364 



be the more delicate one by reason of the difficulty of under- 

 standing and determining exactly the landed-property system 

 of the conquered country. 



After the suitability of the land for cultivation has been 

 established, there are two further indispensable conditions for 

 maintaining its value, in old as well as in new countries good 

 organization of agricultural credit and good technical instruc- 

 tion of the farmers; other artificial means for preserving the 

 agricultural capacity of the land have been shown to be kss 

 efficient. 



NOTE ON THE MANGROVE FORESTS OF BRITISH INDIA. 



By R. S. PEARSON, F.L.S., 

 Economist, Forest Research Institute, Dehra Dun, India. 



[ABSTRACT.] 



Up to the present no mangrove bark has been exported 

 from India to Europe, though considerable quantities are used 

 in India itself, being imported into Calcutta and into Rangoon 

 and Moulmein from the coastal forests of Bassein, Tavoy, 

 and Mergui. 



The most important mangroves commercially are Rhizo- 

 phora mucronata, Lamk.; R. conjugata, Linn.; Ceriops 

 Candolleana, Arn.; C. Roxburghiana, Arn.; Kandelia Rheedii, 

 W. and A. ; and Bruguiera gymnorrhiza, Lamk. ; and the dis- 

 tribution of these species in India and elsewhere is described. 



In India the most important mangrove forests occur on the 

 Arakan and South Tenasserim coasts, the Sunderbans, the 

 Andaman Isles, and to a less extent the Bassein coast of 

 Burma. The economic possibilities of each of these areas as 

 sources of supply of mangrove bark for the manufacture of 

 extract locally are discussed. 



Arakan and Mergui are regarded as the two most promising 

 areas for the preparation of tanning extracts from mangrove 

 bark in India. It is considered that on a forty-year felling 

 rotation, 30,000 tons of green bark could be produced annually 

 in Arakan. The best site for a factory in this area will be 

 either Sandoway or Kyaukpyu, and it is estimated that the 

 total cost of bark delivered there will be Rs. 12-15 P er ton. 

 In Mergui it has been found that bark can be collected and 

 delivered in Rangoon at a cost of Rs. 16.6.6. per ton. 



A short bibliography of the literature of the chemical 

 examination of Indian mangrove barks and of experiments on 

 the preparation of extracts from them is also given. 



