parts of Bombay in 1899-1900. In the Review of Forest Administration in British India, 1899-1900 (p. 38), Hill, the InspectorGeneral, draws attention to the value of the forests during such calamities: The State Forests were thrown open freely to the people during the severe famine of 1899-1900, so that they were able to remove all edible products free of charge, and all other minor products except harra and lac. The gregarious seeding of bamboo in some districts afforded an excellent food supply, which was the means of enabling a great number of people to do without relief for two or three months. The report on the famine in the Central Provinces in 1899-1900 bears ample testimony to the great value of the forests in a time of scarcity, and it is stated therein that the opening of the forests to the people was one of the most useful measures of relief in the Province." Hill quotes the following extract from the Report as giving some idea of the financial value of the concessions: "The money-value to the Forest Department of these concessions by no means represent their real value to the people, but the amount even of this is substantial. For the whole famine period (September, 1899, to October, 1900) it is estimated by the Forest Department at the following figure: Timber, Rs.3627; Fuel, Rs.62,929; Bamboos, Rs.49,201; Grazing and grass, Rs.1,96,562; Edible produce, Rs.71,059. Total: Rs.3,83,378." This produce was all granted either free or at reduced rates. "In addition to this, the value of forest produce given to relief camps and kitchens aggregated no less than Rs.54,897, while forest revenue to the amounts of Rs.54,937 and Rs.32,154 was suspended and remitted respectively. The total loss to the Department has thus amounted to more than Rs.5,25,000, not counting the heavy cost of grass-cutting operations. Advances were also made by this Department to cultivators in forest villages. The forests have no doubt suffered some loss from this free access of the people to them, but they were intended for the general good, and the damage done has been incommensurate with the benefit to the people and the help given to famine administration."

BERAR

It will be remembered that in the account given of the Berar Forests in a former chapter (II, p. 252) it was pointed out by the Government of India that the progress made in the conservation of the forests was very slow and that practically none had been made in the selection and demarcation of Reserves. Brandis visited Berar in 1869 and again in 1878. After his latter visit he drew up a report on "Forest Administration in Berar." Schlich also visited the Hyderabad Assigned Districts (under which title Berar was known) in the cold weather of 1883 and wrote a note of suggestions on the

forest administration. This Report states that forest policy in Berar really dated from Brandis' second visit, and that the suggestions he then made had been the guiding factors in the management up to the time of his (Schlich's) visit. And some good officers had been associated with the work. Major K. J. L. Mackenzie, who had been connected for many years with forest administration in the Melghat, was at the time of Schlich's visit Deputy Commissioner at Ellichpur; Mr. A. T. Drysdale was Conservator of Forests, Berar; whilst Mr. C. Bagshawe, who had started his service in the north, and Mr. J. Ballantine, who had been in charge of the Melghat Forests for fourteen years, were both Deputy Conservators.

In 1881 two-thirds of the Province was under cultivation and one-third, or 6365 square miles, was so-called waste. Of this latter 1713 square miles were culturable, while 4652 square miles, about one-fourth of the Province, were unculturable. The requirements of the population in forest produce were obtained from this latter area and the question under consideration at the period was whether the area of 4652 square miles could be considered sufficient to provide them or whether they were more than sufficient. From enquiries carried out by Doveton in the Central Provinces it had been estimated that in those Provinces the requirements of the population in timber, fuel, bamboos, grass, etc., might be placed at 12 maunds per annum per head. On the assumption that the requirements in Berar were much on the same level, with a population of 2,672,673 (1st April, 1881) 4000 square miles of forest area would supply the materials and, if grazing was added, the total area of 4652 square miles of waste should suffice. In addition to this area there were also still 1713 square miles of culturable waste which, till it came under the plough, would continue to yield forest produce. But since, with this area under the plough, the population would then be greater, it was held that the forest area in Berar would require skilful management. At the period in question forest produce was being imported into Berar from the Central Provinces, whilst, on the other hand, materials from the Melghat were being exported to the Central Provinces. Schlich expressed the opinion that the imports into Berar from the Central Provinces would " very likely cease after some time," though he gave no reason for the statement. In the case of problems such as this experience has since taught us that other factors have to be given consideration. On the face of it it would appear from the

above figures that with the eventual increase of population the area of forest would be insufficient to support them. But the existing growing stock was far below that which might be anticipated per square mile under prolonged and careful administration. A greater difficulty lay in the uneven distribution of the forest area. Out of the six districts in the Province 3363 square miles of Government Forest were situated in the Ellichpur, Wun and Basim Districts, whilst the Amraoti, Akola and Buldana Districts had only 1061 square miles between them. So far only 1086 square miles had been set aside as State Reserves and 308 square miles as District Reserves, the latter not being protected from fire. The troubles of this period, and they lasted longer in Berar, as in some other Provinces, were often chiefly due to a careless or mistaken policy in the classification of the forests into different classes. The introduction of a forest policy into a country, where the forests have been looked upon more or less as public property to the extent of supplying ordinary daily requirements, was difficult enough. But the steps taken, often without any just cause, to pander to the people led to dissatisfaction which subsequently resulted in far more difficult situations. The position was a difficult one, but Brandis had not always met it in the only possible manner if after trouble was not to result. So far as the people in the neighbourhood of the forests were concerned, the classification into different classes was bewildering, and this hindered progress. At the time of Schlich's visit to Berar a re-classification of all District Reserves, unreserved lands and grazing grounds was in progress. The Officer in charge was engaged in arranging the areas under the following heads : (1) Woods, that is, land set aside for the production of wood. (2) Ramnas, or land set aside for the production of grass, especially for civil stations and towns. (3) Permanent grazing grounds, sufficient for the number of cattle then existing. (4) Land available for the extension of cultivation.

hoped that about 3000 square miles would be allotted to the first three heads.

