364 
be the more delicate one by reason of, the difficulty of under- 
standing and determining exactly the landed-property system 
of the conquered country. 
After the suitability of the land for cultivation has been 
established, there are two further indispensable conditions for 
maintaining its value, in old as well as in new countries—good 
organization of agricultural credit and good technical instruc- 
tion of the farmers; other artificial means for preserving the 
agricultural capacity of the land have been shown to be less 
efficient. — 
NOTE ON THE MANGROVE FORESTS OF BRITISH INDIA. 
By R. S. Pearson, F.L.S., 
Economist, Forest Research Institute, Dehra Dun, India. 
[ ApsTRACt. | 
Up to the present no mangrove bark has been exported 
from India to Europe, though considerable quantities are used 
in India itself, being imported into Calcutta and into Rangoon 
and Moulmein from the coastal forests of Bassein, Tavoy, 
and Mergui. 
The most important mangroves commercially are Rhizo- 
phora mucronata, Lamk.; FR. conjugata, Linn.; Ceriops 
Candolleana, Arn.; C. Roxburghiana, Arn.; Kandelia Rheedii, 
W. and A.; and Bruguiera gymnorrhisa, Lamk.; and the dis- 
tribution of these species in India and elsewhere is described. 
In India the most important mangrove forests occur on the 
Arakan and South Tenasserim coasts, the Sunderbans, the 
Andaman Isles, and to a less extent the Bassein coast of 
Burma. The economic possibilities of each of these areas as 
sources of supply of mangrove bark for the manufacture of 
extract locally are discussed. 
Arakan and Mergui are regarded as the two most promising 
areas for the preparation of tanning extracts from mangrove 
bark in India. It is considered that on a forty-year felling 
rotation, 30,000 tons of green bark could be produced annually 
in Arakan. The best site for a factory in this area will be 
either Sandoway or Kyaukpyu, and it is estimated that the 
total cost of bark delivered there will be Rs. 12-15 per ton. 
In Mergui it has been found that bark can be collected and 
delivered in Rangoon at a cost of Rs. 16.6.6. per ton. 
A short bibliography of the literature of the chemical 
examination of Indian mangrove barks and of experiments on 
the preparation of extracts from them is also given. 
