( 9 ) 



34. Passin^ further up the hillside into the middle zone, one sees that the leaves of 

 teak and seji have become brown, of dhawa a dull red, of kari a greenish yellow, of dudhi, 

 bhira, ghont, aonla, bahera, makor and others a light yellow. Many trees have already partly 

 shed their leaves and only occasionally is the green foliage of saj, achar, tendu or other 

 trees to be seen, the dull grey green of the small leaves of which is in marked contrast with 

 the fresh-colour of the luxuriant foliage seen in the valley below. 



35. Gradually, as one ascends further, the soil becomes more shallow and rocky, the 

 trees are more scattered, nearly all the leaves of deciduous trees have fallen and the most mark- 

 ed features are the silvery stems of kulu, the bare branches of salai, gunja, gabdi, harua and 

 semal, the stunted khair, some dead, others stag-headed and dying, the short and scanty 

 crass and the dark rocks. Yet here, as in the moist valley below, almost all the principal 

 species occurring in these forests are to be seen. On the top of the hill above, however, they 

 are stunted and deformed, whereas below they are of good development ; above, the deciduous 

 trees are bare of leaves, below, their foliage is still green ; above, the leaves are small and of a 

 dull grey green, below, they are large and of a full fresh green. 



36. All these facts would be far more remarkable to the casual observer than would any 

 difference in the actual admixture of species composing the forest growth, from which it is 

 natural to infer that a classification of the crop based on the character of the soil would be 

 more correct and more likely to give an accurate description of the forests than one based 

 only on the difference in the admixture of species. 



37. Following this idea the" forests of this Division may be best described under the 

 three tj'pes given below: 



TYPE I. Found on soil of medium depth. This is taken first, as it includes a large 

 proportion of the forests of this Division, and also because it may be regarded as the original 

 type from which the others have been derived. It stretches chiefly over the middle slopes and 

 over the undulating ground found in the broad valleys so frequently met with at the higher 

 elevations in these Vindhyan hills. The soil here is frequently only a few inches in depth, 

 but the underlying rock being broken up, a permeable sub-soil and good drainage conditions 

 compensate to a great extent for the shallowness of the soil proper. In such situations the 

 struggle for existence is usually not so severe as to eliminate any one species entirely, the 

 conditions of the locality not favouring in a marked degree the development of any one species 

 more than another, and consequently almost all the species mentioned in Appendix II are 

 found in this type. The growth, as is to be expected, is usually inferior, the average height 

 seldom exceeding 50 feet. Reproduction is fairly easily obtained wherever grazing is moder- 

 ate. Good growth of teak and, especially in the northern range, of khair on favourable 

 slopes is frequently seen in bharkas or small ravines, and in similar places a dense growth of 

 bamboos is often common. Bhira occasionally occurs pure over small areas, especially in the 

 south-western range. All degrees of density are represented and very slight variations in 

 the soil or sub-soil suffice to bring about a marked change in the character of the crop, the 

 type then passing almost insensibly into Type II, on the one hand, and into Type III, 

 on the other. 



TYPE II. Found on deep soil. The most valuable forests of this Division, including 

 the old ramnas of Mariadoh, Singhpur, Baraiyakhera, Nimkhera, Tindni, Phular, Sehri, 

 Gopalpur, Singrampur (portions) and Bansipur belong to this type. In it the prevalence of 

 the better species is very marked, especially of teak, saj, tinas, dhawa, seji and bija, these 

 being here able to oust such species as gunja, salai, kulu, gabdi, harua and thuar, or at all 

 events to materially diminish their numbers. When the forest has not been much interfered 

 with, it is generally dense and of good growth, the average height being about 60 feet. 

 Reproduction is usually good, except in the open areas, where it is choked out by a dense 

 growth of grass or cut back by frost. Teak attains its best dimensions in this type. Trees 

 of 55 75 feet in height are fairly frequent in the ramnas of Phular, Gopalpur and Bansipur, 

 with a girth of 2 4 feet measured at 3^ feet from the ground and with clean straight boles of 

 from 20 to 30 feet. Excellent pole woods of teak are seen in the Singrampur ramna near 

 the Jubbulpore-Damoh road. In the Tindni ramna, tinas occurs in dense groups, practically 

 pure except for a few teak, over an area formerly cultivated, attaining a height of 3040 feet, 

 Elsewhere the proportion of teak is greater, as in the case of the Phular ramna. Here the 

 tinas consists largely of suppressed growth and is generally crooked. It forms good groups, 

 however, in the more open patches, trees 44 47 feet in height being found with girths of 

 18 20 inches measured at 3 feet from the ground. Several excellent saj are also found 

 mixed with the teak, a tree measured in the Phular ramna giving a height of 58 feet with 

 a clean straight bole 27 feet long and a girth of 3 feet. When the proportion of clay in the 

 soil increases and a binding loam is produced, the number of teak diminishes and the growth 

 of such as are found is inferior, the trees being usually short, crooked and much-branched, 

 although frequently of large girth. In such places saj, dhawa, mahua, achar and seji 

 predominate and attain their best growth, while good bija and bahera are frequently met 

 with. These areas have generally at some time or other been under cultivation and the growth 

 is therefore usually open, groups of trees alternating with large open patches which are 

 covered with a heavy growth of grass. Such areas are particularly adapted for the cultural 

 operations prescribed in paras. 92 94 below. Numerous pockets of rich blank soil occur, which 

 are not suited for the successful cultivation of valuable forest trees, although emineptly 



