January, 1900.] 



15 



Dyes and Tana. 



the only trees left in it are such as have 

 survived along the banks of the streams. 

 Here the destruction of Kohar trees is 

 going ou apace. Prom the nature of 

 the soil covering and tree growth on 

 these hills ib is clear that during the 

 monsoon the proportion of rain running 

 off and not absorbed, will be much 

 greater than from more favourably con- 

 stituted forests as regards soil covering: 

 and tree growth, while the rush of 

 water in the streams at any particular 

 moment of heavy rainfall will also be 

 greater. Under these circumstances the 

 value of the existing tree growth along 

 the streams in the valley is considerably 

 enhanced, and it behoves us to maintain 

 at all costs the maximum of such tree 

 growth. 



Quantity of Bark used annually in 

 Nimar.—lt is estimated that about 

 4,250 mds. of Kohar bark are annually 

 used in the Nimar district for tanning 

 purposes. 



An actual experiment made to ascer- 

 tain the quantity of bark obtained from 

 a mature and average sized Kohar tree 

 showed the green weight of the bark 

 removed to be 47 seers. The weight of 

 this after drying was 21 seers. 



A reference to the "Process of Tanning" 

 will show, then, that the bark of one 

 tree is not quite sufficient to tan one 

 average-sized hide. 



Taking half a maund (20 seers) as the 

 average quantity of dry bark obtained 

 from one tree, and the total quantity of 

 dry bark used in the district in one year 

 as 4,250 maunds, we arrive at the con- 

 clusion that no less than 8,500 Kohar 

 trees are annually stripped of their 

 bark, and, as all this bark comes from 

 Malguzari and Ryotwari areas, the 

 damage done must be very extensive 

 even after making allowance for such 

 trees as recover from the treatment 

 they are subjected to. 



Necessity for Restricting the Removal 

 of Kohar Bark.— Either then the absolute 

 prohibition of the barking of Kohar 

 trees should be enforced or steps takeu 

 to reduce the damage done to the trees 

 to a minimum. In Government forests 

 extraction of the bark is entirely for- 

 bidden, but it is chiefly in the Malguzari 

 and Ryotwari areas that the mischief is 

 greatest. Under the rules*applieable to 

 waste areas in Malguzari villages, the 

 felling of any tree growth within 20 

 yards of a stream in which water 

 ordinarily remains till the mouth of 

 January is prohibited. There is nothing, 

 however, in the rules forbidding the 

 barking of trees with its inevitable 

 result the speedy death of the tree. 



Orders have lately been issued by the 

 Deputy Commissioner enjoining on all 

 Malguzars the importance of maintain- 

 ing, as far as possible, a permanent tree 

 growth along streams and pointing out 

 the damage done by the barking of 

 Kohar trees, and recommending that at 

 least one-third of the bark on any 

 Kohar tree should be left when barking 

 the trees. It is questionable, however, 

 whether the recommendation will be 

 acted up to. It, would therefore be 

 preferable to absolutely forbid the 

 removal of Kohar bark, and the chief 

 point in favour of this prohibition is that 

 the use of Kohar bark is not absolutely 

 indispensable to the preparation of 

 leather. 



Substitutes for Kohar Bark.— From 

 enquiries made it has been ascertained 

 that the tanning process can be carried 

 out with the use of " dhaura " and 

 "aonla" leaves only, and in certain 

 parts of the district Kohar bark is sel- 

 dom, if ever, used. It is said that Kohar 

 bark used by itself produces a hard 

 leather, and that therefore leaves of 

 "dhaura "and "aonla" are mixed with 

 it. The bark of Saj (Terminalia tomen- 

 tosa) is sometimes used in place of Kohar 

 bark, but there are difficulties in its, 

 removal from the tree and hence it is not 

 much in favour. The fruit of Ghatbor 

 {Zizyphus Xylopyrus) is also frequently 

 made use of. It would appear that the 

 use of Kohar bark is more a matter 

 of habit than necessity. The chamars 

 of Burhanpur tried very hard to get 

 a reversal of the decision that no bark 

 was to be extracted from Government 

 forests, stating that their industry de- 

 pended on the supply of this bark. Just 

 about this time I had come across a 

 number of bushes of Avtli (.Cassia 

 auricidata), growing on waste land 

 round the town. This species, as is 

 well known, provides one of the best 

 tanning materials and is largely used 

 in the Madras Presidency, yet when 

 asked about it the chamars of Burhanpur 

 stated that they had never used it and 

 did not even know of its value as a 

 tanning agent. 



Cassia auricidata will grow equally 

 well on dry stony soil and on black 

 cotton soil, and there seems no adequate 

 reason why it should not be grown in 

 sufficient quantities to supply the 

 chamars of Burhanpur with all the 

 tanning mater-ial they require. There 

 are several waste patches within the 

 municipal limits which are eminently 

 suitable for the growth C. auricidata, 

 and, which, if planted, or sown up and 

 properly managed, would in a very 

 short time become a valuable source 



