and to such an extent either now felt or in prospect, as to have called for the interference of Government.

"It would appear that in 1845, 20,000 young trees were planted in the Government district of Kotgurh, but with so little success that after eighteen months only 800 survived. I am unacquainted with the particulars of that experiment, the kinds which were tried, the exact nature of the ground, or the circumstances under which they were attempted to be grown, being points of great importance in the case, for species which would grow well among the wooded heights of Hattu above would fail on bare ground at Kotgurh below, but I entirely concur in the opinion expressed by Mr. Edwards, that no good will ever arise from forming plantations on ridges, or hills, or slopes, that are now bare and covered with grass, and with him I believe that such tracts have not probably at any time been clothed with trees, that they have always borne grass or herbaceous vegetation.

"But the same objection will not apply to ridges or slopes that have been bared by indiscriminate felling. However denuded they may be now, suitable measures will restore them to their former wooded condition; for where a tree has once grown, trees may be grown again.

"The remedial measures proposed are: Ist, to rear young plantations throughout the hills on new sites; 2nd, to preserve and renew the forests already existing.

"The Superintendent of the Hill States, Mr. Edwards, thinks, that instead of forming new plantations on waste lands or where they have not been before, attention should be restricted to the preservation and renewal of the forests and copses now existing. He argues that it would be impolitic to restrain the zamindars in their efforts at extending their cultivation, on waste land and forest clearances, more especially as plantations formed on such lands would not be available for use under 40 to 100 years.

"Mr. Edmondstone, the Commissioner of the Cis-Sutlej States, on the other hand considers with good reason that the remoteness of the prospect of return, even if above 40 years, is no sufficient argument against new plantations, and that it is the duty of Government to provide for the future as well as for present wants; he thinks that the best land, when required should be appropriated for plantations, although at the expense of extended cultivation, and recommends that plantations should be formed everywhere within the

bounds of the Simla jurisdiction. The number to be limited only by the means available for adequate supervision.

Many years ago I passed through the hill country in question, and the result of my observation is that in the interior, away from the vicinity of the hill stations, wood is generally so abundant either in belts of forest, copses in the low valleys, or straggling trees, that there is no necessity for forming new plantations except in localities where the returns might be made available for export on any of the great rivers to the plains. Supposing that such plantations were formed, of what use would they be? In the majority of cases, the timber would be too remote from any of the hill stations to be available with advantage either for building purposes, or for firewood, and the cost of removal to a navigable channel would be equally against its exportation to the plains. On the slopes of the Chor mountain, between Jubal and Sirmur, within a few days' march of Simla, there are sheets of magnificent forest of primeval and stupendous growth, and equal to the building wants of all the hill stations, but which are at present of no use by reason of their impracticable position, as regards means of removal. It appears to me that the majority of the proposed new plantations would be to some degree in the same predicament. The trees grown upon them would be useful only to the zamindars. But although this in itself would be a very laudable object and deserving of the most favourable consideration by the Government, it has still to be shown, so far as I know, that Government interference is required. In the more elevated situations, the hill people have ample supplies in the pine and oak forests, for all their wants, while in the valleys and on the lower heights where pine logs are not available, it will be found that in suitable localities they plant trees adapted to their wants. In illustration, I may adduce the fact that the tree called Cedrela serrata is very commonly grown in ravines near the villages where pines are not to be had. The tree grows with a long, straight, cylindrical unbranched trunk, and it is consequently well suited as a substitute for pine logs in their buildings.

"It would seem to me, therefore, that no general system of planting with an organized establishment is required, for the interior districts, and that besides the protective and penal measures mentioned by Mr. Edwards, nothing more is required of Government than encouragement or reward to the head men of the hill communities, by the remission of revenue or

limited grants of land, where any great zeal has been distinctly shown in the growth of trees, or in the well conserved condition of any patch of Government forest within the village boundaries. With Mr. Edwards, I entertain no fear of a deficiency of timber, either for building purposes or for fuel in the interior of the hill districts, if the natural sources of supply now in existence are conserved with moderate care.

"With regard to the conflagrations which are universally described as being so destructive, according to my observation they are almost in every instance, wilfully caused. The practice is very common in all parts of India, where there are extensive tracts of waste or prairie land used for grazing. At the end of the rains the ripe grass dries up, forming an innutritious fodder upon which the cattle soon fall off, and the most ready remedy is to apply fire, and burn the withered straw in order that the young grass shoots, which spring up immediately after, may be accessible for browzing. Firing the grass jungle is universally practised in the prairie 'khadur lands along the Terai, where bullocks and buffaloes are grazed and wherever brinjarahs (cattle men) take their cattle in the cold weather. The same object leads to it in the hill districts. The paharees (hillmen) will bide their time patiently for wind and weather suited to a favourable spread of the conflagration. In very many instances, the dry withered grass is an evil, for which burning is the only cure. Under these circumstances, it appears to me questionable whether any amount of injunction, or penal enactment, will be effective against a practice which is so engrained with the wants and the immemorial usages of the people. The best plan would be, to have the plantations in situations not liable to the risk of fire, and the sites best adapted in other respects for planting would be of that character.