A draft Forest Regulation was under consideration at the time and it was actually proposed to classify all these reserved lands according to their various uses, i.e. State Reserves, babul bans, ramnas and grazing grounds, thus fixing definitely the uses to which the particular areas were to be put and making rules for each class. All these areas were free of rights and indisputably Government property and, therefore, their legal

status being the same, it was only necessary to notify them all as Reserves under the Forest Regulation and then their management could be decided upon from time to time as conditions and demands required. Once notified as reserves it was pointed out that no areas could be alienated without sanction of Government, and no rights could accrue over them. As Schlich said, the Administraion appeared to have lost sight of the fact that the Reserves, in their widest sense, were all for the supply of the requirements of the people of the country and they should be so utilized "with due regard," he adds, "to the production of a revenue from these estates to the State."

It has been mentioned already (II, p. 473) that the Berar Forest Law was passed in 1886. There was very much the same trouble in the mixed management of the forests in Berar as existed in the Central Provinces. The State Reserves were under the Forest Department, the District Reserves under the Deputy Commissioners, whilst the unreserved forests were managed partly by the Deputy Commissioners and partly by the Forest Department. The proposals made here were the same as those described above. Schlich evidently preferred the system which Brandis had suggested for Madras, where for one thing the conditions were very different, that the Forest Officer should become a mere Assistant to the Collector, the latter having full executive power. In the opinion of the writer, Brandis made a great mistake in proposing this method. The modified system in the Central Provinces or the one introduced in the North-West Provinces were eminently preferable.

In Berar, Schlich proposed that the forests of each district should be placed in charge of a Forest Officer, who should be placed in official connection with the Deputy Commissioner under one of the systems in force. The three major charges would be under Deputy or Assistant Conservators whilst the three minor ones would be under Sub-Assistant Conservators. A fourth Sub-Assistant would be required to be attached to the Ellichpur District, which was the heaviest charge. Since the Conservator's charge was a small one he would be able to work out the details of the work in the smaller charges to be controlled by the Sub-Assistants. The problem here, as elsewhere at the period, was how to get the Sub-Assistants. These would have to be trained at the School at Dehra, but it was thought that the Government of the North-West Provinces and Oudh

might be able to spare one or two "trained Assistants," thus showing how far ahead, in spite of the slow commencement, the North-West Provinces had reached by that date.

The largest block of the Reserves at this period (609 square miles) was situated in the Melghat, in the Ellichpur District, and considerable progress in administration had been made. Including the unreserved forests, the total area was estimated at 1546 square miles. The Reserves consisted of the Bairagarh (425 square miles), the Gugamal (180 square miles), and Chikalda (4 square miles), the latter having been demarcated in 1880 in order to secure an adequate supply of wood and grass for the station of Chikalda. The Bairagarh Reserve had been demarcated by Mackenzie in 1866, and the Gugamal Reserve (previously a district reserve of larger area) in 1878. These two Reserves formed a continuous block of teak forest of 605 square miles in extent. Brandis had proposed that an additional Reserve of 50 square miles should be demarcated in the vicinity of Jiri with a view to bringing the anjan (Hardwickia binata) forests in that locality under conservation. Owing to the difficulty of providing grazing for the inhabitants in the neighbourhood, the Resident had not as yet sanctioned the step; and Drysdale expressed the opinion that as the Reserves in South Berar included an area of 80 square miles of anjan, the matter was not of great importance-a short-sighted outlook unfortunately only too common at the time. The forests of the Melghat were rather fortunately placed; with the exception of a portion of Bairagarh on the north and east, which adjoined the Central Provinces, the unreserved forests formed a ring around the Reserves, with an outer ring of nakas or toll stations, where the royalty on all produce leaving the forests was collected, surrounding the whole. Both Reserves and the unreserved areas were honeycombed with cultivation, a population of nearly 43,000, of whom three-fourths were Kurkus and Gonds, living inside the forests.

Dhya cultivation had been stopped for a number of years past, and efforts were now being made to concentrate the cultivation into black soil villages. In this way the number of villages in Bairagarh which five years previously had amounted to fifty-seven had been reduced to nineteen, and it was hoped to reduce them to nine, covering an area of 70 square miles in the two Reserves, leaving 535 square miles of forest.

Brandis had suggested the opening out of the forests by roads, and considerable progress had been made in this respect, the Public Works Department having built 47 (15 unmetalled) miles and the Forest Department 134 miles, the latter unmetalled. It was proposed that an annual grant of Rs. 10,000 should be allocated to the latter Department for the next ten years for road construction, with which 138 miles of roads would be constructed. The Public Works were