468 REAEING OF THE ESTABLISHED CROP. 



quently. While the attention sholild be directed chiefly to the 

 principal species, the interests of the auxiliary ones and the^vast 

 influence for good they can exercise on the growth of the crop as 

 a whole must not be lost sight of. Even the accessory species 

 must receive their due share of regard, instead of, as often happens, 

 war to the knife being waged against them. One great rule should, 

 however, be invariably followed. In apportioning to each species 

 its part in the crop, all other considerations should yield the place 

 to cultural requirements. 



It is evident that, whether the crop be pure or mixed, all growth 

 not rising much above the ground should be carefully preserved. 

 It does no harm to the trees of the future, and it protects the soil 

 and the stems of those individuals and prunes them and forces them 

 up in height. 



SECTION III. 



Execution of the preceding operations- 



The execution of the various operations described in Sections I 

 and II requires constant and close attention, together with no 

 slight amount of skill and local experience. Whenever possible, 

 the Forest Guards themselves should do the work with their own 

 hands, being encouraged, by means of special rewards, to take a 

 pride in the well-being of the young crops in their beats. They 

 should be made to understand that cultural work is at least as im- 

 portant a part of their duties as police and supervision of labour. 

 However large their beats and little intensive the cultivation of 

 their forests may be, a light axe and a sickle should form an es^ 

 sential part of their equipment, and they should not consider their 

 daily rounds completed until they have cut several chmbers or re- 

 lieved several scores of promising young plants from actual or 

 imminent suppression. In this manner, at the end of the year, 

 hundreds of thousands of fine individuals of the coming generation 

 will have owed their flourishing condition to their assiduity. 

 Where all the work cannot be accompHshed by the Forest Guards 

 alone, they should be assisted, during the appropriate season, by 

 men who have year after year been employed on such operations. 



The following implements would be used with advantage : — 



(i) For cutting out by the roots, picks, pick-forks (Fig. 40)^ 

 axes, grubbing axes (Figs. 14 and 15) and hoe-axes (Figs. 16 and 

 17). 



(ii) For cutting close to the ground, Ught axes and bill-hooks, 



