, such as _mirabau_, _penagah_ and _rengas_,
have good grain and take a fine polish, causing them to be suitable for
the manufacture of furniture. The large tree which yields the Camphor
_barus_ of commerce also affords good timber. It is a _Dryobalanops_,
and is not to be confused with the _Cinnamomum camphora_, from which the
ordinary "camphor" is obtained and the wood of which retains the camphor
smell and is largely used by the Chinese in the manufacture of boxes,
the scented wood keeping off ants and other insects which are a pest in
the Far East. The Borneo camphor tree is found only in Borneo and
Sumatra. The camphor which is collected for export, principally to China
and India, by the natives, is found in a solid state in the trunk, but
only in a small percentage of the trees, which are felled by the
collectors. The price of this camphor _barus_ as it is termed, is said
to be nearly a hundred times as much as that of the ordinary camphor,
and it is used by the Chinese and Indians principally for embalming
purposes. Billian and other woods enumerated are all found near the
coast and, generally, in convenient proximity to some stream, and so
easily available for export. Sandakan harbour has some thirteen rivers
and streams running into it, and, as the native population is very
small, the jungle has been scarcely touched, and no better locality
could, therefore, be desired by a timber merchant. Two European Timber
Companies are now doing a good business there, and the Chinese also take
their share of the trade. China affords a ready and large market for
Borneo timber, being itself almost forestless, and for many years past
it has received iron-wood from Sarawak. Borneo timber has also been
exported to the Straits Settlements, Australia and Mauritius, and I hear
that an order has been given for England. Iron wood is only found in
certain districts, notably in Sandakan Bay and on the East coast, being
rarely met with on the West coast. I have seen a private letter from an
officer in command of a British man-of-war who had some samples of it on
board which came in very usefully when certain bearings of the screw
shaft were giving out on a long voyage, and were found to last _three
times_ as long as lignum vitae.

In process of time, as the country is opened up by roads and railways,
doubtless many other valuable kinds of timber trees will be brought to
light in the interior.

A notice of Borneo Forests would be incom