Dyes and Tans. 



14 



[January, 1909. 



earthen vessel is placed underneath to 

 catch any liquid that may leak out, 

 which liquid is from time to time poured 

 back into the improvised " mashak," thus 

 keeping it continually filled up. The 

 object of this is to subject the entire 

 skm to the action of the tanning mate- 

 rial held within in solution. The skin 

 remains thus for two days, and on the 

 third day it is inverted and left for 

 another three days in this new position, 

 while still full of the solution. Iu six 

 days the process is complete, the solu- 

 tion is drained off, the stitches holding 

 the sides togethei are cut away, and the 

 skin now converted into leather; after 

 being dried in the sun it is ready for use. 



The above is a description of the 

 ordinary process employed. It may, 

 however, be varied by mixing with the 

 Kohar bark "dhaura" and "aonla" 

 leaves in the proportion of two of bark 

 to one of leaves. 



Source of Supply of the Raw Materials' 

 —Having now described the process of 

 using the bark, I turn to the question of 

 the raw material from the forests or 

 wherever it may be available. The first 

 point to draw attention to is the loca- 

 lity in whicn the Kohar tree (Terminalia 

 Arjuna) is almost always found. In the 

 C, P., I thiuk, it is safe to say that 95 per 

 cent, of the Kohar trees are to be found 

 growing if not actually on the very bank 

 of perennial streams and annual water- 

 courses with half their root system 

 exposed in the bed of the streams, yet 

 seldom if ever more than 20 feet from 

 the edges of such streams. This pecu- 

 larity of the tree is very marked- How- 

 ever rich and moist the soil you will 

 not find a Kohar tree, iu this part of the 

 country at any rate, far removed from 

 a stream. T*he result as might be 

 expected is that whether in forest or 

 in open cultivated land, wherever a 

 perennial stream flows or a stream that 

 keeps pools of water in it here aud there 

 throughout the hot weather, the greater 

 proportion of trees, say 75 per cent, 

 growing along such streams, are Kohar 

 trees. It follows then that all the supplies 

 of this bark must be obtained from trees 

 growing along the banks of streams and 

 water-courses. As previously stated, 

 the collectors of the bark are quite iudif- 

 ferent to the effect of their actions on 

 the trees themselves, with the inevitable 

 result that considerable numbers of 

 Kohar trees are killed annually to sup- 

 ply the chamars with the bark they 

 require for their tanning process. The 

 death of these trees is further hastened 

 by the period of the year chosen to 

 remove the bark, i.e., from April to June, 

 when the hot scorching winds blowing 

 at the season effectually debar the 



damaged trees from any chance of re- 

 covery. What is therefore happening 

 is that streams and water-courses are 

 rapidly being denuded of the tree 

 growth growing along their banks- 



Influence of Tree Growth on Conser ving 

 Water Supply.— Now a great deal has 

 been written lately in the Indian 

 Forester and elsewhere on the subject 

 of the influence of forests on water 

 supply and rainfall, and not without 

 reason. 



I would specially mention " Notes on 

 the Influence of Forest on the Storage 

 and Regulation of the Water Supply" 

 by Mr. S. Eardley-Wilmot, Inspector- 

 General of Forests. (Forest Bulletin, 

 No. 9.) Not the least important point in 

 this intensely interesting question is the 

 influence of the growth in maintaining 

 an equable flow of water in the streams 

 and keeping up the" spring level " of 

 the water in the subsoil. It is unneces- 

 sary to go into the arguments and 

 reasons in support of these facts, they 

 will be found fully explained iu the 

 literature referred to above, but they 

 are incontestible facts. To put it 

 shortly, by preserving the tree growth 

 along the banks of streams you (1) 

 mitigate the violence of the rush 

 of water iu the streams during the 

 rainy season, (2) prevent erosion 

 of the banks, (3) maintain a more 

 equable flow of water in the stream, and 

 thereby (4) tend to lengthen out the 

 period of flow, (5) assist in keeping the 

 water in the subsoil at a higher level. 



Conversely by destroying the tree 

 growth along these trees you obtain the 

 very opposite effect. That this effect is 

 baneful in itself goes without saying, 

 but, and I wish to emphasize this point, 

 it is particularly harmful in the region 

 to which I am referring. 



Liability to Scarcity of Water in 

 Regions where most Damage is done to 

 Kohar trees. — In the Nimar district the 

 rainfall is very scanty averaging about 

 30 inches, but varying from as little as 

 18 in. to over 50 in. The district is 

 therefore peculiarly liable to scarcity 

 of water. Now, the tract where most 

 damage is done to the Kohar trees 

 consists of hills of trap with the very 

 poorest soil covering, large stretches of 

 sheet rock being frequent. The tree 

 growth on these hills is of the scantiest, 

 consisting entirely of very open Salai 

 (Boswellia serrata) forest. Along the 

 base of these hills stretches a broad rich 

 valley intersected by streams and water- 

 courses fed b> the rain of these hills. It 

 is not so long ago that most of this valley 

 was under forest. Now, it is all given 

 up to cotton cultivation, and practically 



