13 
Part IV.] Shebbeare : Artificial Regeneration of Sal. 
years. Several species, including sal, teak, Simal, Latter, tlie oaks 
and probably Gomari, are better sown direct than transplanted 
from a nursery. Transplanting sal by means of root-and-shoot 
pruning, although it has been done, is not really necessary in Bengal where 
rain during the seed-time can be depended on. 
13. Labour and good cultivation, as will be gathered from the fore¬ 
going paragraphs, is the key to the whole situation and in this respect 
Northern Bengal conditions are far from ideal. The plains, though fertile, 
are among the most malarious districts in India and, although cultivators 
are willing enough to face fever in return for the rich yield of irrigated 
paddy-land, they need some greater inducement than dry cultivation 
among the stumps and roots of a freshly-felled coupe, even though the 
land is given rent free. From the foot of the hills up to three or four 
thousand feet conditions in this respect are the most favourable ; here 
hill-men can live close to their crops and in a healthy climate while, 
not being accustomed like the people of the plains to broad flats of 
irrigated paddy, they are content with the good crops of maize and 
millet which can be raised with little effort from the virgin soil of clear- 
felled coupes. Above this elevation the yield of the field-crops begins 
to fall off but this is balanced, within reach of bazaars, by better prices 
for produce while, in less accessible places, the Lepchas, a tribe of taungya- 
cutters of retiring habits, are often ready to settle. Above 7,000 feet 
the poor crops (practically nothing but potatoes) and the damage done by 
hail render cultivation unpopular. 
14. The terms between the Forest Department and the villagers 
vary considerably. The ideal arrangement, from the point of view of 
the department, is to give the land of a cleared coupe rent-free in return 
for a crop of forest plants maintained free of cost up to the end of their 
second rains, but such terms are only possible in the most popular situa¬ 
tions generally near the foot of the hills. Elsewhere either some part 
of the work has to be paid for or, as has been done in most parts of the 
Jalpaiguri and Buxa Divisions, some low land is set aside in each felling- 
series for irrigated paddy and the members of each household in the 
village attached to the felling series are allowed to cultivate an acreage 
of this in proportion to the area of dry “ taungya ” cultivation undertaken 
by them. As irrigated cultivation is permanent while dry cultivation 
is shifting the reduction in the area available for growing timber is negli¬ 
gible ; moreover land suitable for wet crops will not grow any valuable 
species. It is always necessary to provide paid work for villagers in slack 
times and when they need money but there is plenty of line-clearing 
climber-cutting etc. to keep them employed. Loans are made when 
necessary to reliable villagers and recovered by work done ; in some 
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