136 PASTURAGE, 



sent, depends the entire system of agriculture of the country, and 

 hence its title to first consideration. It supplies (1) pasturage, (2) 

 hay and cut green-fodder, (3) ensilage, (4) litter, (5) fibres, (6) 

 material for thatching and for making mats and baskets, and (7) 

 drugs, dyes, &c. 



Section I. — Pastueagb. 



In the present condition of our agriculture, pasturage is the 

 most important want supplied by the herbaceous vegetation grow- 

 ing in our forests. Nearly half the live-stock of the country 

 depends entirely on the forests for its sustenance, while an extreme- 

 ly large proportion of the rest is driven for some period or other 

 of the year to graze there. Forest grazing has been for so many 

 ages an essential part of our rural economy, that with a climate op- 

 posed to meadow cultivation on any appreciable scale, and national 

 habits and religious prejudices which preclude any extensive con- 

 sumption of meat, it will always continue to be the chief mode of 

 feeding cattle. 



The fields, owing to the enormous population and to India being 

 one of the granaries of the world, will never cease to be used prin- 

 cipally for the production of food-grains, oil-seeds, and fibres, fodder 

 being, as now, only a by-product. Thiis we must submit to most 

 of our forests being used as permanent pasture grounds, and must 

 accordingly arrange for the fullest utilization of the fodder they 

 yield, consistently with the production of timber and firewood. 

 The forest-grazing question acquires its highest importance in dry 

 countries with a low rainfall, and in hilly and mountainous districts 

 where the extent of available arable land is usually hardly sufficient 

 for producing the food of the population. 



The advantages accruing to agriculture from forest-grazing are 

 thus unquestionable and incalculable. For the forests themselves, 

 the advantages are few and only occasional, while the disadvantages 

 are enormous, and may tend to the extermination itself of the 

 forest. 



The advantages may be said to be four in number. Firstly, graz- 

 ing helps to keep down the rank growth of grass and weeds, which 

 come up in profusion even under a dense leaf-canopy with only a 

 modicum of light, and interfere with reproduction. Secondly, 

 when the ground is sloping, but not so steep as to require careful 

 protection against slipping, the going to and fro of cattle breaks 

 up and loosens the surface soil and thus prepares it for reproduc- 

 tion. Thirdly, where in open glades and blanks the soil gets 



