NOTE ON BABUL. 



The only Provinces in which Babul forests of any extent occur are 

 Bombay (including Sind), Berar (Central Provinces) and Madras. 

 By far the finest and most extensive forests are found in Sind which 

 may, in fact, be termed the home of the Babul. The Hyderabad Divi- 

 sion alone contains 90,000 acres of Babul forest and the Jerruck Divi- 

 sion follows close with 80,000 acres. Several divisions of the Bombay 

 Presidency proper contain fairly large tracts, notably Poona with 

 12,440 acres, and East Khandesh, 4,220 acres. Three of the four Berar 

 districts, namely, Amraoti, Buldana and Akola also furnish substantial 

 Babul-bearing tracts, while important tracts also occur in some Madras 

 districts. 



The following statement gives roughly the areas of Babul forest 

 in the provinces above referred to : 



It does not seem necessary to give detailed information regarding 

 the numberless small areas of Babul occurring in the various provinces. 

 Enough has been said to indicate where the tree is at present growing 

 on a commercial scale, and further details regarding its distribution 

 would no doubt be gladly furnished by the Conservators of the various 

 Circles. 



II. Silviculture and Management. 



(a) LOCALITY. 



Babul is seen at its best on alluvial soil in riverain areas which are 

 subject to annual inundation. The truth of this is very evident from 

 an examination of the Sind forests. These forests fringe the banks of 

 the Indus, and areas which benefit by the inundation, and of which 

 the soil is not too salty, produce excellent crops of Babul ; whereas 

 areas which are too high or too far from the river to benefit from the 

 inundation either bear no forest at all or forests of other species, such as 

 Prosopis spicigera, in which Babul is largely or wholly absent. 



Next to alluvium black cotton soil is most favoured by the tree ; 

 Babul may, in fact, be said to be the tree most typical of black cotton 

 soil areas. It is also very generally found growing in tank beds, 1 in 



