442 
Famines in India. 
[Odtober, 
storms will sometimes destroy the ripening crops before they 
can be gathered in. These are, however, rather exceptional 
cases, and, as a rule, failure in the quantity of rainfall, 
rather than its unequal distribution, is the primary cause of 
famine in India. Local famines have been caused by ex- 
cessive floods in rivers, and by blight. The former, as we 
shall presently see, is in a great measure capable of being 
remedied, but for the latter we are unable at present to 
suggest any practical cure. 
The question as to how famines may be absolutely averted 
is one upon which speculation may be allowed to indulge 
itself, but absolute proof is wanting. England, Ireland, and 
most parts of Europe were, in centuries past, visited by 
many and severe famines, of much greater frequency than 
at the present day ; but, with the advancement of civilisa- 
tion, their tendency to occur has most sensibly diminished. 
In dwelling upon this point it is of importance to distinguish 
between the less frequency of failures of crops and the 
altered conditions of European countries, in consequence 
of which failure of crops in any one country would not ne- 
cessarily mean famine, in the same sense as it once would 
have done ; but it may be observed that, with the improve- 
ment of Western countries in this respedt, the Eastern 
hemisphere appears to have become more subjedt to severe 
droughts than heretofore, and not only is this the case abso- 
lutely, but these visitations — so far as the East Indies are 
concerned— have of late years shown an evident tendency 
to increase in severity and frequency, the causes of which 
are at present unappreciated, but they are certainly deserving 
of the most serious consideration and investigation by scien- 
tific men, no less than by Government. A theory has of 
late gained ground amongst certain enquirers into this 
subjedt that the amount of rainfall is influenced by forests, 
and that, in countries subjedt to drought, all that is neces- 
sary is to plant trees in order to restore the proper seasons 
of rainfall. How far this is supported by fadts is, however, 
at present uncertain. We have instances of barren wastes 
in Africa, Sind, and elsewhere, upon which rain hardly ever 
falls ; whilst, on the other hand, there are the forest-clad 
mountains of Northern and Western India, upon which the 
amount of precipitation is excessively heavy. These may 
be taken as two extremes ; but although illustrating the 
fadts that in certain places where there is no foliage rain is 
almost unknown, and that an abundance of rain and dense 
forests occur together, they do not help to solve the problem 
to what extent denudation of forest tradts may be permitted 
