31 SECOND REPORT ON FOREST OPERATIONS 



dent railway engineer reports that the supply of sleepers comes 

 in much faster, and that they are in general of better quality, 

 than those received at first. 



7. Bangalore Branch, 80 Miles. — The country near the line 

 selected for this branch is remarkably wanting in useful timber, 

 which, so far as I can learn, must be supplied in great part from 

 the Denkinacotta taluk of Salem and the Concanhully taluk of 

 Mysore. A special establishment will be required, and this is now 

 engaging my attention. Seasoned teak for the Bangalore work- 

 shop can be obtained at a moderate rate from the depot at Mysore. 



8. North-West Line, 300 Miles.— The first part of this line, 

 which runs through the North Arcot and Kadapa districts, tra- 

 verses a moderately wooded country, where there is a good deal of 

 excellent timber. I do not anticipate any deficiency of supply in 

 Kadapa and Karnul ; the chief points to be attended to are the 

 opening up of the country with roads on either side of the line, 

 and the selection of people who will not cut wastefully. An estab- 

 lishment to mark suitable trees will probably be required in the 

 Kadapa and Karnul districts. The Bellari district is absolutely 

 destitute of timber suited for railway requirements, and the price 

 even of firewood is excessive. In anticipation of the railway 

 demands, an establishment has been organised in Mysore, and 

 large quantities of timber have been floated down the Tunga, 

 Bhadra, and Wurda rivers, to a point near where the railway 

 crosses the Tumbhadra. At this spot a depot has been established. 

 Piles of faggots for making charcoal, and large rafts of bamboos, 

 have also been floated down. 



9. Great-Southern, 300 Miles. — No timber resources are avail- 

 able for that portion of this line which runs from Negapatam to 

 Trichinopoli. It is understood that the directors propose to send 

 sleepers from England for about thirty miles, and it is probable 

 that part of the remainder of the line may be supplied from 

 Ceylon. For the proposed extension to Carur and Errode, and 

 southwards to Tuticorin, we must look to the forests at the sources 

 of the Ambrawatti and Bhowani rivers, along the banks of the 

 Caveri, and those on the Pulny Hills, especially in the Cambam 

 Valley. Sleepers and fuel can probably be rafted down the above- 

 mentioned rivers. 



