Note 137 — Chapter XIV · THE LAND JOURNEY.

Anciently an excellent forest. The trees were felled, hewn into rough planks, and floated down the Poonanee river at very little expense. This valuable article has, however, been sadly mismanaged by us in more ways than one. All the timber growing near the streams has been cleared away, and as the local government will not lay out a few lacs of rupees in cutting roads through the forests, its expense has been raised almost beyond its value. Considerable losses in the dockyards have been incurred in consequence of the old erroneous belief that “teak is the only wood in India which the white ants will not touch.” The timber should be stacked for at least eight years, three of which would enable it to dry, and the remaining five to become properly seasoned.