34 



THE WOEK OF THE FOREST DEPARTMENT. IN INDIA. 



the development of an extensive industry, it will be necessary to 

 devise a special system of working in order to maintain supplies 

 without inflicting permanent injury on the forests. 



Cutch is the name given to the solid and semi-solid extract 

 prepared from the heartwood of Acacia Catechu, though at 

 times this name is also applied to lighter coloured tan extracts 

 such as Borneo cutch. The chief use of the cutch in the United 

 Kingdom is for dyeing fishing nets. It imparts a deep reddish- 

 brown colour to the material and also acts on the fibre as a 

 preservative. Most forms of cutch made from Acacia 

 Catechu contain a fair percentage of catechin, a white crystal- 

 line substance which is insoluble in cold water. This insoluble 

 catechin is also deposited on the fibre and slowly oxidises into 

 tannic acid and other products by the action of the sea water. 

 Its present price varies, according to quality, between Rs. 840 

 and Es. 1,240 per ton. Hitherto no serious effort has been made 

 to organise the industry on strictly scientific lines for the reason 

 that the prices obtained for it do iiot justify extra capital being 

 sunk in elaborate machinery similar to that required for the pre- 

 paration of tan extracts. 



The export figures for cutch from British India are as 

 follows : — 



Export figures, cutcli and gambler. 



Katha or catechin, though not a tan extract, may be con- 

 veniently referred to here, as it is another product of Acacia 

 Catechu. This substance is much in demand in India for edible 

 purposes. In Kumaun and other places the katha is pre- 

 pared by allowing the aqueous extract of Acacia Catechu of a 

 particular concentration to cooland deposit the small needle 



