POPULAR MISCELLANY. 



137 



a suitable condition to undergo develop- 

 ment ; 2. That these germs could be col- 

 lected by the methods they employed, could 

 be made to develop and multiply, and could 

 be systematically distinguished and de- 

 scribed ; 3. That the presence of some of 

 the germs which are commonly developed in 

 fermenting substances was not detected in 

 the air ; 4. That the presence of germs of 

 particular kinds was detected in air taken 

 from the surface of the soil; 5. That the 

 air of the sick-chamber of a typhus-hospital 

 appeared to be singularly free from germs 

 capable of development, a result which was 

 attributed to effective ventilation and dis- 

 infection ; 6, That the air rising from the 

 sewer was rich in living germs ; 7. That the 

 number of observations and experiments in 

 this their first systematic investigation is 

 not yet sufficient to enable them to deter- 

 mine whether the difference in the number 

 of germs collected from the air in different 

 places may be taken as indicating a differ- 

 ence in the healthiness of the several locali- 

 ties so far, they seem to give a negative 

 result. 



Forestry in India. An address by Sir 

 William Temple, before the Society of Arts, 

 on *' Forest Conservancy in India," calls at- 

 tention to the vast destruction of forests 

 which that country has suffered in common 

 with other populous lands. Traditions show 

 that the country was once covered with syl- 

 van and other vegetation, but this dress has 

 been removed, as the demands of man upon 

 the surface have increased, and the most 

 important forest-growths are now found on 

 the mountain-ranges. The trees of India 

 may be divided into two classes ; those of 

 the Himalayas, and those of the other 

 mountain-ranges and the plains. The trees 

 of both classes are magnificent specimens 

 of growth. The Himalayan trees are allied 

 with those of Europe and other temperate 

 regions, and embrace, among the Coniferce, 

 the cedar, the Pinus longifolia, most valu- 

 able timber-trees ; the cypress, the fir, the 

 yew, and the juniper, the latter the only valu- 

 able tree that grows near Quettah. Of the 

 other orders are the ilex, oak, and walnut, 

 of Simla,the plane-tree of Cashmere, the ma- 

 ple, magnolia, laurel here a great tree 

 the rhododendron, and the tree-fern, most 



graceful of plants. The other mountains 

 produce the teak, the iron-hearted sal, the 

 anjun, with its white, bright, and smooth 

 trunk like a great marble pillar ; the saj, 

 which often grows close by the anjun, and, 

 having a black and rough trunk, offers an 

 effective contrast with it ; the black-barked 

 bije sal ; and the white-barked, weird-look- 

 ing frankincense-tree. The plains furnish 

 the babul, or acacia, the one tree which is 

 universal in India ; the mango, the figs, 

 among which are the banyan ; and the 

 India-rubber tree, bamboos, and palms in 

 their varieties. The demands of the popu- 

 lation for wood are immense, with thirty- 

 seven million houses in British India, and 

 one fifth as many in the native states, to be 

 supplied, and all the implements of a people 

 with whom iron is in comparatively little 

 use. On account of the scarcity of wood, 



' the people are obliged to burn manure for 

 fuel, and thus to rob the soil of what should 



I be returned to it, adding another to the 

 agencies which are steadily impoverishing 

 it. The absence of woods can not affect the 

 total rainfall of the country, for the vapors 

 that rise from the sea must be condensed 

 somewhere, but it seriously affects its dispo- 

 sition. The clouds pass over the hot, dry 

 plains, and precipitate their moisture upon 

 the mountains, where they cause swift tor- 

 rents to rush down into the lower country 

 and create destruction there. The capacity 

 of the soil to retain moisture is destroyed, 

 and the water which would be stored in the 

 natural forest through the dry season is lost 

 in a sudden drought. A Forest Department 

 has been created by the Government within 

 the last tvvonty years, and gives special at- 

 tention to the preservation of the remaining 

 forests, of which the whole extent is about 

 seventy thousand square miles. These for- 

 ests are divided into the " reserves," or for- 

 ests which are carefully guarded, embracing 

 about twenty-five thousand acres, and the 

 " protected " forests, which are imperfectly 

 guarded and preserved. The forests of both 

 classes have been decided to be the prop- 

 erty of the Government. The reserves are 

 placed directly under the care of the Forest 

 Department. The protected forests are 

 managed by the ordinary civil officers, un- 

 der the supervision of the Forest Depart- 

 ment. The management is directed to the 



