THE WORK OF THE FOREST DEPARTMENT IN INDIA. 29 



-value of grazing and fodder and thatching grass yielded by the 

 forests amounted to Rs. 61,41,796 



(c) Fibres. 



It is usual to classify fibres according to the part of the plant 

 from which they are obtained. Flosses are silky cottons yielded 

 "by the fruit capsules of certain trees. The true " kapok " of com- 

 merce is a floss produced by Eriodendron anfractuosum, which is 

 sometimes planted in India but is not an indigenous forest tree. 

 The most important substitute for kapok is the floss obtained 

 from the fruits of Bomhax malabaricum while among other 

 species yielding silk cottons are Cochlospermum, Gossypium and 

 Calotropis spp. Species of wild plantain (Musa) yield strong 

 fibres from their sheathing leaf -stalks, and the leaves of the wild 

 sago palm, Caryota urens, give a fibre of some value known as 

 kitul and used for making fishing nets and lines as well as for 

 brush bristles, ropes, baskets and sacking. Bast fibres are 

 yielded by a large number of trees and by certain climbers and 

 are employed for rough cordage though some are suitable for 

 finer work. Among the best known are those produced by 

 species of Sterculia, Grewia and Bauhinia, and several species 

 ■of the orders Malvacece and Urticaceoe. Of forest fibres which 

 seem to have commercial prospects may be mentioned those of the 

 ishrubs Helicteres Isora and TJrena lohata. Both are very com- 

 mon in certain localities, and the former yields a strong greyish 

 white fibre used in rope making while the latter produces a 

 ■strong fibre nearly equal to jute. Of fibrous grasses the two 

 most important are the munj {Saccharum Munja) and the 

 bhabar, baib or sabai (Ischoemum angustifolium) ; the latter is 

 better known as a paper making material, but both are largely 

 used for making ropes and mats. 



{d) Oil Seeds. 



Although many forest species yield useful oil-seeds, the cost 



of collection from trees scattered over large areas renders it 



impossible for them ta compete with oil-seeds cultivated as 



agricultural crpps. The collection of forest oil-seeds, therefore, 



is commercially remunerative only if they possess special pro- 



c3 



