The Indian Forester; A Monthly Magazine of Forestry Agriculture Shikar & Travel December 1884

THE chief forest tracts in the Northern Circle are the following :— Ganjam District.—In the Goomsur Taluk including Suradá are large sál (Shorea robusta) forests the best portions of which lie at the foot of the Ghát range in the valleys of the Gullery and Mahanadi rivers and on the boundary of the Puri district in the Kriyamba valley. [...] The prevalence of the mango and tamarind is most noticeable and leads to the sus— picion otherwise also borne out by the homogeneous growth of the sál forests and the rocky nature of the hills that it is not long since the whole country was under cultivation. [...] The next in importance of the forests of the Nellore District is that of Sribarik6ta on the islands of the Pulicat lake and the belt of land between the lake and the sea. [...] There are forests in all taluks but the chief areas are those of the hilkonda Hills the Seshachellum Hills the Velgonda range the Lankamalai Hills the Nallamalias the Yerramalia or Jammalamadugu Hills and the scattered hills of the Kadiri and Madanapalle Taluks. [...] It may be here noted that the bark which produces the greatest percentage of tannic acid is that which grows on the stem of the tree and therefore the system of cultivation should be directed to produce as large a bulk of stem as possible with the least amount of lateral growth in the shape of branches as is consistent with the proper health of the trees.