The mirror. (Stillwater, Minn.) 1894-1925, 1920-04-01


ag9@yH suits of his labors. This is parti-
cularly the case in India, where forest of
ficer hardly ever remains more than five years
in one division. And what is five years in
the life of tree? But with bamboos it is
different, for the shoots attain their full di-
mensions in the course of few months and
are ripe for telling after three years, says
Country Life. 1t is this that makes the bam-
boo one of the most interesting species the
Indian forest officer has to deal with, for he
can literally watch its growth and observe
with certainty the results of his care and at
tention.
In many places, where distance from
the market makes it valueless for export, the
bamboo is still looked upon as weed cum
bering up the ground beneath more valuable
forest trees. But elsewhere it is one of the
most valuable forest products. Indeed, few
forests in India can show net revenue of
nearly pound an acre per annum, which is
what is now being derived from the Hoshiar-
pur bamboo forests in the Punjab. These
two forests-Karnpur and Bindraban-sit-
uated at the eastern end of the Siwaliks,
overlooking the Beas river as it passes from
the hills into the plains, cover altogether an
area of 5000 acres, of which nearly
1000 acres comprise almost pure bamboo.
For many years these forests were
worked on what is known as the royalty"
system. That is to say, each year the right
of telling was put up to tender, the would-be
purchasers offering to fell minimum num-
Der of stems during the season and paying
for the same. at fixed rate per hundred
for each class of bamboo, the classification
being made according to size. The large
bamboo traders of the Punjab are, however,
all more or less closely connected with one
another. Many of them are intimately re-
lated, and they made it their business to in
sure that there was little or no competition
for the contract. Year after year they Of
fered the same rates and the number of
stems they agreed to fell was never more
than that for which they already had an as
sured market. They were woefully lacking
in enterprise, and took no steps to create a
larger market for their produce. In conse-
quence nothing approaching the full possible
turnout was ever obtained from these for
cts under the royalty system, and while the
more accessible portions were continually
overfelled, the outlying tracts were hardly
ever touched.
1t was decided, therefore, that as soon
as the necessary labor and transport ar
rangements could be made, the department
should take over the entire exploitation of
these forests. A beginning was made in de-
partmental working during the winter of
1918, and the success which has followed
has far more than justified the change of
policy, for during the last three years the
revenue obtained from these two forests has
increased fourfold, while the actual net
amount now received for every hundred
bamboos is more than double what was pre-
viously paid by way of royalty.
In the Punjab the telling season for
bamboos is comparatively short one. Oper-
ations do not commence much before Octo-
Der and have to be completed by the end OF
January, although another months work
can be got in between May IS and June IS.
There are thus only five months in the year
in which feelings can be made, the reason be-
ing that stems felled at any other time OF
the year are very liable to be attacked by the
bamboo borer, small insect which eats away
the inside of the stem and renders it useless
for anything To fell more than million
stems during five months requires, however
a large amount of labor. Fortunately there
is fairly large local population in the neigh.
borhood of these forests who, being for the
most part agriculturists, have little to do ir
their fields during the winter months. Wher
the work is in full swing as many as 800 OF
400 men are employed on telling alone.
For telling primitive form of billhool
is used, which is extremely useful for getting
among the crowded stems at the base OF th'
clump, though in unshllful hands grea