3H The yoiLDial of Forestry. 



far as the eye can reach, and appearing like a boundless ocean of 

 waving grain, we are apt to forget that the very extent of the fields 

 covered with these rich crops is in itself evidence on what a preca- 

 rious thread the harvest depends. Could we but see more of the 

 arable land given up to forest, then, in the provision made for the 

 natural circulation of moisture, in the return of it to the atmosphere 

 by local evaporation, and again in the attraction of it to tlie thirsty 

 plains by the towering trees, we should know that a better safeguard 

 had been secured against drought than even a complete network of 

 irrigation canals throughout the peninsula could give us. I'or cen- 

 turies on centuries this destruction of forest has gone on, and it is 

 only within tlie last few years that the Government has taken proper 

 steps to remedy it. But the ravages of the railways, so long as they 

 depend on wood for their fuel, are greater than any which have been 

 previously experienced. The smaller branches are useless for t:ie 

 locomotive engines, and as the firing is frequently brought from a 

 great distance, where roads are rare and carriage is scarce, all but the 

 larger logs are left to rot upon the ground, and the waste and damage 

 are increased tenfold. There is another, though far minor objection 

 to the use of wood for railway fuel. Notwithstanding that the engines 

 on the Indian railways are provided with a fine wire cover over the 

 funnel, the light sparks are blown through it by the powerful draught, 

 and, setting fire wherever they fall, frequently cause much mischief 

 There is much less danger from the heavier cinders of coal. A new 

 inconvenience has now been discovered, though it seems to be confined 

 to wood obtained from Scinde. It was found that the copper fire-box 

 of the engines rapidly wore out. Specimens of the corroded metal, 

 as well as samples of the babool wood used as fuel, were sent to 

 England. Dr. Watson, of Manchester, has analyzed them, and reports 

 that the rapid destruction of the plates is due to the presence of chloiide 

 of sodium as one of the mineral constituents of the wood, the injurious 

 effect being increased in proportion to the height of the temperature 

 at which the plates are exposed to the action of the noxious gases- 

 The source of this saline ingredient in the wood is being investigated, 

 and inquiry is being made into the character of the soil where the 

 trees were grown, and into any peculiarities of the atmosphere. It 

 is earnestly to be hoped that some economical plan may be devised 

 for employing coal on all the lines throughout the country. 



A FEW words about ourselves may not be uninteresting to our readers, 

 and will, moreover, be for us an easy way of answering the many kind 

 inquiries about our success, which we are constantly receiving irom 



