MISCELLANEOUS SUBJECTS 629 



quickly special instruments would have to be used, while 

 possibly rough wireways might greatly facilitate ex- 

 traction to the waterways from the interior of the forest. 

 The most suitable sites for a factory would probably 

 be either Sandoway or Kyaukpyu, as the rivers and creeks 

 converging on these places afford excellent lines of export 

 for the raw material throughout the year, while the 

 British India Steam Navigation Co.'s steamers call 

 frequently at both ports. 



(it) Mangrove Forests of South Tenasserim. 



The mangrove forests of South Tenasserim occur in 

 the Mergui and Tavoy Districts, especially in the former. 

 The exact area which they cover is not known, though 

 the Divisional Forest Officer, Mr. Pocock, reporting on 

 the subject, describes them as more or less unlimited. 

 A good deal of bark is and has been extracted from these 

 forests, some of which was sent for experimental pur- 

 poses to the Government Rangoon Tan Extract Factory, 

 which is now closed down owing to the factory site 

 having been originally wrongly chosen and to the plant 

 being out of date and repair. 



The cost of extraction of bark in Mergui based on 

 actual experience works out as follows : 



Rs. A. P. 



(a) Cost of extraction to Mergui 6 4 o per ton 



(b) Wharfage fees o 12 6 ,, 



(<) Cooly hire for bundling and boat hire from 



wharf to steamer 320 



(d) Shipping charges from Mergui to Rangoon 640 



Total ... 16 6 6 



In this locality the cost of felling and stripping comes 

 to Rs. 6-4 per ton. Mr. Hamilton found that it cost him 

 Rs. 5 per ton to do the same work in Arakan, while the 

 total cost of landing bark in Rangoon works out to 

 Rs. 16-6-6 per ton, as against Rs. 12 15 per ton in 

 Sandoway or Kyaukpyu; in other words, the estimates 

 put up for two different localities by different officials 

 agree very fairly well. There can be little doubt that 

 Arakan and Mergui are the two most suitable and pro- 

 mising areas available for the extraction of mangrove bark 

 and for the preparation of tan extracts in British India. 



