184 TlMEHRI. 
held chiefly with the object of collecting balata. I have 
expressed doubt of the legitimacy of the trade under this 
aspect, — balata collecting being only justifiable in my 
view from trees unquestionably cut for the sake of their 
timber. The greater part of the balata collected in 
Berbice is obtained, however, not from the grants, but 
from Crown lands, and a cover is afforded to the nefari- 
ous business by the existence of a few grants to be pres- 
ently alluded to. Except only what is gathered by 
Indians, the balata collected in the other parts of the 
colony is all surreptitiously taken from Crown lands. It 
is inconsiderable compared to the Berbice trade, but I 
have failed to get any reliable idea of its quantity. Some 
however, is derived from all the rivers ; most, apparent- 
ly, from the district of the Barima and Pomeroon, and 
least of all from the Essequebo. In the counties of 
Demerara and Essequibo there are no grants on which, 
to any appreciable degree, balata could be obtained. In 
Berbice there are eleven woodcutting grants, compri- 
sing a little over 3,000 acres. Eight of them are on the 
Canje, two on the Berbice, and one on the Corentyn 
River. The grants of occupancy in the same region 
are nineteen, comprising about 2,250 acres. Nine are 
on the Canje, six on the Berbice and three on the 
Corentyn. In addition to these Government grants, 
there are eight freehold properties on the Canje in the 
bullet-tree region, representing over 3,000 acres. Other 
tracts are claimed by parties as freehold property, but 
their titles are of little or no value. Of the woodcutting 
grants, grants of occupancy and freehold property taken 
together, less than half the land contains bullet-tree 
wood at present. In the rest it has been cut out for 
