4. Gwarighat, the only large timber mart in the district, is practically the 

 port of receipt for Jubbulpore, whence large quantities of harra are exported to 

 Bombay, the Jubbulpore myrabolams being a special line in the London market. 

 Firewood, timber and bamboos, besides lac and harra, find a ready sale in the 

 larger towns, no less than 1,000,000 maunds of firewood being consumed in 

 Murwara alone. Charcoal was formerly largely used in Jubbulpore and in the 

 iron-smelting industry ; and should the present endeavours to revive the industry 

 prove successful, there will be a demand for all the fuel the forests in the 

 Division can produce. 



5. The surrounding population is essentially agricultural and of Aryan 

 extraction, with Gonds, Kols, Bharias and other aborigines intermixed. Their 

 requirements are for the most part met from the extensive malguzari forests, and 

 their demands on the Government forests, except for grazing, are very small. 



6. The principal object of the present plan is to improve the forests, which 

 until 1893 had been badly managed and considerably overcut. The whole area 

 will be divided into four Working-circles, in which the system of treatment will be 

 an improvement or selection felling, and in places, a coppice with standard felling, 

 according to the nature and density of the forest. In the sal areas, the treatment 

 will ultimately be jardinage. Areas capable of producing large timber, such as 

 the Machmacha, Khitoli, Sutri and Karela blocks, comprising an area of 32 

 square miles, will be worked exclusively for such timber. 



A rotation of 30 years will generally be followed, though, as provided for in 

 the plan, a rotation of 15 or 20 years will be adopted according as the grazing 

 pressure or the nature of the forests dealt with requires. The Inspector-General 

 of Forests has, however, brought to notice that in the cases of the Lakhapateri and 

 Jalasur blocks, paragraph 94 of the plan, fixes the rotation at 30 years, while 

 paragraph 106 gives it as 15 years. This should now be rectified. 



7. These forests are used to a considerable extent for grazing. Under the 

 provisions of the plan, at no time will the area closed to grazing exceed 86,800 

 acres, or 26 per cent, of the total area: 61,588 head of cattle are estimated to 

 graze in them ; and with the area open to grazing each year (303,172 acres), this 

 gives an average for the Division of 4*9 acres per head of stock. 



8. Several of the blocks dealt with in this Working-plan have been under 

 special fire-protection for many years. In addition to these, each coupe as 

 felled over will be closed to grazing and specially protected. Other areas 

 that are essentially grazing grounds and incapable of being developed into 

 timber forests, may well be systematically burnt over each year, especially as 

 this will minimise the risk of fires spreading from them into other specially 

 protected areas. 



9. The plan also provides for the treatment of the bamboo forests in the 

 Division. As all these forests flowered only 5 or 6 years ago, they cannot be 

 worked for 6 to 8 years to come. But as the currency of the plan extends over 

 this period, their exploitation has been provided for. Each Working-circle is 

 divided into one or more felling series of a workable size, each of which will be 

 felled over on a two years' rotation. 



10. Other important products of these forests are harra and lac. An 

 enumeration survey of all the harra trees in the Division will be made, and an 

 estimate of the average yield will be framed on the lines indicated in paragraph 122 

 of the plan. Lac cultivation and its propagation also has been carefully 

 considered. Another product of these forests is katha or tannin. A single 

 Working-circle will be formed for this purpose, embodying all the forests in the 

 Jubbulpore and Damoh Divisions, and, if necessary, those in the Saugor and 

 Narsinghpur Divisions also. 



n. The plan includes a scheme of forest roads to be constructed as funds 

 allow at an aggregate cost of Rs. 22,650. Provision is also made for an expendi- 

 ture of Rs. 52,500 on quarters for subordinates, officers, rest-houses and wells. 



