LIST OF WOODS. 253 



been considered temporary, were not thought deserving of teak- 

 wood roofing. 



There can be no doubt but that up to the present time the 

 waste of timber in every part of the country has been very great.* 

 The attention of Government has been lately directed to the pre- 

 servation of forests, chiefly and prominently to teak, sandal, and 

 other woods of known value ; and it may be hoped that one result 

 of these interesting exhibitions may be to convince Government 

 and society at large of the immense value of property standing 

 in our forests in the shape of trees, of great variety and less 

 useful qualities, perhaps, than teak, but in some cases and for 

 some purposes even superior to that wood — many of these tim- 

 bers being not only heavier but stronger, and possessed of higher 

 elasticity than teak. 



The first serious inquiries into our forest resources that seem 

 to have been made, originated in the demand for railway sleepers. 

 Some difficulty was experienced at first in getting agents to con- 

 tract for supplies. The jungles were unknown to all but a few 

 native woodcutters, who alone appeared capable of resisting the 

 fever; the demand for these durable woods among the native 

 population was too limited for any man of capital to think of 

 entering upon the business. The sub-collector of Vellore ap- 

 pears to have taken a lively interest in the matter, and to have 

 organised a system for working the jungles of Salem and S. 

 Arcot bordering upon his own district. He supplied the Railway 

 Co. with about 54,600 sleepers, most of them woods of the best 

 quality. The price of these, varying from 2f to 3J cub. ft. in 

 contents, has been, on an average, Es. 3-2. A list was giyen 

 (p. 61) of the woods sanctioned for use on the railway. A re- 

 port from the resident engineer, of a portion of the line open, shows 

 the extreme importance, and the great difficulty attending the 

 selection, and even the recognition, of the several varieties of 

 woods. " You will observe that out of 1507 sleepers, the number 

 actually removed, I have only been able to get the names of 487. 

 I have already mentioned the very great difficulty experienced 

 in getting an accurate account of the description of sleepers re- 



* The appointment of Conservator of Forests was made in Dee. 1856. 



V 



