630 MISCELLANEOUS SUBJECTS 



(in) The Sunderbans Mangrove Forests of Bengal. 



The forests of the Sunderbans are situated on the 

 Ganges-Brahmaputra delta, south-east of Calcutta. The 

 chief species of mangrove in these forests is Ceriops 

 Candollcana, which is found widely distributed almost 

 throughout the Division, though more particularly in 

 the saline tracts. Here, owing to the proximity of the 

 forests to a large city, the wood is extracted as poles and 

 fuel has a greater value than, the bark. It is, however, a 

 fact that the greater number of pieces of mangrove wood 

 destined for the Calcutta market are also stripped of their 

 bark for tanning purposes. 



Inquiries made show that about 3,500 tons of the bark 

 are annually imported into Calcutta; further, it is stated 

 that the cost of extraction is relatively high. 



It is thought that though a certain quantity of man- 

 grove bark would be annually available from the Sunder- 

 bans, owing to the proximity of these forests to a large 

 consuming centre, the prospects of starting a tan extract 

 industry in that locality would be relatively poor, when 

 compared with those existing in Arakan and South 

 Tenasserim. 



(Iv) The Mangrove Forests of the Andaman Isles. 



The mangrove forests of the Andamans are found 

 fringing the shores, interrupted here and there by the 

 steeper slopes of the coast, and along the banks of tidal 

 creeks, stretching often for considerable distances inland. 

 The outer edge of the zone of these forests consist chiefly 

 of Rhizophora mucronata, Rhizophora conjugata, and 

 Ceriops Candolleana, while in the inner and the higher 

 zone Bruguiera gymnorhiza is more frequently found. 



Mr. Baker, the Deputy Conservator of Forests in 

 charge of the Andaman forests, gives it as his opinion 

 that the labour at present available would be insufficient 

 to cope with the work of extracting mangrove bark, 

 otherwise it would be possible to sell the bark f.o.b. Port 

 Blair at Rs. 21 per ton. This estimate is based on work- 

 ing with convict labour and includes royalty. 



Were persons interested in the mangrove bark from 

 the Andamans, the only possible way of working it com- 



