I|9 Botanical Sociefij of Edinburgh : — 



BOTANICAL SOCIETY OF EDINBURGH. 



April 10th, 1856.— Professor Balfour. V.l\, in the Chair. 



The following papers were read : — 



1 . " lU-niarks on the State of the Forests in Pegu, and other parts 

 of India," by Dr. M'Clclland. 



The statements in this communication were taken from Dr. M'Clel- 

 land's Report, as given in a Madras j)nj)er. That report, taken in 

 connexion with Dr. Falconer's report on the forests of the Tenas- 

 serim provinces, and Dr. Cleghorn's on the forests of !Madura and 

 Malabar, prove — 



1 . That the forests of Southern India and Pegu art approaching 

 rapidly to exhaustion. 2. That the first step necessary to check 

 this process is a more effective organization of the forest department 

 of the government of India. Instances are recorded in the Tenas- 

 serim provinces of the indiscriminate felling of teak trees of all ages. 

 Trees with a straight bole of 100 feet, and trees with the wood not 

 yet hard, were all hewn down alike. In some forests the axe never 

 ceased for twenty years. In others, every teak tree was removed. 

 In Malabar the destruction had not been so extensive, and steps had 

 been taken to prevent the further deterioration of the forests. 



In Pegu, it appears that the Burmese Government and the squatters 

 have overworked the forests in a most reckless manner. Trees of all 

 sizes and ages were allowed to be cut, and it was stated that upwards 

 of 70 per cent, of the trees cut were under-sized. In some places 

 the forests have been worked unceasingly for thirty years. Exclusive 

 of trees felled or killed, there remain m the northern forest about 

 520,000 teak trees, which at the utmost will allow thinning to the 

 extent of 2.5,000 trees a-year. This number will soon be exceeded, 

 and the forests will thus speedily dis,'ipj)car, uidess measures are 

 taken for the renewal of the trees, which it is not the interest of the 

 lessees to provide for. 



The conservancy of the valuable forests in India is a matter of 

 great imj)ortance, and calls for the immediate attention of the Indian 

 Government. Steps liave aheady been taken in some of the Pre- 

 sidencies, but much still remains to be done in order to secure that 

 the timber of these extensive forests shall be preserved and turned to 

 good account. 



2. " Remarks on some Edible Sea-weeds," by Dr. Davy. 



This paper detailed some experiments on Chondi-us crispns, or 

 Carrageen ; Rhodtjmenia palmata, or Dulse ; I'orphyra laciiuata, or 

 Laver ; Luminaria diyitatn, or Tangle ; and Fucus vesiculosus, or 

 Doughlaghman. Tbe author showed from the chemical composition 

 of these sea-weeds that they were valuable articles of food, containing 

 more nitrogen than is present in the ordinary articles of vegetable 

 food. 



3. " On Fibrous Substances used in India, as communicated in the 

 Report of the Jurors of the Madras Exhibition." 



The Jurors report that it has been shown that Southern India is 



