CHAPTER VIII OF THE MAIN REPORT.

VI. FORESTS

Forests are often described as the hand maiden of agriculture, and it is as such in their relation to the agriculturists' needs that we deal with them. They provide the cultivator with fodder for his livestock and with fuel and timber for his domestic consumption. The part which forests play in the protection of soils liable to erosion has also an agricultural bearing.

Grazing in forests is permitted under the Forest Code on payment of certain fees or free of all charges. We consider that the replacement of grazing by grass cutting would, in many instances, be an improvement. But the present custom of grazing in forests will, for a very long time to come, be an important feature of forest economy. It, therefore, seems to us desirable that the intensity of grazing consistent with the proper development of forests and the preservation of desirable grasses should be determined as soon as possible.

The question of cut fodder is one which, at present, only comes into prominence at times of scarcity or famine. But with the improvement of the livestock of the country and the probable consequent development of stall feeding, cut fodder will assume an increasing importance. The possibilities of fodder supplies from forest areas should, therefore, be carefully examined both by the forest and the agricultural departments. Schemes should be devised for the improvement of grasses grown in forest and for the encouragement of grass cutting in preference to grazing. In this connection, the railway rates for fodder which can be transported are an important consideration and the railway administrations should offer the lowest rates for the transport of fodder compatible with their position as profit-earning

concerns.

The next most important matter from the point of view of a cultivator is the provision of fuel and timber for domestic purposes. As is well known, the practice of burning cowdung cakes is very general in many parts of India and, in defence of this custom, it may be remarked that cowdung is at present the only certain supply of fuel which the great majority of cultivators can obtain. Before, therefore, this practice can be condemned or stopped, the possibility of supplying an alternative fuel must be carefully investigated. Fire-wood, charcoal and coal are the substitutes for cowdung cakes, but the cultivator must be convinced that it is cheaper for him to use one of these substitutes than to burn his manure. An investigation into the cost and efficiency of wood, charcoal or coal in terms of the loss to agricultural production by burning cowdung is urgently required. Into this question, again, enters the incidence of railway freights. We also realise that traditional custom will be a strong barrier to change of method. The breaking down of prejudice and the provision of an equally cheap and effective substitute are the essentials. The possibilities of afforestation for the increase of fuel supplies should also be thoroughly investigated.

We regard the development of forest industries as a matter of great importance to agriculturists, especially to those who live in the neighbourhood of forests, and we consider that a forest utilisation officer should be appointed in every province in order that their development may be made a definite responsibility of one officer.

At present, considerable damage is done to forests on hills in some parts of the country by the habit of shifting cultivation. The methods by which shifting cultivation in the Central Provinces has been gradually stopped appear to be worth studying by officers faced with this problem in other provinces. Where serious deterioration has taken place, the essential remedy in regions of heavy rainfall, that is, where the rainfall is over 60 inches, is protection against damage by cultivators and their goats and cattle in order to allow of natural regeneration. In tracts of light rainfall, there is no generally satisfactory remedy, but, in carefully selected areas, artificial regeneration might be possible though at heavy cost.

We consider that forest areas should be reclassified into areas most suitable for the growth of timber or for fuel plantations, or the preservation of which is desirable on climatic or physical grounds, those most suitable for development as fodder reserves or grazing grounds, and areas which should be handed over to ordinary cultivation.

The most promising method of establishing village forests is to hand over to village management certain more or less wooded areas now under the control of the Forest Department. Management by the people for the people of the forests close to their villages possesses so many desirable features that every effort should be made to ensure its success. We, therefore, recommend that, in each province, Government should aim at establishing two divisions within the forest departments, the officers in one division to be responsible for the charge of forests, the preservation of which is desirable on climatic or physical grounds and of commercial forests, that is of those forests managed with a view to direct profits from the sale of timber and other forest products; the other division to be in charge of minor forests, fuel plantations, village woodlands and waste land, now chiefly used for grazing and often included under unclassed forests. Officers of this second division, in addition to the conservation of the natural resources of such areas, should be definitely charged with the responsibility of developing them and should be encouraged to make experiments in sylviculture and in the improvement of grazing areas. Whether the minor forests division should continue under the Forest Department or be placed under the Revenue Department is a question for decision in the light of the local conditions. If the second alternative is adopted, the Revenue Department should have the advice and assistance of officers who possess a knowledge of forestry, more especially of sylviculture.

To foster closer touch between the forest and agricultural departments, it would, as in the case of irrigation officers, be an advantage if short courses were instituted at the agricultural colleges for all newly

recruited forest officers. Further, a forest officer, before being posted to the new minor forests division, should, we consider, be attached for a period of not less than three months to the headquarters of the provincial agricultural departments with the object of making himself thoroughly acquainted with the view of the department as to the needs of the cultivators in the vicinity of the forests which he is to administer and in the province generally.

