286 FOREST LIFE AND SPORT IN INDIA 
man is temporarily diverted from its progress ; but 
the time of respite is generally short, for the tree is 
lopped till only a ridiculous tuft of needles is left to 
carry on its growth, and the branches are used for 
stable litter and for charcoal-burning, so that whole 
hillsides are covered with rows of upright spindles 
that once were trees. The Forest Officers labour 
against men, sheep, and goats, with varying success, 
but the conditions have not been so favourable as, 
for instance, in the Sutlej Valley, where forestry has 
a firm hold on the country. 
Altogether it is pleasant to turn aside from the 
main valley of Kulu, and ascend the course 
of the Parbati River, passing the hot springs at 
Manikarn—where a bath is guaranteed to bring 
all internal aches to the surface, and leave them 
there for some time—and so reach the pleasant 
forest-house at Phulga. On the way are fine forests 
of long-leaved pine, blue-pine, and deodar, and above 
are the snowy slopes where ibex, “ burhel,” and red- 
bear, are still to be found; while “chikor” are 
plentiful in the late autumn, when the first snowfall 
drives the birds to lower elevations; there are also 
at that season many woodcock in the marshes that 
are still unfrozen. Thus, the resident in Kulu lives 
sumptuously at a phenomenally low cost, for he adds 
excellent mutton to his bill of fare ; and this he buys 
by live-weight, being careful to keep the sheep 
under observation, lest it should be dosed with salt 
and then encouraged to drink, so that mutton price 
may be obtained for inferior brine. On the whole, 
Kulu offers no special attractions that cannot be 
better obtained in many places in the Himalaya; it 
