the forest and
! the Government royalties payable on the
main river
prom the foregoing. it VIII be easily
cOnjeCtuTed that a very large capital is
needed for persons engaging in the up
country teak trade, and the capitalists
! who embark in this business must be con
tent to see their money locked up for a
I very long time before profits can come in
/ If a bad year-that is. a dry season
should occur, no profit can, for the time
/ being. be expected, and if this should be
/ followed uy a second bad season. il will
/ be impossible either to make any profit
( or even to pay interest on the capital ex-
{ pended. Hence ii happens that in con
tracing loans in this business and max
csts. a long period of years is included in
! the compact. so as to allow of the very
gradual repayment of the sums advanced
| IN many cases, no interest is paid upon
such loans for several years, while the
wood is being worked down to Bangkok,
and then out Of the ultimate proceeds Of
| sale, are paid at length arrears of inter
est which reach sometimes an almost in
CTedibly large sum
"As it is with the Iessees and head con-
tractors, SO 1t Is with the sub-cOntractors
and foresters. These latter invariably oh
tain advances from the lesSees and repay
them in kind, with interest in good SEA
sons IT is an tsnheard-Of thing for these
| people to pay interest in money: and d
J lessee who attempted to enforce such pay
ment would not only fail to obtain It, but
also forfeit his chance of obtaining con-
tractors in the future On the contrary
when the interest on loans to sub-con-
tractors is unpaid. owing to dry seasons
/ il is necessary to advance them fresh cap