30 PBACTICAL FOREST MANAGEMENT. 



(5) Spruce and silver fir. 



(6) Oak. 



,. The forests are scattered over a largo extent of country and 



Bundel- occur on various geological formations. They differ much in 



l-hand composition and quality and are of the usual Central Provinces 



dry type. The only species of trees besides the figs, to attain a 



fairly large size are the mohwa (Bassia latifolia), bahera (Termi- 



natia beltricd) salai (Boswellia serrata), karar (Sterculia urcns) 



of the more valuable species the teak is confined to the forests 



within a few miles of the Dhassan and Betwa rivers. 



The sal (Shorea robusta) is by far the most important forest 

 tree of the province. It grows gregariously in pure woods over 

 considerable tracts of country from the Jumna river to G-orakhpur. 

 The present existing forests are the remains of a oace unbroken 

 stretch of jungle extending along the foot of the hills from the 

 Ganges to Bihar. 



As Troup has pointed out, and all subsequent research has 

 fully confirmed, the two principal factors that influence the 

 quality of sal growth are available -moisture supply ani soil aera- 

 tion. If either factor is in defect, growth suffers, and the worst 

 typo of *al crops ara found equally on very dry loose soils and on 

 stiff waterlogged clays, and as the conditions of moisture supply 

 and aeration improve so does the growth of ml, until we find the 

 optimum conditions of a moist porous fertile loam overlying 

 gravels, with no permanent well water level for considerable 



O - 1 - 



depths. If the importance of these two factors is kept in mind, 

 the distribution of the sal forests and the variation of qualities 

 becomes in most cases almost self-evident. 



Troup has classified the United Provinces sal forests into five 

 types (vide Silviculture of Indiin Trees, vol. I, page 62, adn. seq.), 

 i.e., forest of the (1) Hills, (2) Eiver terraces, (3) Duns, (4) 

 Bhabar, (5) Tarai and Plains. 



This classification is not however altogether satisfactory as the 

 Bhabar sal forests are entirely forests of the highest river terraces 9 , 



'Forest of the Kumaun Bhabar Forest Bulletin no. 45. SMYTHIES. 





