TECTONA 705 



over varies from 15 to 33, the two richest forests being situated in the Zigon 

 forest division ; these are Bawbin with 33 per cent., and Kangyi with 29 per 

 cent., the former being of the upper and the latter of the lower mixed type. 

 These figures, however, do not include the Mohnyin forest, in which only teak 

 was enumerated ; this forest probably contains a much larger percentage of 

 teak than any other. The lowest percentage of teak 3 ft. and over in girth in 

 true teak forests hitherto enumerated is 6, in the Gwethe and Saing working 

 circles of Toungoo. 



Indian Peninsula, general distribution. The distribution and types of teak 

 forest in the Indian Peninsula are determined mainly by rainfall and geological 

 formation with resulting soil. The great majority of the teak areas are situated 

 on one of two great systems of rocks: (1) the Deccan trap, which stretches 

 from about 25 N. lat. southwards with occasional interruptions to about 

 16 N. lat., embracing parts of Central India and the Central Provinces, the 

 greater part of Bcrar, the whole of the northern part of Bombay as far south 

 as Belgaum, and the western part of Hyderabad ; (2) the crystalline rocks 

 (granite, gneiss, schist, &c.) which occur in Bundelkhand, in several parts of the 

 Central Provinces, in the eastern part of Hyderabad, along the Western Ghats 

 and throughout the greater part of the Madras Presidency. Broadly speaking, 

 there is a marked difference in the types of teak forest found on these two 

 geological formations. On the trap areas, where the soil is often very super- 

 ficial, the teak is usually of small size but occurs in great abundance, often 

 forming the bulk of the growing stock and even occurring pure over con- 

 siderable areas. To some extent this is due to artificial causes, in that teak 

 has been able to survive better than its companions the lopping, hacking, 

 grazing, and burning to which many of the forest tracts have for long been 

 subjected ; in some cases also teak owes its prevalence to the fact that as 

 a ' royal tree ' it has received special protection in the past. On the crystalline 

 areas, although the teak trees are as a rule more scattered than they are on 

 trap, they reach considerably larger dimensions where the rainfall is favour- 

 able. 



United Provinces. In the Jhansi district of the United Provinces teak 

 occurs on gneiss and quartzite, and is confined to areas within a few miles of 

 the larger rivers. It is found in the small forest of Sairwas, where it forms the 

 greater part of the crop, in the protected forests of Talbehat, and occasionally 

 on the bank of the Betwa river. The rainfall in these tracts is under 40 in., 

 and the teak is of small size. 



Central Provinces and Berar. In the Central Provinces and Berar teak 

 occurs to a greater or less extent in Jubbulj^ore, Damoh, Saugor, Hoshangabad, 

 Seoni, Chindwara, Nagpur, Wardha, Chanda, Balaghat, Bilaspur, Raipur, 

 Buldana, Betul, and Amraoti (Melghat), and possibly to a small extent in other 

 locahties. In Bilaspur, Balaghat, and Raipur it is very local, occurring chiefly 

 on alluvial ground near streams. Within its region the rainfall varies from 

 under 40 in. to about 65 in., except in the Bori forest of the Hoshangabad 

 district, where it is between 75 and 80 in. Teak occurs on a variety of geological 

 formations, notably trap, limestone, gneiss, mica schist, sandstone, con- 

 glomerate, shale, and clay. It is usually absent from the quartzite plateaux, 

 and although occasionally found on laterite, the growth is poor ; it also avoids 



2307.2 B b 



