The tropical moist deciduous forests of Bangladesh locally known as sal forests predominantly contain sal (Shorea robusta Gaertn. f.). It covers about 110 thousand hectares ofland and has a wide but interrupted distribution. There is scant record on the flora and vegetation ofsal forests from Bangladesh. About 65 percent of sal forest is highly degraded. The present work is a first attempt to document the woody flora of sal forests of Bangladesh. In this paper a general description ofthese forests containing landscape, soils, climate, forest types, vegetation, floristics and diversity has been given. The woody taxa enumerated including three monocotyledonous families (Gramineae, Liliaceae and Palmae) number about 260 species under 160 genera comprising of56 families. Out ofthese 260 taxa trees,shrubs and woody climbers are represented by about 133, 77 and 50 species respectively. Leguminosae ranks top of the list. Euphorbiaceae and Rubiaceae occupy the next positions. About 17 families are represented bysinglewoody taxa only. Floristic composition varies from area to area. The conservation needs have been emphasized.

This paper attempts to compare the efficiencies of moulded chairs and conventional chairs from financial view point. The financial impacts of moulded and conventional chairs were evaluated through a case study. The study areaswereBangladesh ForestResearch Institute (BFRI) and three otherlocations ofChittagong city. The study revealed that the net presentvalue, benefitcost ratio and internal rate of return stood at Tk. 113.06, 1.36 and 105.39% respectively for moulded chairs compared to Tk. 58.53,1.16 and 48.85% respectively for conventional chairs. The cross over discount rate was 29.71%. Further, the internal rate of returns due to production of moulded chairs were found less sensitive to changes in costs and prices. The study, therefore, found the moulded chairs to be a better choice within some limitations.

Chemical components and water repellent property of rubberwood (Hevea brasiliensis) from Bangladesh were determined. The speciesfrom Bangladesh was found to possess about the same amount of water, alcohol-benzene and causticsoda solubles compared to that from Malaysia. Bangladeshi rubberwood contains higher amount of holocellulose than that from Malaysian rubberwood. Water repellent property of the species was found to be lower than that of teak. Considering the cellulose content and water repellent property, the species seems to be suitable for chemical pulping, conversion products and various indoor uses.