( 12A ) 



supplies and rising prices in the case of babul bark. In 1901, 

 at the instance of the Army department and in the interests of 

 the Government Harness and Saddlery Factory, -Mr. Hobart 

 Hampden, Deputy Conservator of Forests, was deputed to investi- 

 gate the problem of growing the babul for the sake of its bark. 

 His report, while accepting the conclusion reached by the pro- 

 vincial agricultural department as to the impracticability of babul- 

 growing in usar land, advocated experiments in ravine land and 

 outlined an extensive scheme. In 1904 it was decided by the 

 Army department to initiate an experiment near Kalpi under the 

 superintendence of the Forest department. Bight hundred and 

 seven acres of ravine land were taken up, ravines were dammed 

 and babul sown. A recent inspection has shown that the early 

 sowings have established themselves, the later sowings promise 

 well, there is a vigorous crop of young plants from one to eight 

 years old, and the whole area will in another year be fully stocked. 

 The plantation should be ready for felling by 1920 at the latest, 

 when about 10,000 trees should be yearly available. It is antici- 

 pated that the experiment may prove financially self-supporting, 

 but in this connection it must be recognized that the Kalpi under- 

 taking was a pure experiment and lacked the guidance of previous 

 results, and also that its object was the production of babul bark, 

 and not the afforestation of ravines, for which purpose there are 

 other species besides the babul whose propagation presents less 

 difficulty. The sowings had also to contend, in the frost of 

 1905 and the droughts of 1906 and 1907, with seasons abnormally 

 unpropitious. 



The experiment has in any case been valuable in indications, 

 which will save future expense, aud the Lieutenant-Governor is 

 assured that it goes far towards proving that the afforestation 

 of ravines is quite practicable and in all probability remunerative. 



10. A most interesting experiment has also been undertaken at 

 Thapal in the Saharanpur district by an enlightened landholder, Rai 

 Manohar Lai Bahadur. His estate of 771 acres is situated in the 

 Saharanpur district near the foot of the Siwalik hills, and only 

 about a mile from the reserved forests. It contains 103 acres 

 of cultivation and about an equal amount of waste land, the 

 remaining area being covered by poor miscellaneous forest. The soil 

 outside- the cultivated area is exceedingly poor, and would have been 

 of little value to the owner had he not adopted the wise plan of care- 

 fully preserving and fostering the existing growth and making plart- 

 ations where no such growth existed. Prior to 1892 no attention 

 was paid to the forest area. From 1892 to 1901 only very limited 

 protection was extended to it, aud no definite method of treatment 



