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 Buldána. III. Those on the north, situated in the Melghát 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 cast 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 eastward, 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 saj or sádra (pentaplera tomentosa), hardu (nauclea cordifolia), lendia (lagerstræmia 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. 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. Forests. District Selections. Bulda'na. There cannot be said to be any forests in the district, though in the ravines in the northern gháts and over the higher plateaus teak saplings exist in great numbers. It is doubtful whether the soil in which these saplings are found is of a nature to admit of their ever developing into trees of any size or value. The absence of any traces of large teak-trees seems to indicate that it is not. The northern slopes of the Ajanta range are well covered with anjan-trees, now so wastefully hacked and felled as to require years for recovery, but promising a valuable reserve hereafter, and the district is generally well wooded. Fine specimens of anjan-trees are to be met with in most of the ravines, the mango flourishes, and there are large numbers of bábúl-trees scattered throughout the country, in some places forming very extensive coppices. The northern taluk of Malkapúr, in the valley of the Púrna, is perhaps the least fortunate in its supply of large wood, but taken as a whole the district is well provided with trees. The following varieties are found, viz.: Bábúl-Acacia arabica. BijásalPterocarpus marsupium. Bhiláwa-Semecarpus anacardium. Bakhain-Melia sempervirens. Chár-Buchanania. Dhámúra. Dhaura-Conocarpus latifolia. Jámbul-Eugenia jambolana. Khirni. Mango-Mangifera indica. Mhowa-Bassia latifolia. Nim-Azadirachta indica. Aula-Phyllanthus emblica. Palmyra-Borassus flabelliformis. Sádra or Sáj-Pentaptera tomentosa. Temburni-Diospyros melanoxylon. Tamarind-Tamarindus indica. Wu'n. Though the waste tracts in this district are very extensive, there is no valuable timber; diminutive teak-trees certainly exist all over the hilly tracts, yielding no revenue. The teak-trees are strictly preserved; and there are in three places in the district teak plantations sown some ages ago in the vicinity of temples, or in honour of some presiding deity. The fear of incurring divine displeasure has saved these plantations from devastation. The largest is situated at Pathrot. It now, however, contains no valuable trees, and it has been decided to allow the plantation to be cut down, with the exception of certain promising saplings, on the payment of a royalty. The plantations at Mángla, pargana Ner, and at Dápori, Wún pargana, though less extensive, contain some hundreds of young trees which promise well. They have all been preserved by superstition, for in their neighbourhood so great a dread have the people of profaning the woods that during the annual festivals held at these sacred places it has been the custom to collect and burn solemnly all dead and fallen branches or trees. The following are the only ranges where good and flourishing young timber is now to be found : Yewatmál range. Wún range. Painganga range. The Yewatmál range occupies an area of about 700 square miles, and contains a very fair mixed forest. Salai (Boswellia thurifera) is everywhere the predominant tree. Of others the best grown and most plentiful are Forests. District Selections, The two last, so valuable for their fruit, are equally scattered all over the hills. Tiwas is met with chiefly on the plateaus; and kowa, which is of better growth than that in either the Básim or Búldána districts, is found along the banks of rivers and nallas. The Wún range is better wooded than the Yewatmál one, and contains a thick growth of bamboos, which adds conveniently to the picturesque appearance of the forests. In all the ravines are to be found, in addition to the trees existing in the Yewatmál hills, a plentiful supply of― Behera-Terminalia bellerica, Lendia-Lagerstroemia parviflora, Tumrusa-Elæodendron paniculatum, Bijasal-Pterocarpus marsupium, intermixed with a few trees of teak, shisam (Dalbergia latifolia), and tiwas. The Khelapúr forests very much resemble those of the Wún range with reference to the quantity, quality, and description of timber they contain. |