With the construction of the railway came a frantic demand for sleepers; an attempt was made to control the supply, and by the year 1860-61 a complete establishment was organised and a set of rules was sanctioned. But the establishment, which consisted of an Assistant Conservator, an Overseer and twelve peons, was too small and too late to prevent a devastation from which the District has not even yet recovered.
For the construction of the Madras Railway the Salem forests were recklessly denuded. In the year 1859-60 seigniorage fees amounting to nearly Rs. 23,500 were realised on sleepers alone, the number of sleepers supplied within the year being 245,743; so great was the demand that trees could not be marked fast enough. and felling was uncontrolled. These sleepers were not sawn but adzed, a process involving immense waste of material, for a log, however large, would only suffice for one sleeper. According to a report of 1863, "old stumps show that there used to be good sized teak on the hill forests, but now ryots fell saplings at night, and there is not much left." Nor were the greedy contractors content with destroying all and teak.. Fine satin-wook forests round Kottai-patti were entirely wiped out by them, and, before the new Forest Department could make itself felt, irreparable mischief was done.
The next twenty years were years of experiment, and much bitter experience was gained.. Experiments were made in nurseries and plantations in the merits and demerits of the license and voucher system, in departmental relling and in the exploitation of railway fuel, in exploration and in the settlement of boundary disputes, in the construction of forest roads, in the formation of reserves and in the shortcomings of the Law. In 1861-62 there was wholesale theft of timber along the Kaveri banks; the stolen wood was floated down stream to Srirangam on bamboo rafts. In 1865 railway contractors took to robbing the Government forests of timber under cover of Mitta leases. In 1865 the seigniorage of twelve annas for 48 large bamboos and six pies per bundle of small bamboos, imposed in 1861, was removed, and such enormous quantities were exported into Mysore in consequence, that seigniorage had to be reintroduced in the following year. In 1866-67, hundreds of thousands of trees were illicitly felled by cattle drivers, and Government were helpless because the magistracy refused to convict for thefts. In 1870 the Conservator writes, "Government have only to look at the amount of timber taken free out of the Salem jungles alone, to see that no forests could possibly stand a drain of this nature"; a rather dispiriting comment on ten years' work. In the following year it was decided to place the Forest Department under the direct control of the Collector, who hitherto had managed the Jungle conservancy Department with the aid of local cesses independently. This change was brought into force on 1st October 1872 and continued for a decade with rather more encouraging results. By 1880 no less than 222 isolated№ topes had been set apart as jungle conservancy topes, and twelve reserves had been surveyed and demarcated for the supply of fuel to the Madras Railway, and walled or fenced at some cost.
Until the year 1902 the forests of the District were under the charge of a single District Forest Officer; since then, there have been various changes, the Tiruppattur and Namakkal Taluks having been transferred to the North Arcot and Trichinopoly Dsitricts, respectively, and two District Forest Charges (North and South) being formed; these are divided roughly by a line starting on the Kaveri near Pulampatti and running to Salem, thence following the road to the foot of the Shervaroys and the bridlepath to Yercaud, the road from Yercaud to Nagalur and thence down to near Bommidi along the western side of the Yerimalai reserved forest and then along the northern boundary of the Uttankarai Taluk to the North Arcot border. The North Salem Forest District now consists of the following Ranges - Anchetti, Denkani-kotta, Krishnagiri, Dharmapuri, Kaveri and Salem West; those in the south Salem District are Chitteri, Harur, Papireddipatti, East Salem and Attur.
Reservation.
Scientific conservancy begins with the passing of the Madras Forest Act V of 1882. In the first few years subsequent to the passing of this Act, the policy of the Government towards reservation changed several times, as knowledge of the working of the Act improved; thus, at first, it was intended to set aside certain areas outside the reserved forests, as village forests; it was soon found that the village officers could not be trusted to manage these areas for the benefit of the village community in general, and the idea of village forests was abandoned, the Government reserves being extended so as to include the areas originally left out for village forests. The result was that in some places the reserves were brought so close to cultivated lands that there was insufficient ground left available for extension of cultivation, and the sudden absorption of all the land fit for pasturing the village herds into reserved forests, in which free pasture was not allowed, caused so much ill feeling, that orders were issued to put back reserve boundaries, so as to leave outside them sufficient waste land for the extension of cultivation, and the exercise of ordinary communal privileges. The result of these changes of policy was to delay the final selection and settlement of Government reserves, and to create, at each change of policy, a fresh set of boundary lines. From 1890 till 1898 a special party from the Survey of India was engaged in surveying the reserved forests, and many of the maps bear evidence of the changes then taking place, as they show boundary lines and reserves which have since been abandoned.
