CHAPTER XV 



THE GREAT CHIR PINE FOREST 



Let us wander through the ranges of the middle Hima- 

 layas, which we may call the semi-tropical zone, where 

 the chir pine flourishes ever5rwhere at an elevation of 

 from 4,000 to 6,000 feet. The Pinus longifolia is a tree 

 peculiar to the Himalayas, and has an extensive range 

 from Nepal to the western Punjab. More especially 

 on the southern faces and tops of the numerous ranges, 

 on the sunniest slopes, these handsome pines, with tall, 

 straight, red-coloured stems, grow to the greatest size, 

 and cover hundreds of miles of otherwise bare and grassy 

 hills. The spines, in clusters, measure 12 to 14 inches long, 

 and are bright green, huge aigrettes of shiny foliage form- 

 ing umbrella-like heads, somewhat like those of the 

 Corsican pine, and bearing similar great knobby fir-cones, 

 with big seeds. 



The Forest Survey shows the area of forests surveyed 

 in Kumaon to be 433,951 acres, and in British Garhwal 

 253,472 acres ; total 687,423 statute acres, equal to 

 1,074 square miles.* The area of chir alone is 152,264 



* The areas given in the reports are : 



Acres. 

 Pinus longifolia {c\i\r) ... - 152,264 



Pinus excelsa (dolchella) - - - I4,ocxd 



Piftus Brunoniana (tungsing) - - - 1,000 



Picea Webbiana and Pindrow {xdi^-A) - - 53,820 



