124 FOREST LIFE AND SPORT IN INDIA 
mountains ; so that one may spend the day in the 
forest with a chance of seeing “ gural,” ‘‘serow,” or 
barking-deer, and be back in the settlement in the 
evening. The climate of Naini Tal, save in the late 
autumn, is somewhat relaxing. The rain falls from 
June to September, often with excessive violence, 
and the houses highest on the ridge are those most 
sought after. In the autumn, when the sky is clear, 
the air brisk, and the dahlias in flower, Naini Tal 
is a delightful and healthy resort. Ranikhet and 
Almora can be reached by good cart-roads or by 
shorter bridle-tracks. They lie at a distance of about 
thirty miles, but neither is bracing. At Chaubatia, 
above Ranikhet, there is a Government orchard and 
a small forest rest-house, where a fine view of the 
snows can be enjoyed, as well as a better climate. 
The lakes in the vicinity of Naini Tal are well 
known to fishermen, and there are guide-books to 
the locality, and to the sport obtainable, that fulfil 
all requirements. 
From Naini Tal the Conservator descends to his 
field-work at the beginning of November, and the 
first tour is generally made in the district of 
Gorakhpur, which is divided from the Province of 
Bengal by the great Gundak River, and is served 
by the Bengal and North-Western Railway. Go- 
rakhpur is a district of planters and swamps, and in 
former days a yacht club existed, and good sailing 
was to be had during the monsoon. At the present 
time other forms of sport take precedence. There 
is a troop of Light Horse who arrange joyous meet- 
ings, and there are the usual station games, as well 
as shooting-parties, which fill the hospitable bunga- 
