A preliminary study on veneer cutting and gluing properties of Albizzia
moluccana Miq., an exotic species, showed that the species is suitable for making good
quality veneer and plywood and can be used for making tea boxes and crates. It
is also suitable for making corestock.

The paper explores the statistical ground of preparing forest working plans and
provides a tentative list of required data and studies. It is observed that the
insufficiency of required data and lack of studies have resulted in serious shortcomings
in the present working plans of Bangladesh. The targets are not found to be
established on an analytical basis and the prescriptions and programmes do not
reflect the true requirements of the economy. Thus the plans are not consistent
with the objective of producing the maximum contribution to the society. In order
to improve the quality of the working plans it has become urgently necessary to
develop forestry sector statistics in Bangladesh. The paper suggests steps for accelerating
developments in this respect. The steps are concerned with institutional
changes, provision of adequate field staff and funds, organising training programmes
and formulation of a plan for statistical development by the Working Plans Division
of the Forest Department in close co-operation with the Planning Commission
and the Forest Research Institute.

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The furniture and joinery industries of Bangladesh mostly use manual labour
and hand tools both in manufacture and in surface finishing. Modern woodworking
machines have been introduced on a very small scale in the recent past, but
they have not met with much success due to the lack of proper technical know-how
and trained personnel. These industries are expected to expand. As the general
economic conditions improve and per capita income rises, there will be need for an
increased production of furniture and joinery.

A brief review is given of investigations into the cause of agaru, a valuable
aromatic oleoresinous deposit found in the stems of Aquilaria agallocha in
Bangladesh, East India and other parts of South East Asia.
In previous investigations various fungi have been identified in association
with agaru deposits but their casusal role in this context has not been fully
established.
The present investigation includes microscopic examinations and identification
of fungal isolates from four samples of agaru collected in the Sylhct region
of Bangladesh. From this evidence it is concluded that it is unlikely that there
is a specific fungal cause for agaru. Suggestions are made for further research.

An investigation was made to determine the possibility of making sulphate pulp
from rubber wood {Hevea brasiliensis). The pulp obtained was low in yield and the
permanganate number was very high ranging from 12.35 to 24.44 predicting a high
bleach requirement. The physical strength properties of the pulps were moderate.
Rubber wood pulp showed promise to be used for making moderate quality wrapping,
bag and average quality printing papers.

Air drying characteristics of garjan Dipterocarpus spp. railway sleepers were
investigated employing 1 x 5, 2 x 5, 1 x 7 and 2×7 piling methods. Although there
was no significant difference among the drying periods in different methods, the
2×7 method appeared to be the most efficient one. This method exhibited a
relatively shorter drying time irrespective of higher density and higher initial moisture
content of sleepers as compared to those in other methods. The faster drying
in the 2×7 method was attributed to better air circulation. Sleepers stacked in the
month of April, dried down to 28% mosisture content in about eight months on
the average. It is recommended that garjan sleepers be air dried following the
2×7 method during the active drying season beginning November, instead of April,
as was done in the present study, with a view to achieving further reduction in
total drying time.
The moisture distribution inside the sleepers was highly variable ; the moisture
gradient was steeper with increasing depth of the zone, but the steepness of
the gradient decreased with increasing drying time.

Jam (Syzygium grandis), because of its availability and strength properties,
was considered for substituting garjan ( Dipterocarpus spp. ) for making railway
sleepers. Since treatment with creosote is normally the part of the manufacturing
process for railway sleepers from nondurable wood, jam heartwood was treated
with Lowry empty cell process using 40 ; 60 creosote-petroleum oil preservative in
order to develop a treating schedule for jam sleeper. Treatments were performed
with the various combinations of treating schedules with or without the pretreatment
ot steaming-vacuum or incision. None of the treatments, however, could
achieve penetration and retention recommended for the purpose of railway sleepers

Black pepper (Piper nigrum, Linn.) locally known as gid marich – is a highly
prized spice with heavy demand in the western countries. Oldrecords indicate that
limited vines of the species were in Jessore and Sylhet districts. Large scale use
of black pepper as a condiment and scope of its introduction for multiple use
of land made the authors to initiate studies for cultivation and field studies in
Bangladesh.
Trials were given to raise the vines from stem cuttings on trellis as well as
on living support of available fruit trees. Different methods of raising cuttings
were also evaluated. Growth, flowering and fruiting behaviour were also observed.
Because of limited stock, work on pollination mechanism and ratio of
male and female flowers could not be undertaken.

This paper clearly shows that propagating bamboos from material
other than seed is possible. Propagation of bamboos from offsets is well
known and practised in village groves. The development of planting material
from branch cuttings is a two-stage operation. The first is the striking of roots
and the other, the development of a rhizome. Getting vigorous rooted stock is not
enough because this does not always develop rhizomes ; for this the biological
condition of the buds is very important. In bamboos, successful planting
material must have all the characters of growing clumps, the most important of
which is the production of new culms. Though offsets are a good propagating material,
these are not suitable for large scale plantations due to handling difficulties,
long branch cuttings with swollen basal nodes and 2-3 branch nodes
physiologically similar and can be made
branch
18-20 inch
are morphologically and to function
like the offset in suitable conditions. Such cuttings develop into
good planting material in 6-30 months, depending on the biological condition
of the cutting and the period of the year when the cuttings were taken.
The superiority of the branch cutting over the offset is in the fact that it is easy
to raise, economic to produce, and convenient to transport. At the moment the
percentage of success is low, and further research in the factors governing the production
of planting material from branch cuttings is necessary.This paper clearly shows that propagating bamboos from material
other than seed is possible. Propagation of bamboos from offsets is well
known and practised in village groves. The development of planting material
from branch cuttings is a two-stage operation. The first is the striking of roots
and the other, the development of a rhizome. Getting vigorous rooted stock is not
enough because this does not always develop rhizomes ; for this the biological
condition of the buds is very important. In bamboos, successful planting
material must have all the characters of growing clumps, the most important of
which is the production of new culms. Though offsets are a good propagating material,
these are not suitable for large scale plantations due to handling difficulties,
long branch cuttings with swollen basal nodes and 2-3 branch nodes
physiologically similar and can be made
branch
18-20 inch
are morphologically and to function
like the offset in suitable conditions. Such cuttings develop into
good planting material in 6-30 months, depending on the biological condition
of the cutting and the period of the year when the cuttings were taken.
The superiority of the branch cutting over the offset is in the fact that it is easy
to raise, economic to produce, and convenient to transport. At the moment the
percentage of success is low, and further research in the factors governing the production
of planting material from branch cuttings is necessary.