1,0 RE ST.S
33
The soil of Sirohi is on the whole fertile, especially in the eastern
valley bordering the Aravallis. The principal crops are maize, bdjra,
miing, khuldt, and til in the autumn, and barley, Agriculture.
wheat, gram, and mustard in the spring. Cotton,
tobacco, and san-hemp are grown in small quantities for local con-
sumption. On the slopes of the hills the system of cultivation known
as walar or wdlra has long been practised by the Bhils and Girasias,
and has proved most destructive to the forests. Trees are cut down
and burnt, and the seeds of sdma, mdl, and other inferior grains are
sown in the ashes; but the system has now been prohibited throughout
the State. No agricultural statistics are collected, but the Darbar
estimates the area under cultivation at about 348 square miles, and
the irrigated area at 8o square miles. Irrigation is mainly from wells,
of which there are 5,157 in the State; water is drawn up by means of
the Persian wheel called arath. During recent years four fairly large
tanks, capable of irrigating about 4,700 acres, have been constructed;
but the rainfall has been so scanty that till now they have been of
very little use.
Although a considerable portion of Sirohi is covered with trees and
bush jungle, the forests proper may be said to be confined to the
slopes of Abu and the belt round its base. The
area here protected is about q square miles, and it Forests.
contains a great variety of trees and shrubs. Among the most common
may be mentioned the bamboo, mango, siris (Albizzia Lebbek), two or
three varieties of the dhao (Anogeissus pendula), several of the fig tribe,
such as the bar (Ficus bengalensis), pipal (F. religiosa), and ga-1lar
(F. glomerata), and showy flowering trees like the kachndr (Bauhinia
racemosa), phdludra (Erythrina arborescens), smmal (Bombax malabari
cum), and the dhdk (Butea frondosa). The Bhakar or hilly tract to the
south-east bears evidence of having been at one time well wooded,
but the forests have been for the most part destroyed by Bhils and
Girasias. The total area `reserved' and protected is about 385 square
miles, and the staff usually consists of a ranger, four foresters, and
some guards. The annual expenditure is about Rs. 5,ooo and the net
revenue the same.
The minerals of the State are unimportant. It is said that a copper-
mine was formerly worked in the hills above the town of Sirohi, and
that the marble of which the Jain temples at Abu are built came from
near the village of Jhariwao on the south-eastern frontier. Granite is
found on Abu and is used to a considerable extent for building pur-
poses; but as it breaks very irregularly in quarrying, and is extremely
hard, it is expensive to work and not well adapted for masonry.
Limestone is quarried at Selwara near Anadra (west of Abu), and near
Abu Road.
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