140 DIARY OF A SPORTSMAN NATURALIST 



see what was going on, but the jungle was too thick. A 

 piercing shriek or two and the furious grunts of the boar 

 made it too evident that the hounds were getting the worst 

 of it. The revolver was produced and a volunteer called 

 for to use it. " V.C." Alymer formed one of the party and 

 volunteered to go in. He did so on all fours. He worked 

 his way up somehow to the centre of the din and put a 

 couple of bullets into piggy at point-blank range. Two 

 fine hounds were killed that morning besides others wounded. 

 I must get back to my description of this southern area. 

 Great rivers, such as the Godavery in the north, the Kistna, 

 and the Cauvery intersect the country, filled by many an 

 important tributary and rushing torrent descending from 

 the hilly areas. All these rivers flow eastwards to the 

 coast. The main branch of the Godavery rises near Bombay, 

 two-thirds of the river flowing through the Haiderabad 

 State. They all flow through the forest-clad highlands of 

 the Deccan, finally reaching the flat, alluvial delta of the 

 coast. In the Wynaad, Coorg, and other parts, consider- 

 able areas of forest have been cleared from the hill-sides by 

 the planters for the cultivation of coffee and other crops ; 

 whilst fire and axe, before the systematic conservation of 

 the forests came into force, resulted in a serious decrease of 

 the forest area in parts of the hilly tracts. These clearances 

 have had some effect on the maintenance of the level of 

 the water supply in the rivers, and have also resulted in 

 erosion on the uncovered slopes, leading to devastating 

 floods. The great floods of 1908 in Haiderabad are directly 

 attributable to this cause. Many other parts of India have 

 paid a like penalty for the ignorance displayed in the past in 

 this matter. The apathy evinced towards the question of 

 the necessity of maintaining the catchment areas of the rivers 

 under forest is amazing when it is remembered that India 

 is primarily an agricultural country, and that irrigation is 

 so commonly employed for the cultivation of the crops. 

 Now that the rivers of India are being harnessed for the 

 production of power, such as the Cauvery in Mysore, to 

 supply the power for the Kola Gold Fields, one of the 

 first instances of a river being utihsed in this fashion in the 

 country, this question of the protection of the mountain 

 and hill slopes by forest is one the importance of which is 

 becoming fully recognized. But I well remember on the 

 occasion of my visit to the Cauvery Power Works, anxiety 



