ACACIA 



PRODUCTION AND TRADE CATKCHU 



Cutch 



In The Agricultural Ledger (181)0, No. 35) will be found the results DJ. 

 of 1'rofes.sor J. J. Hummel's and Mr. Reginald B. Brown's chemical 

 investigations into the dyeing properties of catechu-tannin and catechin. 

 Briellv, they have demonstrated that both these substances may under 

 certain c.iicuinstances be used as dyes. [Cf. Journ. Soc. Chem. Indust., 

 March :U, I'.iol, x.\., 246.] The present purpose has been to con- 

 vey the facts of commercial importance and the bearings of recent 

 research (both botanical and chemical) on possible developments of the 

 cutch industry. 



Production and Trade In Cutch. Trustworthy returns are not Trade, 

 available regarding the production of cutch in India. The trade is 

 very largely in the hands of small manufacturers and dealers. As a 

 rule the right to work the cutch forests belonging to Government is 

 granted by license and sold by auction or tender. The period for 

 which the licenses hold good is usually four months. Commercial 

 Circular (1896, No. 11) gives certain particulars of interest regarding the 

 Burma trade. It is calculated that on the average 80 cutch trees are 

 used per cauldron, and as the average price paid for the cauldrons Cost. 

 comes to Rs. 225, the average price obtained per tree comes to Rs. 2-13. 

 But each tree would yield about 25 cubic feet, say half a ton, so 

 that the price obtained is equivalent to Rs. 5-10 per ton, or nearly as 

 much as is usually got from the local traders for undersized teak logs. 



It would seem that the Burma production averages from 130,000 to Total 

 150,000 cwt. a year ; the South Indian perhaps 1,000 cwt. ; the Bombay Production - 

 perhaps half that quantity ; and it is probable that Bengal and the United 

 Provinces yield between them about 20,000 cwt. This conception of the 

 probable annual production is inferred very largely from the returns of 

 Foreign, Coasting and Internal Trade, rather than from actual statistics, 

 and consequently it ignores local consumption. Thus the total exports to 

 foreign countries were 183,729 cwt., valued at Rs. 36,96,106, in 1895-6 ; 

 122,082 cwt. in 1896-7 ; 97,187 cwt. in 1897-8 ; 61,669 cwt. in 1898-9 ; 

 but they rose again to 127,815 cwt., valued at Rs. 24,70,422, in 1899-1900 ; Fluctuations, 

 sunk to 101,995 cwt. in 1900-1 ; and further to 66,162 cwt. in the year 

 following. In 1902-3 there was a slight improvement to 70,305 cwt., 

 valued at Rs. 13,42,583, and a still further improvement in 1903-4, viz. 

 to 112,936 cwt., valued at Rs. 19,71,896. In 1904-5, however, they 

 again fell to 62,562 cwt., valued at Rs. 9,71,041, and in 1906-7 to 

 97,269 cwt., valued at Rs. 15,92,561. The traffic thus fluctuates greatly, 

 but would seem on the whole to be declining. Usually Burma contributes 

 about 98 per cent, of the total. For example, taking the total export 

 for 1906-7, Burma furnished 95,451 cwt., Bengal 1,687 cwt., Madras 124 

 cwt., and Bombay, 7 cwt. The Bengal trade seems for some years to 

 have declined and direct shipments from Burma to have increased. The 

 United Kingdom is the country to which by far the largest consignments 

 are usually made. The next in order are, as a rule, Egypt and either 

 France, Germany or Holland. The trade with the Straits Settlements 

 has steadily declined from 6,585 cwt. in 1898-9 to 1,796 cwt. in 1901-2, 

 104 cwt. in 1905-6, but rose to 854 in 1906-7. The United Kingdom takes 

 from 70 to 80 per cent, of the total annual supply. Of the coastwise 

 traffic Bengal (Calcutta) is the most important receiving centre and Burma 

 the most important exporting. In 1895-6, Bengal received 35,079 cwt., 

 but that traffic seems to have declined seriously, and in 1902-3 was only 



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