6o 



RECREATION. 



the country and saved the lives of many 

 thousands of cattle. 



In India it is necessary to rely almost 

 entirely on natural reproduction of the for- 

 ests. The forest areas are too vast and the 

 average cash revenue per acre is too insig- 

 nificant to warrant a more intensive man- 

 agement. The necessary trained staff of 

 foresters is too small to carry on planting 

 operations to any great extent. All that it 

 is possible to do in the majority of cases 

 is to protect against fire, grazing and other 

 harmful interference to forest growth and 

 to exploit the forests in such a manner 

 as to give natural reproduction the best 

 possible chance. 



When the forests are put under regular 

 management they are usually found in a 

 bad state. Improvement cuttings are pre- 

 scribed from the lightest thinnings of unde- 

 sirable species, to heavy cuttings removing 

 all but seed trees of desirable species and 

 depending on coppice and seedlings to re- 

 cover the ground. Even more or less de- 

 nuded areas within the deciduous zone re- 

 quire rarely anything but seed to ultimately 

 reclothe them with forest growth. Broad- 

 cast sowings are often successful. The 

 bamboo is a nuisance, as it is in the way of 

 and prevents reproduction. About the only 

 way to get rid of it is to wait for the bam- 

 boo to flower, seed and die and then sow 

 seed of teak or other species desired, un- 

 der the bamboo. 



In the reproduction of teak, the areas to 

 be. treated are first fire traced, then burned 

 and cleared by fire. Teak and cutch seed 

 are dibbled in plentifully and as many nurs- 

 ery plants set out as are available. This 

 method may be applied only where the ex- 

 isting young growth is poor enough to ex- 

 cuse its being sacrificed. Otherwise the 

 use of fire in clearing must be dispensed 

 with. Some 4,000 acres have been stocked 

 with teak in this manner since 1880. 



A taungya is a piece of ground that has 

 been cleared and cultivated for a few years 

 and then abandoned by the natives. The 

 land cleared for taungyas within the gov- 

 ernment forests, according to recent legisla- 

 tion, must be planted to teak before it is 

 abandoned. The government often assists 

 in this by supplying seeds or nursery ma- 

 terial. As a result of this system 52,000 

 acres had been planted in teak up to 1900. 



Girdling and felling of inferior trees in 

 order to make room for teak, deodar, sal 

 padouk, etc., should be done only in fire 

 protected regions, since forest fires will up- 

 set the object of the thinnings and be made 

 fiercer by the debris left from the thin- 

 nings.. 



Creeper cutting is an important duty of 

 the Indian forester. The efficiency of the 

 forest officer is often gauged by the absence 

 of creepers in his beat. The usefulness of 



climbers in holding and shading the soil 

 is considered important by some. A writer 

 in the Indian Forester says : "No climbers 

 should be cut on steep banks or in other 

 places save when actually on a tree or with- 

 in 10 feet of one ; and this does not apply 

 to inferior species of trees." 



Trees attacked by epiphytic fici must be 

 felled as soon as found attacked. 



Thinnings are mainly restricted to arti- 

 ficial plantations because of the lack of 

 foresters sufficiently trained to do the work. 

 Improvement fellings made with a view of 

 increasing the proportion of healthy, prom- 

 ising stems in the crop, have been carried 

 on wherever a demand for the produce of 

 the felling exists; or in the absence of such 

 demand to the extent to which funds and 

 superintendance were available. 



SEEDLINGS; 



There is a strong movement on foot in 

 New England to have a National park es- 

 tablished in the White mountains. A com- 

 mittee has been appointed to present the 

 matter to Congress. 



The title Forest Engineer, which was first 

 conferred by the New York State College 

 of Forestry in 1902, is growing in favor 

 throughout this country. 



If you wish to make a present to a man 

 or boy who is interested in shooting, fish- 

 ing, amateur_photography, or nature study, 

 give him a year's subscription to Recrea- 

 tion. Nothing you can possibly buy for $1 

 would give him so much pleasure as 12 is- 

 sues of this magazine. Come early and 

 avoid the rush. 



Stranger — What wonderful tales old 

 Blinks relates ! He must have been a great 

 traveler in his day. 



Native — He was never outside the county 

 in his life, but his mind has wandered for 

 years. — Chicago News. 



"Have you been through calculus?" in- 

 quired the college professor. 



"Not unless I passed through at night on 

 my way here," replied the new student ; 

 "I'm from Kansas, you know." — Ex- 

 change. 



I have been a constant reader of Recrea- 

 tion many years. Was once. I am afraid, 

 something of a hog, but thanks to Recrea- 

 tion's teachings, am so no longer. 



L. C. Eleriot, Enid. O. T. 



