14 
Indian Forest Records. 
[Vol. VIII 
cases debts to money-lenders incurred before tbe families entered 
tbe forest have been paid off and recovered in this way. Other privileges 
such as free fuel and grazing for a pair of plough cattle and two cows 
for each household act as an inducement to settlers. 
15. The number of households required to the acre varies. Sal 
sowings need the most intensive cultivation and field-crops for two years 
are essential so that at least one household to every acre of annual coupe 
is necessary. Faster growing species can be raised with less thorough 
cultivation round them and, in the case of the most vigorous, where only 
one season’s field crops are necessary or possible, three acres to the house 
may be managed. 
16. An experiment in growing the field-crops departmentally is 
being made this year in a place where it is difficult to get sufficiently 
thorough cultivation done by settlers. The idea here is to employ 
a regular labour force to cultivate crops grown from good seed under the 
advice of the Agricultural Department. It is hoped to make a profit 
on these crops in spite of the high cost of the labour but, should it result 
in a loss, it is believed that this will not exceed the cost per acre spent 
on establishing the forest plants in similar situations at present. The 
arrangements with the labour for this experiment are more or less on 
tea-garden lines ; a “ sirdar ” has been guaranteed regular employment 
for a certain number of coolies for a year at a fixed daily rate with a com¬ 
mission for himself. He has also been promised a bonus at the end of 
the year for each cooly who works continuously. Wages are paid to 
the coolies direct for ordinary work which is given out at a fixed daily 
task ; some classes of work, however, are given to the sirdar on contract. 
17. Fencing is a most expensive item but, though it is seldom neces¬ 
sary in the hills, it is essential in the maj ority of places in the plains where, 
without it, deer and bison will exterminate most species other than sal 
which is attacked by pig. These latter have reduced a fully stocked sal 
sowing to a blank in the course of a few days, generally at the end of 
February and beginning of March, preferring plants in their second year 
though first year seedlings are far from immune and even third year 
saplings fourteen feet high have been uprooted and destroyed. Several 
types of fencing have been or are being tried, the general conclusion at 
present being that nothing but wire fencing in one form or another is 
likely to be of any use. Barricades of wood or bamboo have been tried 
but are very little use against anything but village cattle ; they cost 
less than 6 per cent, of the cost of wire in the first instance and are a little 
more expensive than wire in upkeep. A form of fencing that has proved 
effective consists of one of the various makes of woven wire to a height 
of three-and-a-half to four feet with a strand of barbed wire one foot 
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