18 



53. The planting of bamboos along roads and boundaries should be 

 continued and the creation of natural fire lines by ploughing up savannah 

 lands and sowing malota aud other quick growing species should be 

 carried out in all Working-Circles, where grass lands form a menace to 

 adjoining sal reproduction owing to their liability to be burnt. 



54. The sowing in lines ot sal in pure malota pole forest, on old 

 village sites in Muraghat may also be carried out as it is not an expensive 

 operation. Care should be taken that abandoned fields in Garo villages 

 are sown with malota before grass reappears on them. 



An experiment in the way of sowing sal in lines in 10 year old coupes 

 may also be tried. 



Section 5- Improvements common to the whole area. 



65. lioads. The existing roads where they pass through swampy ground 

 should be embanked and where necessary Ranigunj pipe culverts should 

 be inserted to allow of the passage of water where the flow is not too great. 

 The object is to make such roads passable after winter or spring show- 

 ers when there is sufficient water to make carting difficult and troublesome, 

 but not impossible. To keep such roads open throughout the rains 

 would mean expensive bridging and, as carts are difficult to obtain, at this 

 season, it would serve no useful object. In clearing lines for paths and fire- 

 lines, large sized shady trees should be preserved and the upper canopy of 

 the forest left as dense as possible as the grass and undergrowth fill up a 

 road every rains when the road is much exposed to the light. Eegard 

 should be had to this when a road happens to traverse a coupe open for 

 felling. The construction of heavy strong low bridges over which elephants 

 could pass and which would be under water in the rainy season should be 

 undertaken, as ordinary high light wooden bridged last a very short time in 

 the evergreen forest which lines the streams. The cutting of more paths 

 for inspection and fire protection purposes is required. The detailed pres- 

 criptions will be found in appendix VIII (>. 



56. Buildings. Another rest house is required in the Apalchand Range 

 near Udlabari and more rest houses for Hangers and Foresters are required. 

 Mat walls are objectionable in many ways and should be done away 

 with ; roofs which will keep out the rain and heat without being liable 

 to danger from fire should be introduced. "When a bungalow is situated 

 on high ground, where piles are unnecessary, the latter should be avoided 

 as they may necessitate the pulling down and reconstruction of tlie whole 

 bungalow when they decay .Buildings suggested are entered in Appendix 

 VIII b. 



Protection from fire. 



57. Sal Working-Circles. There are still large savannahs in nearly 

 all Working-Circles, and it is desirable they should be filled in with 

 forest as early as possible, and to this end they should be protected in whole 

 or in part. Savannahs will only be burnt for definite reasons given below 

 From the point of view of fire protection the fire protected area may be 

 divided into three classes : 



(a) Savannahs of almost pure grass ; 



(6) Edges of savannah where the forest is encroaching on to the 

 grass and forest with a grassy undergrowth, and 



(c) Dense forest with perhaps a few tussocks of grass but with 

 ordinarily no more combustible material than dry leaves. 



It may be laid down that fire does no considerable damage in (a) and 

 that (b) is the area which should be preserved with especial care. 

 Savannahs will only be burnt in part where they adjoin (1) boundaries (2) 

 railway lines (3) public roads and (4) forest settlements when an extension 

 of cultivation is wanted. In all cases a line will be cut and beaten dowa 

 by elephants, so as to avoid the possibility of the area (b) being burnt, 

 fciatural fire lines will be made by ploughing up lines across savannahs 