The first notifications of reservation were published in 1886, the included area being 550,614 acres. Since then the work of reservation has proceeded actively, as the subjoined figures show:-
Total reserved
Year.
in acres. in sq. miles.
1890-91 437,843 643
1895-96 783,749 1,224
1900-01 846,499 1,323
1905-06 1,014,421 1,585
1910-11№ 878,929 1,373
1913-14 879,136 1,374
Forest settlement is now practically completed, and it is not likely under existing conditions that the area under Reservation will be materially increased. The area of the unreserved Government Forest in the District is roughly estimated at 1,000 square miles, but this includes several hills almost devoid of vegetation.№
Distribution of Reserves.
The principal groups of forests are the following:-
The Kolli-malais in Attur Taluk, occupying the northern slopes of the Kolli-malai Hills from the cultivated plateau to the base of the hills, with an area of a little over 16 square miles.
The Pachai-malais on the south border of Attur Taluk; the reserves cover a comparatively small portion of the hills, their extent being over 30 square miles.
The Kalrayan and Jadaya-Kavundan slopes in the north of Attur Taluk, the former of which were decided to be Government property after considerable ligitation; this chain of reserves forms an unbroken line from the east of Tumbal to the South Arcot District boundary, and covers over 60 square miles.
The Chitteris, extending north and east of the above, partly in Salem and partly in Uttankarai Taluks, where they extend north as far as Tirta-malai, and cover 250 square miles, of which only 36 lie in Salem Taluk.
The Shevaroys, comprising the outer sloppes on all sides of the well-known Shevaroy Hills, and one or two of the interior valleys. This group, which, with the exception of one small isolated reserve in the interior, forms one block of forest, is typical of the manner in which the reserves have been gradually built up, for it consists of no less than 26 seperate reserves, with a total area of 113 square miles.
Finally, the large mass of forest lying between Pennagaram and Denkani-kota, extending along the Kaveri from its junction with the Sanat-kumara-nadi to the frontier of Mysore, and covering an area of 400 square miles.
Area of Reserved
Taluk. Forest in square miles.
Attur 106
Salem 196
Omalur 82
Tiruchengodu 13
Uttankarai 291
Dharmapuri 293
Krishnagiri 54
Hosur 338
There are minor chains of reserves, one connecting the last mentioned block with the Shevaroys, across the south of Dharmapuri Taluk, another in the northern portion of Krishnagiri Taluk, and a third along the Kaveri in Salem and Tiruchengodu Taluks. The area under reservation in each of the eight taluks is shown in the margin. Lists of Reserves are given in Chapter XV.
Working Plans.
So long as the full time of the district staff was devoted to the preliminary formation of reserves, systematic forestry could not be attended to. The first regular working plan was sanctioned in 1900. Since then rapid progress has been made, and up to date working plans have been prepared for all the ranges in Salem South, except six reserves in Uttankarai Taluk; in Salem North, working plans have been sanctioned for the Krishnagiri and parts of the Kaveri and Salem West Ranges and are under preparation for Dharmapuri Range and for sandal-wood in Hosur Taluk.
The aim of the Forest Department is to improve and protect existing growth so that a sustained yield may be assured.
The chief items of produce are (1) Timber, (2) Fuel, (3) Charcoal, (4) Bamboos, (5) Sandal, (6) Grazing, (7) Manure Leaves, and (8) Minor Produce.
In 1893 what are termed "location fellings" were intorduced; under this system the area to be exploited was demarcated and the purchasers of permits had to go and cut in this locality- this was a great improvement on the previous system under which the holder of a permit was at liberty to go wherever he wished and take what he wanted, as it rendered supervision so much easier; this system was started, and gradually elaborated by Mr. Brasier, who had done similar work in Tinnevelly before his transfer to Salem, into a regular series of coupes under which the area felled was, as far as possible, in inverse proportion to the volume of timber and fule which might be obtained from the area; in other words, the poorer the growth, the larger was the proposed to be cut annually.