VII. DISEASES OF LIVESTOCK AND THEIR CONTROL

MAIN REPORT.

The working capital of the cultivator is mainly represented by his CHAPTER IX OF THE livestock and losses of his cattle from disease press hardly on him. The recorded figures, imperfect though they admittedly are, indicate that the annual number of deaths is very considerable and that rinderpest takes the largest toll. Apart from losses by death, extensive indirect losses occur from the large number of cattle temporarily incapacitated by disease. The more serious diseases of cattle in India are rinderpest, hæmorrhagic septicemia and foot-and-mouth disease. The general prevalence of these diseases is probably one of the most serious obstacles to the improvement of cattle.

The outstanding problem which faces the civil veterinary departments, is thus the control of contagious diseases. The proposals we make in regard to the organisation of the departments, the training of their staff and the research they should undertake hinge on this. They will thus be more readily understood if we discuss the measures necessary to combat disease. We discuss rinderpest in detail because it is the most. formidable disease of cattle in India and because the measures necessary to control it are typical of other contagious diseases.

Rinderpest was formerly the most dreaded of all livestock scourges in western countries. It is now non-existent. The inadequacy of the veterinary staff, the prohibitive cost of compensation combined with prejudices against the destroying of healthy animals which have been in contact with infected ones render the adoption of western methods impracticable in India. Nor is it possible to isolate and safeguard parts of India by interposing belts of protected country between permanently infected areas and areas from which the adoption of intensive measures has succeeded in eradicating the disease. In these circumstances and for the present, rinderpest and other contagious diseases must be combated by measures designed to protect the individual animal rather than by those which aim at stamping out the source of infection.

The method in general use at present for dealing with rinderpest is inoculation by what is known as the "serum-alone" method. The blood serum of an animal which has recovered from the disease is injected into cattle which it is desired to protect in doses proportionate to their body weight and their breed. Protection lasts only for a brief period. With the dose commonly used an animal is safe for a period of nine to fifteen days. Animals after protection by serum are allowed to mix freely with infected stock in the hope that they may contract a mild form of rinderpest and thus remain permanently immune, for, after recovery, an animal is immune from further attack. This "serum-alone" method is now very largely and effectively used in India in checking outbreaks of rinderpest.

The serum-alone method is, however, subject to the very serious limitation that it confers complete immunity for less than a fortnight whilst infection may persist in a village for a much longer period.

Animals are, therefore, liable to contract disease unless they are re-inoculated and, when they do so, the process is discredited in the eyes of their owners. Re-inoculation, on the other hand, is not only expensive but when an outbreak is widespread, is often impossible.

The principle on which protected animals are exposed to infection is sound but it would appear in practice that the chances that the disease will be contracted at the right moment are not good. To ensure infection, therefore, another process known as the serum-simultaneous, or active, method of conferring immunity has been devised. In this process a small quantity (from to 1 c.c.) of virulent blood taken from a diseased animal is injected into the animal at the same time that serum is used. A mild attack of rinderpest follows, the tissues of the animal prepare their own "antibodies" and an immunity which, in some instances, has been found to be permanent and, in others, to last for about three years is set up. The efficacy of the method has been proved in countries as far apart as Russia, South Africa and the Philippines while its success in Egypt is of particular interest to India. In India, only one experiment on an intensive scale has so far been made— in the Mysore State. Experience obtained there shows that the serum-simultaneous method is safe, effective and readily accepted by cultivators. Our examination of the evidence available as to the results obtained in India and in other countries from the use of the serum-simultaneous method of inoculation has led us to the conclusion that the introduction of this method is strongly to be recommended and that, indeed, it offers the only hopeful means of combating the ravages of rinderpest. Provided the materials used for inoculation are properly controlled, and the work of inoculation is carried out under the supervision of an experienced veterinary surgeon, careful to guard against such accidents as may occur, the risk involved is so slight that, in view of the great benefits incurred, it should be accepted without hesitation.

We are aware that there are practical difficulties which indicate the probability of some opposition from cultivators to the adoption of this method. In these circumstances, we consider that resort to compulsory inoculation would, at present, be undesirable. Cultivators should be given an opportunity of seeing what inoculation can do to protect their cattle before they are required to accept compulsory measures. To this, we would make one exception. We consider that compulsory inoculation by the simultaneous method should be enforced for all animals kept by milk sellers in large cities.

Outbreaks of rinderpest will supply favourable opportunities for popularising the use of simultaneous inoculation among cultivators and it may be hoped that co-operative breeding societies and cow-keeping societies will also show an example to the cultivator in this matter.

Experience has shown that when charges, however small, are made for inoculation, the extended use of preventive inoculation is greatly checked. We, therefore, recommend that all charges for inoculation, not only against rinderpest but also against other contagious diseases, should be abolished.