Coal. "The only district within the Berárs which yields coal is that of Wún, in East Berár, where, stretching along the valley of the Wardha river in a direction rudely north and south, a group of beds of thick coal of fair quality has lately been found. This group of beds may be said to extend from near the Wardha river on the north to the Painganga on the south. The beds associated with the coal can be traced throughout, and, although there has not yet been time to prove the existence of coal throughout the entire distance, there can be little reasonable doubt that it will be found to occur. "These beds show first+ on the south, near the village of Kolgaon, on the Painganga, about 4 miles from the junction of that stream with the Wardha. Thence extending northward through the lands of Sakra, Manguli, &c., the outcrop of the coal crosses the Wardha (which here curves to the west) near the village of Nokora, and thence passing west of Ghúgús to near Chándor, again crosses the Wardha, and extends on the Berár side past the villages of Kumbhárí (now deserted) ‡, Belora, and Nilja, and so northwards to Ukni and Jonara. Near Ukni several faults throw the coal slightly, and a small arca is disturbed. A little north of Jonara the outcrop again crosses the Wardha, and has been traced in the lands of Telwasa, in Chánda district, and thence northwards. Throughout the whole of this extent the coal and associated beds dip to the west, with slight variations to north and south of west, and even while the outcrop of the beds lies on the left bank of the river Wardha it will be evident that the greater portion of the coal lies under the rocks in Berár. For a great portion of the distance, in fact, the outcrop of the coal lies so near the river on the east bank that a very small amount of available coal can be looked for on that side of the stream. For nearly three-fourths of the extent the outcrop of the coal itself lies in Berár, so that all the available coal in that portion lies in the Assigned Districts." * Dr. Oldham, Superintendent Geological Survey, has kindly supplied this note of the present (May 1870) extent of our knowledge regarding the coal in Berár. This statement refers only to Berár or the Assigned Districts, because the coal extends into the Nizám's territories on the south also. The coal near Kumbhárí was first brought to notice by Mr.W. T. Blanford in 1867 (Records of Geological Survey of India, vol. i., p. 24). Minerals. District Selections. "As to the quantity of coal, there is only one series or group of beds known, yielding coal of a workable thickness, which beds occur at a well-marked and definite horizon in the general series. In this group of beds the coal is of great thickness. To the north of Jonara fortyfive feet of coal and coaly shale have been passed through; at Nilja some thirty-nine feet were cut; at Belora thirty-six, &c., &c. These are doubtless the thicknesses as shown in the vertical section given by the boring-rods, and these must be diminished in relation to the dip of the beds, to arrive at the proper estimate of the true thickness of the beds measured at right angles to the planes of the surfaces. But allowing for all this reduction, and allowing also for the great variation in thickness, and even in quality, which these beds exhibit, and rejecting also the numerous layers which are so highly charged with earthy matter as to be nearly, if not entirely, useless as coal, there will still remain a large amount, and I think we may, for purposes of a rough calculation of quantities, estimate that an average workable thickness of twenty feet will be found to exist. Now as one foot of coal gives over a square mile 1,000,000 tons of coal, we shall have at least 20,000,000 tons for each square mile of country under which this coal occurs. From this, which is the total contents, a very large proportion, between half and one-third, must be deducted for waste &c. in extraction. And we will thus have of coal which can be extracted about 600,000 tons for each square mile for each foot of thickness, or, assuming the estimate of twenty feet as above, about 12,000,000 tons for each square mile. Making ample allowance again for any disturbed and faulted ground, and for parts of the country where the coal may be at depths so great that it would not be remunerative to work the coal-at least until the more accessible supplies have been partially exhausted-I think we may with great justice calculate that in East Berár there are at least forty square miles under which coal will be found to occur within a moderate depth below the surface. And, combining these results, it follows that East Berár offers of easily accessible coal a supply amounting to some 480,000,000 tons-an amount which is ample to meet any demnd likely to be brought on it for centuries to come. "The quality of the coal has been tested by trials on the railways, as compared both with English coal and with Rániganj coal. In both cases it did its work successfully and well, though proving inferior to the coals against which it was tested. The coal has been regularly cut into only at one pit near Ghúgús. The best layers turn out there a clear bright coal of the peculiarly laminated structure universal in Indian coal, which burns clearly and well. There is not much pyrites (brass), and the ashes are clean, being almost entirely of pure earthy matter, and therefore yielding but little clinker. The coal is brittle, and breaks up a good deal, burns vigorously and brightly for a time, until the volatile matter or gas is all discharged or consumed, and then slowly with a dead heat to the end. It cannot be called a first-class coal, but it is amply good for use in locomotives or other engines, and will yield a fair amount of good gas if required. The greater part of the thick beds is, however, decidedly superior to this." "The district of Wún undoubtedly offers a large supply of fuel easily obtained, as it lies at no great depth below the surface; and, looking to the want of any other coal for the supply of the railroad to Nágpúr and other branches, there can be no question as to the value of this Wardha river field. It must, however, be opened up by a railroad before it can be brought into working. At present there are no means of bringing the coal into use other than by country carts, over roads and rivers which are only passable for a few months in the year, while the nearest point of the existing lines of railway to the workable coal is not less than sixty miles-a distance entirely prohibitive of ordinary carting. Iron ore of the best quality (hæmatite) occurs in plenty in the Yanak hills, to the south of the district." Slate has also been found in the Wún