Afforestation 

 division. 



Experimental 

 plantations star- 

 ted. 



Mr. Courthope's 

 report on the 

 Etawah district 

 waste land. 



Etawah Forest 

 Conference. 



Extension of 

 experimental 

 plantations- 



Mr. E. A. Courthope, Deputy Conservator of Forests, on 

 return from leave at the close of 1912, assumed charge of the 

 newly-created Afforestation division as indicated in the Local 

 Government resolution. 



An inspection was made of waste laud along the left bank of the 

 Dhasan river, the right hank of the Betwa river and round Garofcha, 

 the ravines round Kalpi in the Jalaun district and stretches of 

 waste land and old fallow which abound in the Hamirpur district. 

 In this connection it is worth recording that there is an area of 

 418,747 acres of land classed as barren in the Jhansi district, 

 exclusive of village sites, etc., and a further area of 639,038 acres 

 of old and abandoned fallow. 



For experimental purposes the newly acquired babul plantations 

 in the Hamirpur district and the Kalpi Plantations belonging to_ 

 the Ordnance department were transferred to the management 

 of the Afforestation officer. Later in the year, the lease of the 

 plantations (2,832 acres) at Etawah, already referred to, was assigned 

 by Messrs. Cooper Allen to Government for the remaining 39 

 years for the sum of Es. 2.5CO and a small plot of adjacent land (80, 

 acres) was bought outright from the same firm for Es. 696. 



Mr. Courthope's survey of existing waste lands was being con- 

 tinued and he was so much impressed with the conditions existing 

 in Etawah that in 1913 he submitted a detailed report of that 

 district in which he advocated the acquisition of 100,000 acres of 

 ravine land along the Chambal and Jumna rivers for afforestation 

 (appendix IW The scheme being on such a large scale -and 

 affecting a great number of people a special committee consisting 

 of officials and non-officials was formed to examine the proposals 

 and submit recommendations. 



The committee met at Etawah on the 21st and 22nd July, 1913, 

 and it was decided that it was inadvisable compulsorily to acquire 

 the land, if control could be obtained by other means. It was 

 recommended that operations should be started if the area obtained 

 was large enough to secure economy of management (appendix V). 



Meanwhile silvicultural experiments were being carried out in 

 the areas under management and these latter were extended -by 

 the acquisition of blocks of open babul forest at Panwari (718 acres) 

 and Bijrari (621 acres) in the Kulpahar tahsil and at Dhangawau 

 (228 acres) in the Maudaha tahsil of the Hamirpur district at a total 

 cost of Es. 13,461. 



It should however be noted that the acquisition of these lands 

 for improving the supply of tan bark to Cawnpore was contem- 

 plated before the formation of the Afforestation division. 



