which, I think, improves grazing land. I can point to areas where the grass has become 

 perfectly unfit for pasture, owing to long continuous fire-protection ; and under any circum- 

 stances, in these nistar areas, where no protective arrangements are contemplated, it i 

 quite certain that a large extent of forest land will be burnt over each year. Perhaps 

 therefore the best arrangement will be to attempt no kind of fire-protection in these nistar 

 compartments, except where lac is being cultivated, or, in such other areas, as shall be 

 chosen for protection by the Divisional Officer because of specially good forests. But 

 it should be understood that the areas which may be burnt should be fired only under the 

 supervision and orders of the Department. 



7. I now wish to draw your attention to certain other prescriptions in the plan which, 

 in my own opinion, require some modification. 



Paragraph 76 requires that no coupe in the regular felling series shall be opened until 

 all the area of the coupe still under working has been gone over. 



This prescription is already causing both loss of revenue and inconvenience to trade, 

 as I have personally seen during my recent tour in the district. In many places, the pole 

 demand is much greater than the full capability of the open coupes ; and in order to supply 

 it, it will be necessary for a new coupe to be opened every year, as allowed in the felling 

 scheme paragraph 84. But as the fuel demand can generally be supplied by working 

 over one-quarter or one-half a coupe, it will take two or more years to completely _ work 

 over the whole area for both poles and fuel, and, until this is done, all pole felling in any 

 forward coupe has been prohibited. The idea is to completely work over the forests in a 

 consecutive manner and to avoid patch work. But the loss of revenue and inconvenience 

 entailed by the method causes, in my opinion, an unnecessary sacrifice without obtaining 

 any real sylvicultural advantage. For the extent of improvement we are able to carry out 

 must be regulated by the demand. We cannot afford to spend money on a. mere cultural 

 operation ; and it seems to me that the net result to the forests will be just the same, 

 if the improvement is made over one-third of each of the 30 compartments comprising 

 the series, as if it were made over the whole of 10 compartments; while by the 

 former system we shall have worked over the whole 30 compartments for poles, whereas by 

 the prescribed method we shall work over only a fraction of the area for this particular 

 material during the period of the present rotation. 



I advocate that, where the demand requires it, a new coupe for pole fellings should be 

 opened every year, although it may be found convenient to continue fuel fellings for two or 

 perhaps for three years in any single coupe, and I therefore suggest that section 76 should 

 be added to as follows : 



" Where, however, the pole deman'd is in excess of the fuel demand, the next forward 

 coupe may be opened for supplying poles, although fuel fellings are still in progress in the 

 back coupe. Fuel fellings should not be allowed to fall more than two years behind the 

 pole fellings, otherwise the closure from grazing will not be of sufficient length to establish 

 the coppice re-growth." 



8. My attention has also been drawn to paragraph 78 (i) and (ii), which rules, in the 

 opinion of the Divisional Officer, are likely to act injuriously on revenue receipts if strictly 

 observed. In the coupes of the regular fe'lling series, as already above mentioned, it is 

 extremely difficult to supply the full pole demand, owing to the scarcity of good material. 

 But if all promising trees of timber-yielding species are to be reserved from felling as pre- 

 scribed, unless there are so many of them as to admit of a thinning being performed, it will 

 be impossible to supply any considerable portion of the pole demand, as there are very few 

 localities where such a thinning can be given effect. Moreover, having regard to the fact 

 that the demand is for poles of small dimensions and that there is little hope of the reserves 

 growing into big timber see paragraph 66 of the plan it seems to me that, where only a 

 limited number of good poles are present in the coupe, it will be well to remove at least 

 half of them for sale and to allow some of the inferior trees to remain as seed-bearers. This 

 may be opposed to strict sylvicultural method, but in the present circumstances of the 

 circle, it behoves us, I think, to consider also the financial aspect, and I shall be glad if you 

 will favour me with your instructions on the point. I would suggest alterin^ the wording 



f r ! i/**\riT Oo O 



of Rule (n) as follows : 



" All fruit trees in good bearing condition and such promising trees of timber-yielding 

 species as can be spared without unduly restricting the trade demand for poles." 



9. I now come to what in my opinion are the prescriptions most open to criticism in 

 the plan. Please read paragraph 107, which prescribes that, in addition to Code control 

 forms 2, 3 and 33, certain other statements connected with the plan of operations shall 

 also be kept up in the Divisional Office, and therefore in subordinate offices, for each 

 felling series. The forms in question are 18 in number, and samples of them are herewith 

 attached for your information and inspection. Many of them are voluminous in detail, and 

 it will, J think, be readily understood that, when these forms have to be kept posted for 