taluk in the pargana of Pátan Bori, and some fine specimens have been obtained. The Wún taluk is peculiarly rich in minerals. In the vicinity of the town of Wún there is silicious sand of a very fine description; and the clays and ochres obtainable in the Wún pargana are of the best kind. Soapstone of a fine grain and susceptible of a good polish is plentiful within a few miles of the town of Wún. A chair made of this stone was sent to the Exhibition at Akola. Excellent limestone is abundant, both in the north near Súit, and along the Painganga to the south. The soil in the plains adjoining the northern boundary of the district, and extending eastward alongside of the Wardha river to the extreme south-east corner, is more or less of that kind known all over India as the regar, i.e., a heavy black loam. In other portions of the district the soil varies in richness according to the proximity or remoteness of the hill-ranges above alluded to. Minerals. CHAPTER III. FORESTS. The Gáwilgarh hills, from their summits to their skirts, are almost wholly covered with trees; there is also much low wood on the slopes and ridges of the Ajanta range through all its branches, and in the ravines which furrow the Bálághát uplands. But in Berár we have no great extent of real forest containing valuable timber-trees; what exists is found in three main divisions or tracts. I. The forests of the south, on the ranges bordering on the II. Those on the west, along the gháts, about Buldana. III. Those on the north, situated in the Melghat hills within the Satpura range. I. The firstnamed of these forests lies on the eastern portion of the long range that stretches from Ajanta in the west to the river Wardha in the east. Throughout these hills, and especially east of Básim, Forests. Forests. the teak-tree is reported to be indigenous; but, though everywhere appearing, the only shape in which it is now seen is either that of young shoots or of old and stunted trees, the saplings having been universally cut down as soon as they attained a sufficient size to be useful. But in the hills above the junction of the Pús river with the Painganga an excellent preserve of young teak, tended by a Mahant (priest) at Máhúr, shows what may still be done; while the Pathrot forest bears witness to the extent of teak forest that has once existed. An attempt has been made to utilize this forest, but the wood is believed to be dedicated to a neighbouring temple, and the people will not cut or buy it. District Selections. II. On the western hills in the neighbourhood of Buldána the teak only assumes the form of a dense low shrub, according to local report "more like a thicket of tall elephant-grass than a timber-jungle, and it is hard to believe that it will ever assume a different form." On the other hand, traces of what has within a very recent period been a magnificent forest of Anjan (Hardwickia binata) are visible, and measures have been recommended for the regulation of the felling of what remains of this very useful tree. III. In the Melghát tract of the Sátpuras the Gángra valley contains some magnificent young forests, more especially along the cliffs and channels of the deep river gorges. There are at least eleven kinds of valuable timber-trees, which are now being carefully preserved. DISTRICT SELECTIONS. Elichpu'r. There are no forests except in the Melghát, but the country is fairly wooded, the principal trees being the mango, mhowa, and bábúl. Melgha't. From time immemorial forests have covered the face of these highlands, clearings for cultivation existing here and there, but far the larger proportion is held by the jungle. Teak and tiwas abundant in parts, and of late years preserves have yielded a considerable revenue to Government. The following extract from Major G. Pearson's report will give some idea of the State forests among these hills: "From the Sipna river castward, and extending over the tract between that river and the Kopra, as well as to the east and north-east of the Kopra, is the teak-producing area of the Gángra valley. It includes a parallelogram of about fifteen miles from east to west, and the same distance from north to south, or about 225 square miles, lying between 77° 10′ and 77° 25′ east longitude, and 21° 25′ and 21° 40′ north latitude. I have no hesitation in saying that this is without exception, both as regards the growth of teak-trees and the value of the timber, by far the best teak forest within the whole range of the Sátpura hills." "A steep footpath leads down by a descent of upwards of a thousand feet into the great ravines below the Mákhla and Asiri hills. The depth of this gigantic ravine is from 1,000 to 1,200 feet, the sides rising up in almost perfect precipices; its breadth at the bottom varies from 200 to 500 or 600 yards; its length is said to be ten miles,—and I went along it myself for more than half that distance. I have never anywhere (except in the best sál forests) seen any trees to be compared to the immense sáj or sádra (pentaptera tomentosa), hardu (nauclea cordifolia), lendia (lagerstroemia parviflora), and behera (terminalia bellerica), whose trunks run up to a height of sixty or seventy feet as pine-trees, and without a branch." Bamboo, also a source of revenue, largely exists, its graceful foliage adding immensely to the beauty of the deeper ravines. Beside the kinds already mentioned, there are several other very useful trees, of which the chief are here below named:: Mango-Mangifera indica. Tiwas-Dalbergia oojeinensis. Forests. District Selections, Sendhi-Elate sylvestris. Sáj–Pentaptera tomentosa, Dháman-Grewia latifolia. Jáman-Eugenia jambolana. Tendu-Diospyros ebenum. Siwan-Gruelina arborea. Kowa-Pentaptera arjoona. Kalam-Nauclea orientalis. Char-Buchanania latifolia. Akola. There are no forests of any kind in this district. Bábúl reserves have been appointed in several places, occupying in the aggregate 4,128 acres, or 6 square miles, of its best soil. 2. The largest reserve is near Akola, four miles south-west, containing 1,156 acres, as follows, namely: "Ridhora," 500 acres ; Bárlinga," 218 acres ; and "Loni," 438 acres,-three contiguous villages. 3. Of the rest there is one of 363 acres at Bhongáon, and 314 acres at Sádoga, both in the Bálápur taluk. A far advanced plantation of 248 acres exists at Bhon, of the Jalgaon taluk, and there is one at Saoli, of the same taluk, of 201 acres. 4. The remainder are all under 150 acres down to five, the smaller ones in some cases containing more and bigger trees than the larger conserves. It has been decided to connect the bábúl plantations on the Púrna river into one continuous chain of reserves, for the supply of fuel and small timber to the valley. |