278 Forestry Quarterly 



other purposes during the months of May, June and July, when 

 the forest plantations require irrigation. 



The plantations on the plains around Lahore were started 

 in 1866 for the purpose of growing railway fuel for the govern- 

 ment railways. At that time coal had not been discovered in 

 India, the railways were burning wood, and with the rapid 

 exhaustion of the accessible wood supply, feared the necessity 

 of bringing coal from Great Britain. 



The earliest plantations consisted both of species native to the 

 dry plains, the chief of which were acacia, Arabica, Dalbergia 

 sissoo, a native of the flooded river banks and silt islands, and 

 mulberry. The most successful species were the Shisham 

 {D. sissoo) and mulberry, which were originally only tried on 

 a small scale. The acacia, though a native of the region, was 

 killed out by frost in the irrigated plantations. 



Great difficulty was experienced in starting the plantation. The 

 first attempt, seeding broadcast in the cultivated plain, followed 

 by flooding, was unsuccessful. It was believed the soil was too 

 hard. Trenches were then dug, filled in with loose earth and 

 seed sown along the filled trenches. This, too, was unsuccess- 

 ful. Finally, a trial was accidentally made which proved most 

 successful, of digging the trenches, sowing the seed in the edge of 

 the bank of earth beside the trench and flooding the trenches to 

 within about four inches of the level of the seed. The trenches 

 are dug one foot deep, one foot wide and 10 feet apart. The 

 seed is sown in March or April and the trenches flooded. The 

 seedlings come up about two feet apart in the trenches and are 

 6 to 8 feet high in the first year. 



The first years of the plantations saw numerous failures after 

 the seedlings were started, due to failure to supply water at the 

 right time. The system adopted now is to flood the plantations 

 two feet or more in depth during May, June and July. The 

 plantation is traversed by a large canal from which leads run 

 through every block and compartment. The blocks are sur- 

 rounded by embankments to protect the roads. 



The system of irrigating is simple. Channels lead across each 

 block and at right angles to the channels are the trenches dug 

 when the area is planted and reopened after felling is completed. 

 The general slope of the plantation is two feet in the mile. The 



