EFFECTS OF ITS REMOVAL. 609 



(a) Locality. 



All localities possessing a comparativeh' high degree of 

 moisture, owing to their position, altitude, configuration and 

 aspect, suffer less than others from the removal of litter. 



The removal of litter is therefore more prejudicial — on steep 

 slopes, than on gentle inclines and level ground ; on southerly- 

 and westerly- aspects than on cool ones ; on the higher parts 

 of hill-sides ; on ridges and hill-tops exposed to the wind ; 

 and less prejudicial on the lower parts of hill-sides, in valleys 

 and sheltered places, 



(/3) Soil 



A chemically rich soil withstands the effects of the removal 

 of litter longer than soils without the necessary amount of clay 

 and lime. In the long run, however, such soils remain pro- 

 ductive only when they are directly or indirectly supplied with 

 continuous moisture, for the fertility of a soil is valuable only 

 when it is sufficiently moist. 



The nature of the sub- soil has considerable influence on the 

 retentive powers of the soil for water ; if the former should 

 contain boulders, gravel, or deeply fissured rock, and the 

 gradient be steep, all the moisture in the soil tends to 

 descend to a depth* beyond the power of the forest to utilize 

 it. As therefore the bad effects of the removal of litter are 

 less felt on soils which are naturally moist, so also on deep 

 soils, which allow the roots to penetrate deeply and obtain 

 water from the subsoil. Nowhere are the bad effects of the 

 removal of litter more disastrous than on a shallow soil above 

 gravel, boulders, &c. 



(y) Climate. 



Heat and a long gi'owing period cause \'igorous growth ; this 

 however, makes greater demands on the productive factors of 

 the soil and especially on its moisture, and therefore the 



* [In K. "\V. India, trees such as tlie Sal {Sliwea rolusta) and the Jhand 

 {Prosopis S2ncigcra), growinj^ on deej) and porous alhivial strata of a coarse 

 cluuacter, which duiing the long dry season (October to July) may become dry to 

 considerable depth, have sometimes tap-roots 20 to 40 feet long and even longer, 

 so that they secure a -svater-supply even during the dry season. — Tr.] 