As already stated, the first working plans were sanctioned in 1900; they were preparred under Mr. Brasier's suspices; the system followed has been that of "Coppice with Standards", the number of standards varying between 15 and 25 and the rotation varying from between 20 and 30 years to 32 in the Lokur and 36 in the Krishnagiri Working Circles. The area of the coupes varies between a minimum of 44 acresand a maximum of 836 acres, principally due to the probable for exploitation. The larger coupes are situated near the railway, and within a distance of 20 miles of Salem town, and were at first worked departmentally with a view to supplying the Madras Railway (now South Indian Railway) with the fuel needed for running. The departmental supply began in 1892 with a contract for 200 tons a month, and was raised in 1894 to 500 tons, in 1896 to 1,200 and in 1899 to 2,200 tons per mensem. During the next three years the supply gradually fell to 1,150 tons a month and after 1996 only small quantities of lighting fuel were taken, as the Railway took to the use of coal: thenceforward the principal demand has been from Salem town.
Coupes are now sold to contractors who carry out the felling and removal of the produce, fix their own rates of sale, and maintain their own depots.
The growth in the plains and up to a height of about 3,000 feet is for the most part deciduous; the evergreen forest gradually spreads, from a narrow fringe of trees along the streams to what must at one time have been large masses of dense virgin forest especially on the Shervaroys and Kolli-malais; these have, however, largely disappeared owing to the exigencies of the coffee industry and the demands of the Malayali population for further lands for cultivation.
Timber.
Timber is seldom available of any large size; the commoner species are --
Chloroxylon swietenia which is nearly universal, Anogessius latifolia, the Altizzias, Hardwickia binata, Azadirachta indica, Cedrela toona.and various Acacias, Eugenia jsmbolona, Holoptelea integrifolia, Gmelina arborea and in places Terminalia Arjuna: Teak, Pterocarpus marsupium, Bridelia retusa, Bischofia javanica, Elaeocarpus species also occur on the higher slopes; existing stumps show that the teak used to grow to a fair size on the Shevaroys. There are, of course, numerous other species used for timber.
Fuel.
Albizzia amara is almost universally preferred for fuel, and inthe more accessible forests this species probable forms about 50 per cent of the growth; the other commoner species are -
Wrightia tinctoria, Premna tomentosa, Cantuium didymum and Erythrozylon monogynum.
Fire-protection
The growth of grass and bamboo renders many of the forests especially subject to damage by fires; consequently coupes under felling and those which have been felled within the last five years are specially protected by clearing the lines ropund them and employing a number of fire patrols who are supposed to keep the lines clear of inflammable materials, and to be always ready to proceed at once to any fires which may occur and to extinguish them. The same procedure is in force for some other areas in the Hosur Hills with a view to improving the growth which, expecially along the Kaveri, consists of nearly pure Hardwickia forest. Fires principally occur during February and March, thunder storms in April and May, as a rule, putting an end to the fire season.
Cultural Operations.
Under the Jungle Conservancy, a considerable amount of work was undertaken in planting Tamarind and Mango near villages; this was later on superseded by the sowing of seed in patches, or broad-cast, in blanks in the coupes when regular working was instituted, the principal tree species put out being Tamarind, Albizzia Lebbek, Albizzia amara, Chloroxylon swietenia, Azadirachia indica, Acacia sundra, and Acacia ferruginea; with these were mixed seeds of various shurbs, e.g., Cassia auriculata, Cassia fistula, useful for tanning bark and manure leaves, and such other species as Dodonњa viscosa, Randia dumetorum, Canthium parviflorum and others, which would protect any tree seed which germinated; a certain amount of sees of Tephrosia purpurea, which is largely used for leaf manure, was also put out. In Sanniyasi-malai on the Shevaroys a sum of nearly
Rs. 9,000 has been spens up to date in fire-protection and in planting out Grevillea robusta, Frenella rhomboidea and Acacia dealbata in the north and east, in the hope of covering the soil and so improving the water-supplyin the streams below. In 1913 sandal seed was dibbled in patches over an extent of about 50 acres of scrub in the Nagara-malai reserve at a small expense, and so far (1915) the results seem promising.
Bamboos.
