PASTrBAGB. 139 



young growth not above their reach, while the ground is soft and 

 sodden or seeds are germinating or the grass is dry and wiry and 

 the tree-species are in leaf or coming oat into leaf. Otherwise 

 cows, buffaloes, and in many cases even sheep, mky be admitted in 

 restricted numbers and in small herds or flocks at each place, since a 

 number of animals moving in a mass would make a clean sweep of 

 everything before them and tread the soil into a hard pan. In re- 

 gulating the size of the flocks and herds and apportioning to them 

 the areas in which they may range, we may assume that for every 

 100 lbs. of live weight each animal requires per diem from 10 to 

 12 lbs. green weight of fodder, and that an acre of forest land, in- 

 clusive of unproductive portions and fully canopied areas, produces, 

 on an average, about 12,000 lbs. green weight of edible grass, of 

 which hardly one-third remains in a fit condition to be eaten during 

 the six months of the year that grazing is permissible. It is, there- 

 fore, evident that the smallest area of forest land that can be assigned 

 per head for those six months cannot be less than 2^ acres for cows, 

 4 acres for buffaloes, and ^ acre for sheep. These are minima 

 figures, and the actual areas assignable, after deductions in the in- 

 terests of reproduction, unstable soil, &c., will considerably exceed 

 those figures. If more cattle are admitted than the forest can stand, 

 we must make up our minds to sacrifice the woody growth : ex- 

 cessive grazing and forest growth are totally incompatible terms. 

 Actually, in many places, the number of head of cattle is in excess 

 of the capabilities of the forests, and the assumed necessity (in 

 nearly every case totally unfounded) of providing grazing for the 

 entire number is the cause of so much lamentable deterioration 

 and arrested progress visible everywhere. It is undeniable that 

 the number of cattle is enormously in excess of requirements. At 

 any rate, hundreds of thousands of utterly useless brutes ravage 

 the forests, and two half-starved, ill-bred animals have to be used 

 where a single well-fed, well-bred one would suffice. Thus, were 

 it not for the neglect and apathy of the Indian agriculturist, 

 the demand made on our forests for grazing would probably be 

 well within the capability of nearly every one of them. To over- 

 come this neglect and apathy of ages we must enlist on our side 

 the sympathies and powerful aid of the Agricultural Depart- 

 ment. 



Each group of animals must be in charge of responsible herdsmen 

 sufficiently numerous to control them and to drive them over the 

 entire allotted area, so that no part may he overgrazed. In areas 

 into which cattle are admitted to keep down the grass and weeds, 

 or to wound the soil or to crush an excessively thick layer of dead 



