NdTE ON BIJA SAL OR VENGAI. 



In the same division a small mixed plantation was made three years ago on 

 a dry stony soil. The seedlings were put out in split bamboo baskets in 

 pits ll'xl^'xl' au d 50 per cent, of them are thriving. In Tiune- 

 velly vows 3 feet wide are cleared in felled coupes and one or two 

 seeds put in patches 3 feet apart and inch deep. They have germi- 

 nated readily but suffer from deer and do best when shaded from the 

 morning sun. 



7. Notes on Distribution and Extraction in different Provinces. 



(i) Central Provinces. 



Vernacular names. Bija Sal, Bija, Dhorbiola, Bewla, Bijra. 



Local distribution. In Berar the tree is very rare and is seldom 

 extracted, and elsewhere in the Central Provinces its distribution is 

 irregular. In Balaghat it is said to form about 10 per cent, of the 

 growing stock, in Chauda, Saugor, and Damoh it is fairly common, and 

 in most of the other forest districts it is found here and there. It grows 

 in deciduous forests with teak, khair, and bamboo, usually on hilly 

 ground between 500 and 2,000 feet, preferring north and west aspects, 

 and a sandy or slightly clayey loam. In Chanda trees measuring 8 feet 

 in girth and 100 feet in height are found at times, but 3 to 4 feet in 

 girth, 20 feet clear bole, and 40 feet total height are the commoner 

 measurements elsewhere. 



Extraction. Most of the forests containing the tree are worked 

 as Coppice with Standards, a few, as in Chanda where the best trees 

 occur, under the Selection system as a rule, mature trees being removed 

 when required. Purchasers remove the timber from the coupes they 

 have acquired by dragging and carting in most cases, but from South 

 Chanda floating is possible on .the Godavery, one log being buoyed by 

 one teak log. Little accurate information is available regarding the 

 amount of timber available annually, but estimates are given below as a 

 guide to purchasers of the timber from the various forests of the Central 

 Provinces where it is now available, or will become available when the 

 forests are opened out. 



