1G2 tlTILIZATION OF LEAVES. 



A tuft of foliage at least 5 to 10 feet deep, according to the height 

 of the trees, should be left, and the branches below this level should 

 be cut, with sharp tools, with a clean section, in order to prevent 

 unsoundness and to enable the buds at the base to throw out new 

 vigorous shoots. If the quantity of leaf-fodder to be furnished is 

 large, a regular rotation of from 2 to 5 years should be established, 

 the forest being divided into as many blocks, of which only one 

 at a time is kept open for lopping. Advantage should be taken 

 of the trees and poles to be removed in the ordinary course of 

 fellings, by allowing them to be lopped for several years pre- 

 ceding their exploitation, thus furnishing at once a not inconsider- 

 able portion of the total amount of fodder required. In coppiced 

 forests, the entire stock of a coupe may be lopped just before it is 

 felled. 



When the amount of lopping admissible is very heavy, and it is 

 found difficult or impossible to regulate and control it without 

 serious injury to the forest, the best plan is to set aside a portion 

 of the area exclusively for fodder purposes, and in this area to 

 pollard the trees, either every year or after the lapse of a recurring 

 number of years, according to the system of pollarding adopted. 



The leaves of trees and shrubs, like grass and the leaves of pulse 

 crops, may also be dried and stored up for future use. The leaves 

 of various species of Zizyphus are used in this way. As a rule, 

 dried leaves make very poor fodder for cattle, but sheep eat them 

 with avidity and thrive on them. 



Section II. — Leaves fob manueb. 



The practice of using vegetable ashes as manure for field crops 

 is one that dates from pre-historic times. The original inhabitants 

 of India probably grew nearly all their crops in forest clearings 

 in the ashes of the felled trees and other vegetation. In spite of 

 injunctions in the Vedas to save forests from fire, the Aryans 

 adopted the customs of the aborigines in the hilly regions where 

 forest vegetation grew in luxuriance. Even in the plains, where 

 cultivation made rapid progress, the idea that leaves and branches 

 supply valuable ash was not forgotten, and the jungle was cut and 

 spread over the fields, where it was burnt. In this manner, pre- 

 scription has established rights which the present Government has 

 in most cases, with certain restrictions, admitted. The exercise 

 of such rights being more universal even than lopping for fodder, 

 and one that is, in the opinion of the people and a powerful section 

 of the official class, identified with successful agriculture, is so 



