260 
Indian lorest Records. 
property in Burma cutch, when cutch is used for curing or preserving 
herring nets. We understand when cutch liquor is cold, it is the cateehin 
which forms a sort of limey deposit. Some fishermen object to this 
limey substance on their nets, but those of greater experience recognise 
that when the nets are covered with this limey appearance, these are the 
nets which after being in the sea prove to be the best cured. The nets 
may be di’awn out of the cold liquor covered with this limey substance 
and, so far as coloiu’ is concerned, with little appearance of having been 
in cutch, but after a few trips to sea, the colour develops to almost jet 
black, a sui-e sign that the nets have been well cured. Consequently, our 
convinced opinion is that cateehin in Bm’ma cutch is a valuable property 
when the cutch is to be used for preserving herring nets, and makes 
Burma cutch of greater value than cutch made from Mangrove, 
Hemlock, etc.^^ 
Future 2 ^ros^ects, and measures recommended . — It is impossible to 
foretell with any accm’acy what the future of the cutch trade will be, but 
as far as present indications go it is probable that the price of cutch will 
find a still lower permanent level. In any case extensive adulteration or 
faulty manufacture will mean the doom of the cutch trade, for whereas 
high grade cutch finds a ready market, inferior cutch cannot compete 
with cheaper substitutes. It will fui-ther be of advantage to keep the 
supplies of cutch as regular as possible ; this cannot be done with any 
certainty for some few yeai’s yet, but when reseiwed forests come to be 
SA'stematically worked the supplies of cutch should be fairly regular’. 
The chief measures necessary for the future maintenance of the cutch 
trade in Bm-ma are (I) to prevent adulteration and faulty manufacture, 
and to keep the standard of cutch as high as possible, and (2) to avoid 
any hiatus in the production of cutch between the time when the cutch 
trees are depleted outside reserves and the time when they come to be 
regulai’ly worked within reserves ; for this reason it is highly desirable 
that all workable cutch areas within reserves should in good time be 
brought under the provisions of working-plans in those localities where 
the trees outside reserves ai’e approaching extermination. 
