168 THE HIGHLANDS OF CENTKAL INDIA. 



and arrange for the supply of the country. At the 

 time this was beneficial in many respects, enabling us 

 to utilise most of the fully ripe standing trees, and the 

 logs lying in the forest, by enhancing the price until it 

 became remunerative to take these out. Now, however, 

 this has ceased to be necessary, and there are sufficient 

 legitimate dealers in the trade to supply all wants. 



It was some time before we ventured to interfere 

 with the devastation caused by the wild tribes in their 

 system of tillage by axe and fire which has been 

 described. Having acquired the reputation of " savage 

 and intractable foresters," it was with considerable 

 hesitation that the first steps were adopted. The most 

 promising forests were encircled by boundary lines, 

 marked by terror-inspiring masonry pillars, within which 

 the formation of dhya clearings was prohibited. The 

 people obeyed with scarcely a murmur ; and presently 

 the rules were extended to the great mass of the wastes, 

 in so far that the cutting of valuable timber for clearings 

 was forbidden, except under such arrangements as 

 afforded a prospect of the reclamation of the land being 

 permanent. To the wildest of the tribes certain areas 

 were assigned, sufficient to afford room for a rotation of 

 sites for their dhya-fields. It cannot be said that these 

 comprehensive restrictions have been everywhere en- 

 forced to the letter, nor was it to be expected. But 

 the general efiect has been very marked : the " intract- 

 able foresters " have shown a ready acquiescence in 

 arrangements, the object and necessity of which were 

 carefully shown to them ; and year by year the influence 

 of law is more fully acknowledged and felt in the forest 

 regions. 



The habits of the aborigines are now greatly changed 



