10 FIRST REPORT ON FOREST OPERATIONS 



recommend the blasting of the rocks in the nullah. I ordered an 

 experiment to be made of floating twenty logs of junglewood, 

 branded " G-und," at the height of the flood. These were des-. 

 patched on a given day, but they never reached Sidashegur, hav- 

 ing been caught in the rocky turnings of the river. The import- 

 ance of removing the valuable teak of this forest at an early date 

 is so great, that I would suggest that an engineer officer be de- 

 puted to visit and report. Captain G. W. Walker, engineer, 

 shortly expected from England, is one of the few Europeans who 

 have visited this remarkable place, and has, I am told, a know- 

 ledge of its requirements. If Government think proper to direct 

 that officer to inspect this locality, Mr Miiller would arrange to 

 accompany him. As the G-und plateau is inaccurately delineated 

 in the survey maps, I have the pleasure to forward a rough sur- 

 vey by my industrious assistant, Mr Miiller, with the tracing of 

 •the roads he suggests for working this forest. I would recom- 

 mend that it be lithographed, and a hundred copies struck off. 

 When the forest is being worked, I have instructed Mr Muller to 

 be present at the marking and girdling of the trees. I have 

 reason to believe that proper classification and selection of the 

 trees have not hitherto been made in the Government forests. 

 First class trees — i.e., six feet in girth-, and those commencing 

 to decay, only, are to be removed at the first cutting. 



17. Teak Plantations. — I visited the remains of small teak 

 plantations at Honore, Ankola, and Sidashegur, which had been 

 superintended by Colonel Gilbert in 1804. The trees are poor 

 specimens of teak, the soil is laterite, and the exposed situation 

 of the sea-shore is most unsuitable — a worse locality could scarcely 

 have been chosen. The only possible excuse for so grave a blunder 

 is, that the peculiar requirements of the teak tree were not known 

 in those days. Up the Black Eiver at Tarra-Mallapur is a plan- 

 tation of recent date. The late Mr Poulton commenced this in 

 1854. There are, I believe, 2000 remaining of 7000 trees put 

 down. 



18. Conolly Plantations. — The fine and promising plantations 

 on the banks of the Nellambur Eiver, which were commenced 

 about fifteen years ago by the late lamented Mr Conolly Col- 

 lector of Malabar, are worthy of a full and separate report, which 



