36 



PRACTICAL FOREST MANAGEMENT. 



Deodar 

 (Cedrus 

 libani. V. 

 deodara). 



The spruce 

 { l } icea 

 morinda ^ 



nud silver 

 fir (Abies 

 pindrow.) 



are even worse than annual fires. Apart from their value as 

 timber, these forests are systematically tapped for resin, the yield 

 in 1918-19 being 93,386 maunds, the nett profit from the industry 

 amounting to Es. 5,34,398. 



The most important species associated with the ahir are the 

 evergreen oak Quercus incana and Quercus dilatata, these are 

 utilised for firewood and charcoal where conveniently situated 

 but large areas of this type are at present of no value. 



These oaks extend both below and above the chir and are mixed 

 with the common trees Rhododendron arboreum, Pi?ris ovalifolia, 

 Symplocos crataegoides and the climbers Rosa moschata and 

 Clematis montana. 



The deodar is found above the chir at elevations of 5,000 to 

 8,500 feet towards the west. It -reaches its furthest point east- 

 ward in G-arhwal although it is planted in Almora and Naini Tal. 

 It is not known why it should not do well at this latitude but there 

 seems a tendency for the evergreen oaks to extend their area as the 

 latitude decreased at the expense of the coniferous forest of the 

 higher hills. Similarly kail (Pinus excelsa), the common associate 

 of the deodar, is hardly found in Kumaun though it is common in 

 Chakrata. The deodar forms pure forests or is mixed with Cnp- 

 ressus torulosa, Pinus exoelsa and picea mo>inda. The timber is 

 very valuable and is the most sought after coniferous wood for 

 railway sleepers and all structural purposes. 



At the higher levels from '9,000 to 12,000 feet are found the 

 spruce and silver fir forests, the latter species being the last timber 

 tree met with as the elevation increases. These firs are usually 

 associated with a number of broad leaved trees the most common 

 being Aesculus indica and Acer caesium and pictitm higher still 

 the silver fir is mixed with Betula utilis, Rhododendron campanu- 

 latum and Viburnum sp. At medium elevations these firs have 

 a maximum height growth of 200- feet and produce a large volume 

 of timber to the acre. As yet they have hardly been exploited for 

 timber. In the same zone are large areas of Quercus semscarpifolia, 