"But the case is very different as regards the necessity for plantations in the immediate vicinity of Simla, and the other hill stations. The increasing scarcity of timber and fuel has been long felt, and a remedy for the want is urgently required, the planting measures suggested by Mr. Edmondstone might be applied here with great advantage and effect as regards Simla it would seem advisable, that all the lands around the station that formerly bore wood and are now bared, should be carefully planted. The object is of such importance that for a local and partial case, like this, I would be inclined to agree with the Cis-Sutlej Commissioner in the opinion that

although it might interfere with the efforts made by the zamindars to reclaim waste land, in some localities this ought not to be regarded as a serious obstacle. The ridge and slopes of Mahasu, which were formerly covered with the finest timber, present localities for planting that are hardly surpassed anywhere on the hills, all the finest pines and oaks of the Himalaya would grow well there, and if the zamindars have extended their cultivation upon the bared portions, high up towards the ridge, it would seem in every way desirable and expedient to restore the whole of such land to its original wooded condition, giving compensation to the interested parties for the appropriation; a partial application of the ground for this purpose would not be sufficient. In Mr. Secretary Melvill's letter it is stated, that for nurseries a very little land goes a great way, and that many thousand trees can be raised on a single acre. That is true as regards seedlings and young plants only; as trees grow up they require room, good oak timber cannot be grown with a less interval apart than 40 feet, being equal to 27 trees per acre; and for the largest pine trees, 30 feet interval or 48 to the acre. For this reason, therefore, a large area would be required for the timber forests reserved for Simla.

"The chief difficulty in the way of establishing suitable plantations near that station would appear to be the circumstance, that the adjoining forest lands belong to the hill chiefs (of Keunthal and Koti) while those in the Government districts are for the most part remote or unimportant. Mr. Edwards is of opinion, that it would be highly objectionable and improper to exercise a direct interference with these chiefs, in the management and conservation of their forests, which he considers they have a right to dispose of as they think fit. This is a question of general administration which is wholly beside my province in these observations, but I would remark that little faith could be placed in the efficiency or eventual success of any remedial measures, which depended merely on the good-will and arrangements of the chiefs. They will, no doubt, gladly avail themselves of any enhancement in the rates imposed for felling trees, that will increase their own revenue, but I doubt if any amount of persuasion, suggestion, or advice on the part of the Simla Superintendent, would induce them to undertake sustained measures for the renewal and protection of their forests, involving expense, which could be relied on. The course resorted to by Mr. Edwards, will

doubtless lead to some palliation of the evil; but the results will probably be variable and uncertain.

"In order that any planting operations in the immediate vicinity of Simla or the other hill stations, should prove successful, it would appear to me essential that the Government should acquire, whether by purchase, exchange, or other form of compensation, a proprietary right in, or lease in perpetuity of the lands to be so appropriated, and of the villages adjoining them; without some arrangement of this kind it is not readily obvious how the plantations could be properly managed.

'I am not sufficiently acquainted with the localities of Kussowlee and Dugshai to give my opinion as to the special sites upon which planting ought to be conducted near them. They are at a considerably lower elevation, and the kinds of trees both of the pine and other tribes, would require to be different from those grown near Simla. The acquisition of the ground for the plantations by the Government would be as necessary in these cases as at Simla.

"Mr. Edmondstone suggests that much aid might be derived in supplying Kussowlee and Dugshai with fuel from the forest slopes on either side of the lower or Siwalik Hills, all along the Pinjore Valley, which are covered with low jungle. There is no doubt that any quantity of fuel might be drawn from that quarter and transported from Kalka to Kussowlee, Dugshai and Subathu, the question is one merely of expense; the cost of carriage of Siwalik firewood would fall heavy, and it would be much more advantageous in every respect, that the hill stations had sources of supply nearer their own doors; but Mr. Edmondstone's suggestion relieves any cause of anxiety about fuel for military hill stations, when the resources in their vicinity have been exhausted. For many years past the beams and heavy timber used in the construction of houses at Mussoorie and Landour have in most cases been carried up the hill from the valley of Dehra below.

With regard to the penal measures proposed by the Cis-Sutlej Commissioner for the protection of young and undersized trees, if their operation is to be restricted to the forests close to Simla, and the other hill stations, the urgency of the evil might excuse such heavy penalties, but I do not see how they could be enforced in the interior districts, without a large and expensive establishment, nor having regard to