THE 



FICUS ELASTICA 



IN 



BURMA PROPER. 



CHAPTER I. 



INTRODUCTION. 



SOME delay having occurred in the publication of this report, 

 it is necessary that I should briefly explain the reason. It 



was on the 13th May 1874,1 returned to 

 ex^ained" 1 publication of report Rangoon from my mission in Upper 

 exp ame . Burma, after an absence from British 



territory of nearly six months. During this time such of my divi- 

 sional duties as demanded immediate attention were either disposed 

 of by the Conservator, or the Sub-Assistant Conservator in charge 

 of the Government Timber Depot ; while other matters that could 

 lie over till my return — which was, however, uncertain — were 

 allowed to do so. All who have had work fall into arrears must 

 well know how difficult it is to make up lost time ; and in the present 

 instance the ordinary difficulty was materially increased from the 

 fact that numerous references had to be made to timber contractors, 

 and other officials in the districts, before the questions pending 

 decision could be disposed of. All this took time, for postal com- 

 munication in Burma is confined to the more important towns, and 

 Forest Officers have to communicate with their subordinates and 

 others as best they can. Thus it was the 15th of July 1874 before 

 I found my work reduced to the ordinary daily routine of a divi- 

 sional officer's duty : just then, I had to leave for the districts, to 

 select a suitable area for a lac preserve — a duty allotted me by the 

 Chief Commissioner. By the 1st of August, I had completed this 

 work, selected a suitable site for the "preserve," and prepared a 

 system for introducing lac culture as a branch of forest industry. 

 I now received a demi-official from the Conservator, informing me 

 that the publication of my report — which I had already intimated 

 was sufficiently advanced to pass through the press — would be post- 

 poned until my return to Rangoon, as the Chief Commissioner had 



