Tl INTRODUCTION. 



part of tbe country to another in search of fodder is a remnant of primitive 

 times, when whole tribes of people, and even nations, led a nomadic life 

 for the purpose of obtaining food and fodder for themselves and their 

 beasts. The adoption of agricultural pursuits gradually led to the estab- 

 lishment of permanent settlements, and to the localization of agricultural 

 produce by cultivation, The advantages acquired by civilized nations 

 after generations of cumulative experience ought in these days to be 

 applied, as far as can be, towards regulating the supply of fodder in India, 

 and to secure its being continuously available during good and bad sea- 

 sons alike. The condition of grass lands which are protected merely to 

 prevent destructive grazing is, during exceptionally severe droughts, very 

 little better than that of the open and unprotected tracts, the only differ- 

 ence being that the evil effects of the drought are not so soon apparent 

 in the case of the protected reserves owing to the more luxuriant growth 

 of the vegetation. "What is really required, and more particularly in 

 those districts which are subject to periodical droughts, is the adoption of 

 an extensive system of preservation of grass in the form of compressed 

 fodder or silage ; and, where irrigation can be secured, the cultivation of 

 suitable fodder plants, either indigenous or introduced, would yield a 

 valuable reserve during times of scarcity. The stacking of hay, which is 

 a form of compressed fodder, is undertaken more or less in certain parts of 

 Northern India, but the object in most instances is merely to prepare a 

 sufficient quantity for use during the cold weather months. Many of the 

 Indian grasses when stacked will retain their nutritive properties for 

 several years ; encouragement should, therefore, be given to bring about 

 a much more extensive system of stacking, so that the excess of fodder 

 yielded during good seasons may be rendered available during times of 

 scarcity. There is one drawback to the production of really good hay in 

 this country, and that is, the difficulty of drying the various grasses at the 

 time when they ought to be cut. The majority of the indigenous species 

 of Indian grasses flourish during the rainy season, and some of the best 

 kinds have flowered and are ripening their seed by the time that the rains 

 are well over; and as it is well known that the stems and leaves of grasses 

 attain their maximum nutritive value during tbe period of flowering, it 

 would appear to be greater economy to cut the rainy season grasses at 

 that time, and to preserve it as silage. 



There are a few indigenous grasses, and many other kinds might be intro- 

 duced from other countries, which would thrive under cultivation in the cli- 

 mate of Northern India as winter grasses. These would come to the flower- 

 ing stage at a time when the weather would admit of their being made into 

 excellent hay, and a certain amount of valuable fodder would thus be ren- 



