178 



PRACTICAL FOBEST MANAGEMENT. 



The 



congestion 

 of bamboo 

 clumps. 



(2) Sowings of any tree species necessary to insure the normal 



gradation of age classes in the overwood. 



(3) Climber cutting. 



(4) Cleanings of undergrowth and worthless species interfering 



with bamboos or younq standards. 



(5) Weeding of young bamboos to such extent as may be 



required. 



The Divisional Forest Officer will carry out the above work 

 where and when this may be necessary. 



This matter has been investigated by several officers with 

 considerable experience of bamboos. Congestion is always worse 

 in the more accessible areas and there is little doubt that it is due 

 to the following causes 68 : 



(1) Grazing. 



(2) Excessive cutting. 



(3) Cutting the bamboos high. 



Grazing. The bamboo clump by nature spreads outwards, the- 

 new culms of the year should arise on the outer periphery of the- 

 clump. With the hardening and trampling of the ground and the 

 browsing of the cattle the outer rhizomes are killed, the extension 

 of the clump outwards becomes impossible with the result that new 

 shoots are produced in the middle of the clump which becomes a 

 solid mass of bamboos impossible to work. Such clumps are 

 commercially useless. 



Excessive, cutting. The continual cutting of 'the accessible 

 bamboos of the margin of the clump has the same effect as described 

 for grazing in that the' ;outer rhizomes are killed. These two 

 injurious factors are generally found together. 



Gutting the bamboos high. This is contrary to the rules, but is 

 still done all the same in order to save the bamboo cutters trouble. 

 The result is that a mass of dead stumps collects in the clump 

 which effectively prevent low cutting so that the evil of high 



See also Silviculture of Indian Trees TROUPV 



