55 



made sketches of every scene which is described in these pages. I have been from first 

 to last concerned in, or otherwise personally cognizant of almost all the aflFairs which are 

 here discussed." Concerning the forests of India, Sir Richard says ; — 



" The forests of India were vast according to tradition, and have been considerable 

 even during periods of authentic history. During some few centuries they have been 

 shrinking in size and importance, until they are at present inconsiderable for so great an 

 empire as India, which possesses so many ranges of mountains and hills. If the hill-sides 

 generally had slopes which could be cultivated, then the forests as they were gradually 

 cut down and up-rooted, would give place to crop-bearing fields. But the hills are steep, 

 the soil, lying upon rocky strata, is thin, and is speedily washed away by the rains des- 

 cending violently at certain seasons. The forest is destined by nature to bind the soil 

 with roots, and so to support the lesser vegetation on the ground. Consequently, when 

 the hill-side is denuded of trees, the shrubs, plants, and herbage fail to sustain them- 

 selves, and barrenness ensues. The unrestrained clearance of the forests has aflFected the 

 climate unfavourably, and lessened the supply of moisture in a country already subject to 

 aridity. It has caused wood, a necessary article, to become dear and scarce, and com- 

 pelled the people to use for fuel substances which ought to be used for manure. It hns 

 reduced to a low ebb some valuable portions of the national wealth, and cut off beyond 

 recovery some branches of the imperial resources. For many generations the forests have 

 been felled whenever firewood had to be gathered for the consumption of the villagers, or 

 new lands reclaimed from the hilly slopes, or towns built with styles of architecture in 

 which wood is largely used, more particularly when cantonments for troops had to be 

 formed, or civil edificies constructed. The felling used to be carried on indiscriminately, 

 without any thought of leaving some parts of the forests, or even a few trees here and 

 there, for reproduction in the future. This destructive process was continued under 

 British rule, and became even aggravated under various circumstances. Timber was 

 needed for the building of barracks, and the officers of the public works' department used 

 to make contracts with capitalists for its supply. These officers were unwilling to inter- 

 fere with the operations of the contractors who, having no abiding interest in the forests, 

 cleared them to the last logs, without regard for the consequences of such denudation. 

 The forests had been so little explored that the local authorities seldom became aware of 

 the mischief that was being done. When railways began to be constructed, sleepers were 

 not, as they now often are, obtained from Northern Europe, but were procured from local 

 forests, through the agency of contractors, who denuded the forests according to the 

 custom which had unfortunately been established in such cases. The Government theo- 

 reti6ally deplored the evil so far as they knew its existence ; but its real proportions 

 remained long unknown by reason of the ignorance which prevailed in respect to the 

 sites, value and stock of the forests. 



" Within the present generation, scientific attention has been awakened, the Govern- 

 ment has bestirred itself, and an effective management of forests has been inaugurated. 

 Mischief, practically immense, has been done already, of which some parts are irreparable, 

 or can be repaired only after the lapse of a long time, while others may be remedied within 

 one or two generations. Of the primeval forests there remains several, still intact, enough 

 to constitute a national resource. 



" In the lower ranges of the Himalayan mountains, in central India, in the valleys 

 of the Vindhya and Aravali ranges, in the northern and western portions of the Deccan, 

 and in many districts of the Madras Presidency, the forests have been for the most part so 

 long destroyed that their restoration is hardly to be anticipated. But in the higher ranges 

 of the Himalayas, in the central tracts of the Punjab, in the Satpura range, in that hilly 

 region where the Vindhya and Satpura ranges join, in the Eastern and Western Ghat 

 ranges, they are either preserved, or else but partially destroyed, and may still prove very 

 productive. In some parts of the Bengal Presidency, and in many parts of the Presidencies 

 of Madras and Bombay, the remnant of them is still being invaded bit by bit. Many 

 authorities apprehend that the western and southern provinces of India are, owing to the 

 destruction of the forests, threatened with a danger which is feebly checked, and which, 

 if not arrested, may seriously affect the best interests of the country. 



" The woods and forests of India from the Himalayas to Cape Comorin comprise, as 



