Summary of data for the month- of April to August, 1972-
Station: Forest Research Institute, Chittagong.
Time of observation: 0800 hours.

A study was made at the Forest Research Institute,
Chittagong to determine the chemical requirements for bleaching
kraft pulps obtained from Albizzia moluccana wood and the effect
of bleaching on the strength properties of the pulps. The study •
also included attempts to prepare different varieties of papers.-

Out of a total of 150 sq. miles of GovU-dmanaged- Rores-ts -of
Sylhet, 65 sq. miles-may be classed as nahrral -bamboo forests, aa
the crop in these areas is composed of almost pure bamboos. These
Forests are typically located between the rivers Kushiyara to the
north and Dholai to the south in three compact blocks, all touching
the Eastern boundary of the District with India. The location
• ’ falls between 24-3° and 24«8°N latitude and between 92° & 92»3°E.
longitude.

Air drying is an important mode of seasoning timber in
Bangladesh where sawnjill owners and lumber dealers can hardly
afford to possess modern dry kilns. Due to lack of adequate
knowledge and absence of proper drying schedule, the method is
not being practised effectively to get the best result. It is,
therefore, considered ‘partinent to study the air drying characteristics
of some of the important wood species of Bangladesh.

The establishment of efficient drying schedules for various
species is dependent upon the rate at which a given species loses
moisture. This is, also, affected by the drying condition existing
in a particular region at any given time of the year. The present
paper deals with the rate of moisture loss and air drying time of
10 indigenous wood species of Bangladesh under two conditions of
exposure.

Soybean is a small genus of twining and sub—erect harbs,
distributed throughout the tropics of Asia, Africa and Australia.
Soybean, also called Chinese bean, is considered one of the most
important cultivated legume and is one of the five sacred grains,
rice, soybean, barley, wheat and millet, essential to the existence
of Chinese civilization. It is learnt from the ’Meteria
Medica’ written about A.D. 450 that soybean was not paisonous but
regarded as a specific remedy for proper functioning of heart,
liver, kidney, stomach and bowels. It was also used as a stimulant
for lungs, for eradication of poisons from the system,
improvement of complexion and stimulant for growth of hair. It
is also called poor man’s meant due to its high protein content (2).

The production of soybean which for many centrries was
confined to the countries of Asia, spread rapidly to the rest
of the world and in recent years, it has attained great importance
in the U.S.A, as a raw material for industry. Cultivation of
soybean has gained momentum in all the American countries and in
the U.S.S.R., Rumania, Bulgaria, Yugoslovia, etc. However, attempts
to popularise soybean in India as pulse was not met with success
due to the presence of other widely used pulses.

In recent years, we have become used to soybean oil which
is comparatively cheaper. Now, if cultivation of soybean is
introduced in our country, we can meet our demand of edible oil,
which has become a scarce material. Once it is grown abundantly,
it will then surely find other uses as raw meterials of industries.

With the rapid industrialisation and establishment of wood
based industries in our country,awide gap between supply and
demand is being created. If we depend on our slow growing hardwood
species for bridging the gap, it will widen the gap only, instead
of closing the same. Secondly our wood based industries require
softwood specially long—fibre species,.which cannot be met from
our existing wood stands. Along with the growing of indigenous
light wood species, search has to be made also to find out some
conifers of exotic origin which can be established in oii soil and
climatic conditions to meet the growing demand of long fibre
species.