40 PROTECTION AGAINST MAN. 



France, since 1665, goats have been excluded from all forests 

 managed by the State Forest Department, and no legal right 

 can be enforced to graze goats in private forests, as the 

 grazing of these animals is considered incompatible with the 

 maintenance of underwood. 



The sheep is less, injurious than the goat, holding its head 

 low, and preferring grass, but sheep browse freely on woody 

 plants, and injure forest soil and the roots of shallow-rooted 

 species by their short tread and sharp feet. 



Horned cattle generally confine themselves to grass and 

 herbage, and attack woody plants only in the absence or 

 scarcity of the former. The buffalo in India is frequently fed 

 during the cold season on loppings of evergreen or winter- 

 green trees. Cattle do much injury to forest soil, slopes, roads, 

 and ditches owing to their weight and size, and also break 

 down seedlings and saplings ; these injuries are aggravated in 

 the case of the buffalo, which is a heavier animal than common 

 cattle. Oxen are more destructive than cows, and young beasts 

 are worse than older ones, as they gnaw woody growth, partly 

 out of pure mischief and partly to develop the formation of 

 their teeth, and are much more active. 



Horses can reach higher, and are fonder of leaf-fodder than 

 cattle, and do much damage to. roots by their tread. Foals 

 occasionally peel the bark from trees. I have seen a clump 

 of old beech trees in Cambridgeshire killed by the trampling 

 of horses, which sheltered there in the heat of the day. The 

 trees had originally been fenced, but when the fence had been 

 broken the trees were soon killed. 



Camels eat almost everything that grows within their reach, 

 to a considerable height, and can feed readily on thorny species 

 owing to their hard mouths. Much damage has been done to 

 forest growth by camels in Northern and Central India and 

 in Central Asia. 



Elephants are fed chiefly by loppings from species of Ficus 

 and other trees, as well as on grass and herbage, but the 

 number of tame elephants admitted to a forest is limited, and 

 their browsing can be easily controlled. Wild elephants are 

 very destructive in bamboo forests, and also bark trees with 

 their tusks. 