The small bamboo (Dendrocalamus strictus) is one of the most valuable assets of the Salem Forests; it flourishes at any elevation between 1,000' and 4,000'. The finest Bamboo area in the District is the forest tract on the west of Hosur and Dharmapuri Taluks. Bamboo is also extensively exploited on the Shervaroys, Chitteris, Kalrayans, Pachai-malais, Kolli-malais, Aranuttu-malais and on the east of the Boda-malais. The large Bamboo (Banbusa arundmacca) is not so uniquitons, but it is found in fairly large quantities in valleys and near the banks of streams. It occurs in great abundance between Pennagaram and Javulagiri and also on the Shevaroys.
Bamboo coupes are sold to contractors when a reasonable price can be got; inother cases permits are issued to meet the local demand; the rotation varies between three and five years. The chief markets for bamboos outside the District are Erode, Trichinopoly, Karur and Madras.
Sandal.
The best quality of sandal-wood is found in the forests of Denkani-kota. It is not uncommon in the Chitteris, Shevaroys. Pachai-malais and Kolli-malai, but the quality is not so good as that from Denkani-kota and quantity is far less. The value of the sandal-wood in the District was appreciated as soon as the Company came into possession. Buchanan, speaking of what was then the Alambadi District (i.e., Taluk), says, "Captain Graham sold a renter all the trees that were fit for cutting and received for them 300 pagodas. The condition of the sale was that only the old full-grown trees should be cut, but the fellow has taken every stick of any size, and there will be no more fit for cutting in less than years."
Year. Tons.
1862-63 72
1866-67 58
1871-72 166
1880-81 30
1890-91 14Ѕ
1900-01 4
1910-11 52
1911-12 15
1912-13 22
1913-14 26Ѕ
1914-15 18Ѕ
Sandal-wood is always collected departmentally. A Ranger or Forester selects№ the trees to be felled, marks, numbers and measures them, submitting a copy of his measurement list for all, cut into sections, roughly dressed so as to remove bark and sap-wood, and then removed to depot. Each piece of each tree is marked with the number given originally to the standing tree, so that it is possible to reconstruct each tree in depot, the wood is carefully cleaned of all sap-wood sawn into convenient lengths, and classified into first, second, third class billets, first and second class roots, etc., down to class VIII, which is sawdust. Auctions used to be held periodically, when good billets realized nearly seven annan a pound. In future the fellings are to be transferred to a central depot, probably at Tiruppattur, for sale. The marginal statement shows the quantity of sandal felled at different periods.
Grazing.
As a general rule coupes worked on the "Coppice with Standard" system are closed to grazing one year before, and five years after felling. In Harur Working Circle, owing to poverty of growth the period of closure is ten years (two years before and eight years after felling). Some specially protected blocks are closed against grazing throughout the whole period of rotation. On the Kalrayans grazing is combined with mannure-leaf cutting under the "pastoral method" (p.256).
The grazaing fees authorised under section 26 of Act V of 1882 were not brought into force in the District till 1888. The license system, worked by a contractor for commission, was introduced in 1889, the rate being two annas per buffalo, one anna per head of cattle, and six pies per sheep. In 1893 this was superseded by the system of half-rates for privileged and other cattle, worked through karanams. Then in 1896 came the issue of permits by Tange Officers and travelling "Permit Issuing Officers," at 6 annas per buffalo, 3 annas per head of cattle and 1Ѕ annas per sheep. Goats were altogether forbidden the reserves. In 1899, however, certain areas were set aside for browsing, the rate being 1Ѕ annas per goat, but in South Salem these were again closed in 1905-06. In 1902 the fees goat browsing in North Salem was raised to 8 annas a head, and in 1914 goat browsing was altogether prohibited. After the introduction of Working Plans, the Reserves were divided into grazing blocks, some of which extend to more than one reserve. A permit holds good from July to the end of the following June, and gives access to one grazing block only.
Fodder.
To compensate for the closing of coupes to grazing, and to educate the villagers to fire-protection, ryots are encouraged to remove grass for fodder from closed areas. Even in specially protected blocks, grass-cutting is permitted in seasons of scarcity. The grass most commonly out for fodder is Andropoyon contortus.
Manure Leaves.
