196 FOREST LIFE AND SPORT IN INDIA 
each forest must decide the case on its individual 
merits. On the one hand, the extension of the ever- 
green forest must not be unduly encouraged, nor 
must the drawbacks of excessive undergrowth in 
deciduous forests be permitted ; on the other hand, 
the damage caused by fire to the standing stock in 
deciduous forests must be minimized as far as pos- 
sible, and only condoned when it became absolutely 
necessary in the interests of the maintenance of the 
principal species. 
The rank growth of bamboos in Burma, and its 
effect in checking the tree regrowth, is also a matter 
of very great importance to the future of these 
forests. It is idle to anticipate that the labours of 
the forester will either check or seriously diminish 
this evil. Here, as elsewhere, only the continuous 
attacks of a large population over many generations 
will be able to overcome the overwhelming vitality 
of these giant grasses. Considerable but undue stress 
has been laid on the well-known fact that the 
bamboo seeds gregariously after periods varying in 
the case of different varieties from thirty to sixty 
years, and that thereafter the clumps die down, 
often over very large areas. It was suggested that 
advantage should be taken of the temporary absence 
of these shade-giving plants, and of the fertilizing 
ashes that would be yielded by burning the dry 
clumps, to sow teak and other forest trees. In prac- 
tice, however, though we know that the burning of a 
seeding area, and the dibbling in of teak seeds, might 
result in the creation of a valuable forest, yet such 
knowledge is merely academic; for it is impossible, 
owing to the scarcity of labour, to deal, with that 
