FORESTS
~Rights of State in Waste.~--Under Indian rule the State claimed full
power of disposing of the waste, and, even where an exclusive right in
the soil was not maintained, some valuable trees, e.g. the _deodár_ in
the Himálaya, were treated as the property of the Rája. Under the tenure
prevailing in the hills the soil is the Rája's, but the people have a
permanent tenant right in any land brought under cultivation with his
permission. In Kulu the British Government asserted its ownership of the
waste. In the south-western Panjáb, where the scattered hamlets had no
real boundaries, ample waste was allotted to each estate, and the
remainder was claimed as State property.
~Kinds of Forest.~--The lands in the Panjáb over which authority, varying
through many degrees from full ownership unburdened with rights of user
down to a power of control exercised in the interests of the surrounding
village communities, may be roughly divided into
(_a_) Mountain forests;
(_b_) Hill forests;
(_c_) Scrub and grass _Jangal_ in the Plains.
The first are forests of _deodár_, blue pine, fir, and oak in the
Himálaya above the level of 5000 feet. The hill forests occupy the
lower spurs, the Siwáliks in Hoshyárpur, etc., and the low dry hills of
the north-west. A strong growth of _chír_ pine (Pinus longifolia) is
often found in the Himálaya between 3000 and 5000 feet. Below 3000 feet
is scrub forest, the only really valuable product being bamboo. The
hills in the north-western districts of the Panjáb and N.W.F. Province,
when nature is allowed to have its way, are covered with low scrub
including in some parts a dwarf palm (Nannorhops Ritchieana), useful for
mat making, and with a taller, but scantier growth of _phuláhí_ (Acacia
modesta) and wild olive. What remains of the scrub and grass _jangal_ of
the plains is to be found chiefly in the Bár tracts between the Sutlej
and the Jhelam. Much of it has disappeared, or is about to disappear,
with the advance of canal irrigation. Dry though the climate is the Bár
was in good seasons a famous grazing area. The scrub consisted mainly of
_jand_ (Prosopis spicigera), _jál_ (Salvadora oleoides), the _karíl_
(Capparis aphylla) and the _farásh_ (Tamarix articulata).
~Management and Income of Forests.~--The Forest Department of the Panjáb
has existed singe 1864, when the first Conservator was appointed. In
1911-12 it managed 8359 square miles in the Panjáb consisting of:
Reserved Forests 1844 square miles
Protected " 5203 " "
Unclassed " 1312 " "
It was also in charge of 235 square miles of reserved forest in the
Hazára district of the N.W.F. Province, and of 364 miles of fine
mountain forest in the native State of Bashahr. In addition a few
reserved forests have been made over as grazing areas to the Military
Department, and Deputy Commissioners are in charge of a very large area
of unclassed forest.
No forest can be declared "reserved" or "protected" unless it is owned
in whole or in part by the State. It is enough if the trees or some of
them are the property of the Government. In order to safeguard all
private rights a special forest settlement must be made before a forest
can be declared to be "reserved." In the case of a protected forest it
is enough if Government is satisfied that the rights of the State and of
private persons have been recorded at a land revenue settlement. After
deducting income belonging to the year 1909-10 realized in 1910-11, the
average income of the two years ending 1911-12 was £81,805 (Rs.
1,227,082) and the average expenditure £50,954 (Rs. 764,309).
~Sources of Income.~--In the mountain forests the chief source of income
is the _deodár_, which is valuable both for railway sleepers and as
building timber. The blue pine is also of commercial value. _Deodár_,
blue pine, and some _chír_ are floated down the rivers to depots in the
plains. Firwood is inferior to cedar and pine, and the great fir forests
are too remote for profitable working at present. There are fine
mountain forests in Chitrál, on the Safed Koh, and in Western
Wazíristán, but these have so far not even been fully explored. The
value of the hill forests may be increased by the success which has
attended the experimental extraction of turpentine from the resin of the
_chír_ pine. The bamboo forests of Kángra are profitable. At present an
attempt is being made to acclimatize several species of Eucalyptus in
the low hills. The scrub _jangal_ in the plains yields good fuel. As the
area is constantly shrinking it is fortunate that the railways have
ceased to depend on this source of supply, coal having to a great extent
taken the place of wood. To prevent shortage of fuel considerable areas
in the tracts commanded by the new canals are being reserved for
irrigated forests. A forest of this class covering an area of 37 square
miles and irrigated from the Upper Bárí Doáb Canal has long existed at
Changa Manga in the Lahore district.
~Forests in Kashmír.~--The extensive and valuable Kashmír forests are
mountain and hill forests, the former, which cover much the larger area
yielding, _deodár_, blue pine, and firs, and the latter _chír_ pine. The
total area exceeds 2600 square miles.