The local demand for manure leaves is almost confined to Salem and Attur Taluks, and thousands of tons are exported annually to the adjoining taluks of Trichinopoly and South Arcot. In the Northers Division it is held that the Reserves are insufficient to supply the population with all its requirements in fuel, timber, grazing, etc., and that the supply of manure leaves is incompatible with the persistence of the forests. It is estimated that between 2 and 3 tons of leaves are required to manure one acre of wet land. Manure leaves may be removed from unreserved lands without charge by the inhabitants of adjoining villages. As to Reserves, till 1890 the permit system was in force, and from 1895 the right to remove the leaves of Turinji, Nux-vomica and all unclassified trees was leased out annually. But with the gradual introduction of Working Plans came the system of "limited manure-leaf coupes" in the Salem East and Attur Ranges, and the closure altogether of manure-leaf cutting areas in Salem West and the two Harur Ranges. In Salem South no removals of manure-leaf have been allowed from reserves since 1912.
On the "Upper Slopes" of the Kalrayan Hills in Attur Range the method adopted for exploiting manure-leaf and grazing is that known as the "Ppastoral method." The area to be treated is divided into four coupes, and each coupe in turn serves as an annual cutting area for five years, during each of which all scrub and yound trees of the third class (except minor produce trees) and inferior species may be pollarded. After the close of the manure-leaf season in the fifth year, the trees are coppiced, and then given a rest for 15 years. After a coupe is coppiced it is closed to grazing for five years, during which, however, the removal of grass for fodder and thatching is permitted on payment. After the periodof closure expires, the coupe is open to grazing for 15 years.
Minor Produce.
In the early days of forestry the minor porduce was not under the control of the Forest Department, but its collection was wither free or it was leased by the Collector. The right to collect minor produce was first leased out by the Forest Department in 1883, when one contrast covered the whole District. In 1896 a separate lease was granted for each Revenue Division, and from 1901 a new system was introduced under which the produce of reserves was leased by reserves, that of unreserved lands by Revenue Inspectors' firkas. More recently the lots have been still further reduced by selling the produce of unreserved lands by villages, or groups of villages, in the hope of realising more revenue.
Roads.
Roads are maintained by the Forest Department in Salem North Division: (1) from Kadaiyampatti to Kurumba-patti (8 miles), (2) from Kumbara-patti to the foot of the Shevaroys (5 miles), (3) from Palakodu to Kesarguli (16 miles), (4) from Pennagaram to Anchetti, via Ane-bidda-halla (27 miles), (5) from Denkani-kota to Ayyur (8 miles), and (6) from Kundu-kota to Anchetti (8miles). In Salem South Division the principal roads maintained by the Forest Department are (1) Mallapuram Ghat Road (9 miles), (2) Harur to Kambalai (9 miles), (3) Kombuthukki to Papireddipatti bridle path (8Ѕ miles), (4) Chitteri to Velli-madurai bridle path (8 miles), (5) Periyakombai to Pusinikuli bridle path (6 miles).
Revenue.
The gross revenue derived from Forests shows a steady increase during the past 30 years, though from year to year the new revenue fluctuates with the expenditure on conservation and exploitation.
The subjoined figures are of interest.
Year Gross Revenue. Expenditure. Net Revenue.
Rs. Rs. Rs.
1880-81 ......... ........ 55,171 19,094 36,077
1890-91 ........... .......... 1,54,900 58,347 96,553
1900-01 ........... .......... 2,93,012 1,58,218 1,34,794
1910-11 ........... .......... 2,54,890 1,80,813 74,077
1913-14 ........... ......... 2,57,347 1,69,417 87,930
The chief heads of revenue in 1910-11 were as follows:-
Salem South Salem North. Total.
Rs. Rs. Rs.
Timber ......... ............... ........... 11,206 13,716 24,922
Firewood and charcocl ....... ...... 35,504 39,669 75,173
Bamboos ............. ............. 14,057 23,832 37,890
Sandalwood ................. ............. 2,348 20,072 22,420
Gazing ................ ........... 23,323 38,816 62,139
Minar produce and manure leaf .... 28,234 22,614 50,848
Crime.
"Forests Offences" usually take the form of illicit removal of produce, or illicit grazing. The amount of crime fluctuates, but there is no reason to believe that Forest Offences are on the increase. The annexed statement shows the number of cases which the Department has to cope with. More than half the crimes are compounded:-
Year. Illicit removal. Illicit grazing. Fire. Other offences. Total.
1890-91 ....... ...... 499 199 10 39 747
1900-01 ...... ........ 1,409 1,144 11 28 2,592
1910-11 ..... ........ 901 325 109 51 1,386
1913-14 ....... ........ 1,786 399 95 87 2,367
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