INDIAN STATE FORKSTRY, 



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flowers; next the shrubby growth of juniper and alpine rose, 

 and below these the birch and firs. 



Lower down appear the forests of oak and rhododendron, 

 which flourish up to an elevation of about 8000 feet; and this 

 area is marked by a heavy rainfall that is capable of causing 

 serious damage by washing away the surface soil, wherever the 

 forests are not maintained so as to afford adequate protection 

 to the precipitous slopes. 



The forests of cedar and pine also grow at about this 

 elevation ; the cedar is the Deodaj-a, or " Tree of God," and 

 is practically identical with the cedar of Lebanon. It assumes 

 the form we are familiar with in English lawns whenever lateral 

 extension is possible ; but when this is not the case, it makes good 

 timber by a rapid vertical growth. The pine is the blue pine, 

 which grows like any weed if the attention of man is happily 

 diverted from it for a time; but it affords good timber and 

 charcoal, and its leaves are used for stable litter, so that it has 

 many enemies. 



Further down, the forests of the long-leaved pine yield good 

 timber and much rosin ; they grow on steep and rocky slopes 

 that are often even hotter than the plains below. 



At still lower elevations, the alder groves stand with their 

 feet in the water and their roots holding up the shallow banks 

 against the swift currents. 



hi the submontane forests, where the soil is composed of beds 

 of boulders, gravel and sand, the " shisham " and the " khair " 

 forests flourish on the banks and islands of the perennial 

 streams, while cotton and other soft-wooded trees occupy 

 the more stable positions. Below the submontane forests, the 

 Tarai is entered, where water is close to the surface, and heavy 

 grass growth is characteristic of the country ; and from here 

 commence the deciduous forests which extend throughout the 

 length and breadth of the peninsula, and are found in Burma, 

 flourishing wherever the rainfall is suitable to their growth. 

 They furnish the most valuable timber, such as " sal," teak, 

 ironwood, sandal, rosewood, red sanders, and ebony. 



Towards the coast, as well as inland, in the north-east of 

 India, are found the evergreen forests, where the trees grow to 

 an enormous size, standing over an almost impenetrable under- 

 growth. Then come the tidal forests, where the mangrove and 

 " sundri " are at home, and which are inundated twice daily by 



