FOREST WEALTH
Forest Trees of many kinds grow in forests. Among them, teak, sissoo, khair, palas, tembhurni, dhavada, babul, neem, bayan, peepal, bamboo are important trees. Fruit-bearing trees like the mango, jamun, bor, tamarind, are to be found too. Wood from the trees of the forest is used for making the doors and windows of houses, articles of furniture, and wooden agricultural implements.

Wood is also used as fuel or to make charcoal. Take wood is sturdy and lasting. The white-ant does not attack it. Therefore, it is quit valuable. Wood from the babul, dhavada, etc. is used as fuel. Tembhurni leaves are used in making 'bidis'. The bark of the khair is used in making catechu. Bamboo is used in building huts, weaving baskets, and mats. Bamboo is also used in paper-making. Besides these, we get herbal medicines from plants like the hirda, beheda etc. Ropes are made from hemp and the roots of the palas. Some kinds of trees yield gum. Honey-bees build their honeycombs in trees in forests. We get honey from the combs. We also get lac, resins and charoli from the forest. There are patches of grassy grazing-lands in so e of the thin forests. Many kinds of produce are obtained from forests. 

Forests keep the air cool. The roots of trees prevent the erosion of soil. Forests add to the beauty of nature, and lessen the pollution of the air. We get many such benefits from forests.

Every year we celebrate the Vana-mahotsava. We plant new trees then. we must preserve the trees we plant. Trees should not be cut down. Cutting down trees reduces forest wealth. We must preserve forests.

We find different kinds of birds and animals in a forest like the tiger, lion, leopard, elephant, black buck, deer, bear, jackal, monkey, hare in forests. Also come across birds like the peacock, woodpecker, parakeet, koel, owl etc. in them. Our national animal is the tiger and national bird peacock. Many kinds of birds build nests in the trees of the forest to raise their offspring. Hunting reduces the number of animals in forests. Care must be taken not kill wild animal and birds of the forest (jungal).

Some forests are reserved so that wild animals and birds may not be hunted may be able to move about freely. The animals and birds in such reserved forests are protected from main. Such forests are called as Sancturies. In sancturies, hunting is prohibited. Some wild life sancturies in our state and Tadoba, Melghat and Rehekuri are some of them.

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