1 ( 21 )
2 PART V.
3 THE UNRESERVED FORESTS.
4 57. As was explained in the General Review of last year
5 (para. 94), there are in various parts of the country large tracts of
6 jungle which, from their vast extent, it was impossible to include
7 in the Reserved Forests, and to which the principles of forest
8 management in their strictest sense could not for that reason be
9 applied. These forests are termed ‘ Unreserved,’’ and for the
10 most part are administered by the civil officers of districts, aided,
11 where it is possible, by officers of the regular Forest Department.
12 In Bengal this arrangement has been considerably extended during
13 the last year, and paucity of forest officers alone has prevented
14 its larger application in the Central Provinces. In the Punjab
15 and in Mysore, however, on account of the rapid diminution of
16 the: rakhs and district forests, as well as of the extreme scarcity
17 of wood generally throughout the country, it has been found
18 advisable to enforce more strictly the system of forest supervision,
19 and large tracts of the district forests, formerly ynder the manage-
20 ment of the civil officers, are now being given up to the direct
21 management of the Forest Department. Many of these forests
22 yield large incomes from the sale of variaus kinds of produce
23 besides timber. The yield of the rubber and sim forests of
24 Bengal, the sale of the mowa ( Baesia latifolia) flowers in Central
25 India, and of catechu in Burma, are all instances of a large
26 indirect revenue accruing to the Department.
27 58. In Bengal the management of the rubber-producing
28 forests, and the sim, or forests for silkworm-feeding, are both
29 questions of the highest importance. The conservancy of the
30 rubber forests is rendered much more difficult by the neces-
31 sity of extreme caution in our political relations with the wild
32 tribes beyond our frontier, many of whom are large importers
33 of the rubber in a crude form, and whom it is-very desirable
34 for other reasons to conciliate, or at least not to offend. The
35 revenue from the rubber collected in our own districts amounts
36 to about Rs. 20,000 annually. The question is at present
37 occupying the careful attention of the Bengal Government, and
38 there can be but little doubt that, as the demand for good pure
39 rubber is annually increasing, the forests may, under proper
40 management and careful conservancy, prove a source of large
41 income to the State. The area of the sim forests, on which the
42 silkworms depend for their nourishment, is, however, said to be
43 considerably in excess of present requirements, and the trade
44 might probably be fostered by the distribution of eggs. The
45 revenue of these forests now amounts to upwards of Ks. 25,000,
46 and is capable of considerable developement.
47 59. The Central Provinces, however, show a higher revenue
48 than any other from the unreserved forests. The tmcome here
49 amounts to nearly £10,000 (four lakhs of rupees) per annum, of
50 which probably half is duc to the sale of the mowa fruit; but as
51 the collections on this account are not kept under separate
52 heads, the exact amount cannot be stated. The system of col-
53 lection most in favor with the people is that known as the
54 commutation system. Unfortunately, though at present very
55 remunerative, its success 1s in a great measure dependent on the
56 proximity of the forests to thickly populated tracts, in reference
57 to which their value as sources of supply must, for the most part,
58 be measured. The Conservator is of opinion that the condi-
59 tion of these tracts is being rapidly impoverished, and that fur-
60 ther reservation for purposes of close conservancy is imperatively
61 required. The Chief Commissioner also in his review of the
62 revenuc administration of the Provinces for 1871-72 (paras. 276
63 and 277) has given a judicious caution to district officers, warn-