166 TERMANENT NURSERIES. 



expedient to have a large nursery. It may, therefore, be laid down 

 as a general rule that the area of a permanent nursery should not 

 be less than 4 acres, and in the majority of instances it should be 

 at least 6 acres. 



ARTICLE 3. 

 PEEIMETEK OF THE NURSERY. 



On the outer form of the nursery depends the length of its 

 boundary, and hence the cost of fencing it. It should, whenever 

 possible, be a regular figure. Since the arrangement of the irri- 

 gation channels, and hence of the beds and paths, must always be 

 rectangular, the best figure would be the square, and after the 

 square the rectangle. In many cases, however, as in the hills, the 

 choice is necessarily limited, and there is no alternative but to 

 adopt irregular figures suiting the contour of the ground. Excep- 

 tionally, indeed, there are even occasions in which irregular figures 

 are advantageous, as when a portion of the boundary coincides with 

 the bank of a river which forms a natural, completely insurmount- 

 able sunk-fence. 



ARTICLE 4. 

 FENCING. 



No nursery can fully serve its purpose unless it is completely 

 protected against the inroads of cattle, elephants, pigs, porcupines, 

 hares, deer, and other destructive animals. 



Where flat stones are procurable in the vicinity, and in sufficient 

 abundance, as in most districts of sandstone and gneissose forma- 

 tion, a wall of dry masonry, effective against all animals excepting 

 the elephant, can be put up at a trifling cost. A pucca wall would 

 of course be the best, but the expenditure required for its construc- 

 tion would, in most cases, be prohibitive. The next best kind of 

 fence would be one of wire stretched on standards of iron or wood 

 or, better still, on single slabs of stone. Such a wire fence has, 

 however, this disadvantage that it does not stop the ingress of small 

 animals, such as hares, porcupines and even young pigs. But if 

 money is available, that defect is easily remedied by means of wire 

 netting. In the event of funds being wanting a dead thorn fence 

 formed of branches of Zizyplms, khair, or any other spiny bushes 

 abundant in the vicinity, similar to those erected every year round 

 fields in most parts of India, may be put up against, or inter- 

 woven with, the horizontal strands of wire. To increase the effec- 

 tiveness of the wire fence just described, it should be erected along 

 the top of a moimd formed by excavating aii open ditch, about 18 



