116 FOREST LIFE AND SPORT IN INDIA 
satisfactorily defined. It was therefore decided, 
where possible, to make exchanges with various 
landowners so as to simplify the forest boundary, 
which was afterwards permanently fixed by means 
of numbered sandstone pillars from the quarries of 
Mirzapur ; and between each pair of pillars a bridle- 
track was constructed, so that, whether on horseback 
or foot, inspection could easily proceed. The system 
to be employed in demarcation presents a serious 
problem in the extensive forests of India; pre- 
liminary work has to be carried out quickly, so as 
to permit of early survey, and the manner in which 
this is done is often most ingenious. For instance, 
in some places a large cylinder of bamboo matting 
is filled with stones, a stake being erected in its 
centre ; in others, a green stake of fig or “ jingan” 
is driven into the soil, in the hope that it will take 
root and flourish ; in others, again, the trees at 
angles in the boundary are blazed. But such make- 
shifts do not permanently demarcate the boundaries ; 
they are easily removed, and are also liable to be 
destroyed by wild-elephants and by village cattle, 
which seem to take a curious pleasure in wilful mis- 
chief. Monoliths, on the other hand, though initially 
expensive, are subject to no damage even in the 
vicinity of villages, although the people may use 
them to sharpen their sickles and axes, for sandstone 
of a suitable hardness is generally rare. 
The exchanges between the Government and the 
landowners proceeded with the exasperating delays 
of the East, where, though life is short, the people 
appear to have infinite leisure; but the eager 
acquisition of landed property and the struggle for 
