122 COMPOSITION or POBEST CBOPS. 



SECTION V. 



Composition of forest growth on pasture lands and 

 in deer preserves. 



In almost every climate, and most conspicuously so in dry climates, 

 grass not only grows up more abundantly but also comes up earlier 

 on wooded than on perfectly open land. Indeed in the plains of 

 India a crop of new grass will often come up in the midst of forest 

 growth before any rain falls, if the summer rains have been de- 

 layed, and in the Dehra Dun green grass may be found in the 

 forests even in the height of the hot season in April-May. The 

 best trees to have in pasture lands and deer preserves are ever- 

 greens or those which are nearly evergreen, as then the quantity of 

 moisture in the top layers of the soil is maintained at a maximum 

 at all seasont of the year and the grass is protected against frosts 

 and hot winds, which cause it to dry up. Moreover cattle and 

 deer require shade during the heat of the day. The trees should 

 also be such as bear flowers and fruit eaten by the animals in 

 question. The species should also be hardy enough to resist the 

 isolation in which they must be raised and be able to shoot up 

 rapidly in order to get out of the reach of the animals as early as 

 possible. Bassia latifolia is &n excellent tree in all the above res- 

 pects. Lastly, the trees should possess leaves relished by cattle or 

 deer, as the case may be. 



As all the trees must either stand isolated or, at the most, form 

 only small clumps, it is immaterial whether only one species or 

 several are grown, provided they satisfy the requirements enumer- 

 ated in the preceding paragraph. f 



SECTION VI. 



Composition of forests grown essentially and 

 chiefly for ornament. 



The question of the composition of such forests belongs to the 

 province of landscape gardening and trenches on the sylvicul- 

 turist's ground only when considerations of production and income 

 are connected therewith. A straight, clean-boled, sound tree, the 

 sylviculturist's ideal, is not necessarily the handsomest tree on every 

 or even most occasions ; but there are few proprietors who can 

 afford to neglect such considerations, and it hence results that in 

 the great majority of cases deviations from the rules of sylvicul- 

 ture are allowed only when they do not involve a serious loss of 



