ON THE DISTRIBUTION OF FORESTS IN INDIA. 109 



vent the formation of ravines, the silting-up of rivers, and other 

 mischief which may follow the denudation of hilly tracts. 



JSTor is it at all impossible, that in some cases the preservation 

 and extension of arborescent vegetation may have a beneficial effect 

 upon the sanitary condition of a district. The late unhealthiness of 

 Mauritius has generally been ascribed to the gradual denudation 

 of the island ; and public feeling there has "been so strong upon the 

 subject that legislative measures have been proposed to facilitate the 

 re-foresting of the waste lands. Too much importance must not, 

 however, be attached to the value of forests in India from a sanitary 

 point of view. The district of Eutnagerri, which is situated south 

 of Bombay, between the coast and the ghats, has been densely in- 

 habited for centuries ; and in consequence mainly of the practice 

 prevailing in the Concan, of manuring the fields with ashes of leaves 

 and branches, the whole district has. gradually been denuded of 

 trees, save groups of pollards, which are annually lopped for manure, 

 groves of palms, and fruit trees in gardens. Yet this district is 

 proverbially healthy ; more so than the adjoining British districts, 

 Tanna and Colaba in the north, and Canara in the south ; nor is 

 there any proof that the rainfall of the Eutnagerri district is less 

 than it ought to be with regard to its position on the coast. Never- 

 theless, even here denudation has clone serious mischief. Several 

 of the short tidal streams of this part of the Concan, which were 

 navigable in former times, have gradually silted up, and are now 

 useless, except for very small craft. 



Beyond all doubt, however, forest conservancy in India has 

 become necessary in order to meet the growing demands for timber, 

 wood, and other forest produce. Under the influence of peace and 

 security, which all parts of the country are enjoying under British 

 rule, prosperity is increasing rapidly in most provinces. The peasantry 

 of entire districts, who have hitherto been content to live in miser- 

 able huts, desire to build good substantial houses and to use better 

 furniture. Hence an increased demand for bamboos, wood, and 

 timber. In certain forest tracts the watershed of the timber trade 

 has entirely changed since the American war has stimulated the 

 export and cultivation of cotton. From the forests of north Canara, 

 the former export of timber was all seawards, and fortunately it was 

 not of great importance, and has not exhausted the forests. The 

 export inland was trifling. Since the American war, however, a 

 considerable demand of timber and bamboos for the cotton produc- 

 ing tracts east of Dharwar has sprung up, and a brisk trade is now 



