1903. 



The chief work undertaken in the past of which there is any exact record is the sleeper 

 works of 1887-88 when 10,890 broad gauge sleepers were sawn up in the forest and carted to 

 Gondia and Jabbalpur. 



The number of trees felled amounted to 3,500. From traces at present found on the ground, 

 the whole area must have been worked over and none but the finest trees felled. 



Previous to 1887 and as early as 1864 the Banjar Reserve was worked for sleepers and 

 scantlings which were taken to Jabbalpur where at that time there seems to have been a steady 

 market for this class of produce. During this period sanction was given to cut annually 

 700 trees, but this figure must have been at times exceeded as in 1870, 55.OOO broad gauge 

 sleepers were sawn in the forest and carted to Jabbalpur. 



2O. Since 1887-88 the Reserve has practically supplied no sal timber, until the present 

 time. In 1901, the present sleeper works were commenced and 

 Leeper works of 1901- continued till March 1903. During that period 130,000 small 

 gauge sleepers were sawn in the forest and carted to Nainpur, 

 a distance of 34 miles, where they were disposed of to the Bengal Nagpur Railway at the rate 

 of Re. 1-5-0 per sleeper. 



The work of cutting and transporting the sleepers was at first entrusted to a contractor, 

 who was to receive 12 annas for each sleeper passed at Nainpur. The contractor failed owing 

 to several causes, chief amongst which were his reliance on local labour and means of trans- 

 port, and his desire to make too much profit out of his contract. After the dismissal of the 

 contractor on the I5th June 1902, the work was undertaken departmentally. During the 

 rains sawyers from outside the district were imported, and arrangements made to carry the 

 sleepers by camels. The camels, although eventually proving a failure, through want of 

 camel fodder in the neighbourhood, were nevertheless useful in carrying sleepers in October 

 and November, during which months carts even if available can hardly be used. By slightly 

 increasing the rates for sawing and carting it was found that sufficient men could be retained 

 on the works, and as the rates were attractive rules were easily enforced. The whole works 

 were completed in March 1903. 



The rates paid were as follows : 



Logging, anna t to i-6per cut. 



Sawing, annas 4 per sleeper. 



Carting, annas 5-4 per sleeper. 



Felling at 9* and barking, annas 3-9 mean rate per tree. 



It was found that local men are quite unreliable and given to running away. They 

 should therefore be looked upon as merely a supplement to men imported from outside. 



It was also found that men will not come on to the works without an advance of pay 

 which is subsequently difficult to recover. 



The area worked over during the sleeper works of 1900-1903 amounted to 6,883 acres 

 composed of mixed forest 2,072, sal 3,174, blank 1,637. 



This area is included in the last 5 coupes of the 30 years rotation prescribed. 

 The area worked over comprises 15 compartments of this Working Plan. 

 The following table shows the number of trees cut and girths of same : 



From these figures it was calculated that the mean girth of trees cut was 6'i*; total 

 cubic contents of the trees was 256,630 cubic feet calculated up the stem to a girth 2'6'. 

 Thus for the area worked over the yield was 2-2 trees or 80-85 cubic feet per acre of sal 

 forest. 



The area worked over is typical of the best type of sal forest at present found in the 

 reserve, these figures are therefore highly instructive as indicating, what the mean annual 

 yield of the reserve will be, and it is from these figures, which are known to be accurate and 

 which arc, moreover, the results of actual fellings, that the yield has been estimated. 



