ely led to the annexation of Burma. At the close
of the First Burmese War in 1826 Tenasserim was annexed because it was
supposed to contain large supplies of this valuable timber; and it was
trouble with a British forest company that directly led to the Third
Burmese War of 1885. Since the introduction of iron ships teak has
supplanted oak, because it contains an essential oil which preserves iron
and steel, instead of corroding them like the tannic acid contained in oak.
The forests of Burma, therefore, are now strictly preserved by the
government, and there is a regular forest department for the conservation
and cutting of timber, the planting of young trees for future generations,
the prevention of forest fires, and for generally supervising their
treatment by the natives. In the reserves the trees of commercial value can
only be cut under a licence returning a revenue to the state, while
unreserved trees can be cut by the natives for home consumption. There are
naturally very many trees in these forests besides the teak. In Lower Burma
alone the enumeration of the trees made by Sulpiz Kurz in his _Forest Flora
of British Burma_ (1877) includes some 1500 species, and the unknown
species of Upper Burma and the Shan States would probably increase this
total very considerably. In addition to teak, which provides the bulk of
the revenue, the most valuable woods are _sha_ or cutch, india rubber,
_pyingado_, or ironwood for railway sleepers, and _padauk_. Outside these
reserves enormous tracts of forest and jungle still remain for clearance
and cultivation, reservation being mostly confined to forest land
unsuitable for crops. In 1870-1871 the state reserved forests covered only
133 sq.m., in all the Rangoon division. The total receipts from the forests
then amounted to Rs.7,72,400. In 1889-1890 the total area of reserved
forests in Lower Burma was 5574 sq.m., and the gross revenue was
Rs.31,34,720, and the expenditure was Rs.13,31,930. The work of the forest
department did not begin in Upper Burma till 1891. At the end of 1892 the
reserved forests in Upper Burma amounted to 1059 sq.m. On 30th June 1896
the reserved area amounted to 5438 sq.m. At the close of 1899 the area of
the reserved forests in the whole province amounted to 15,669 sq.m., and in
1903-1904 to 20,038 sq.m. with a revenue of Rs.85,19,404 and expenditure
amounting to Rs.35,00,311. In 1905-1906 there were 20,545 sq.m. of reserved
forest, and it is probable th