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 with this object in view should be encouraged to make experiments in sylviculture and in the improvement of grazing areas.

We make this recommendation not because we are able to point out means by which the extensive wastes of India can easily be improved. We believe that improvement will be difficult, and that success, without careful study and experimental work, will not be possible. Nor do we suppose that, when means for effecting improvement are devised, the spread of improved conditions will be rapid. It is, indeed, because they are likely to be slow that we recommend there should be no delay in attacking the subject. Experience in such matters cannot be gained quickly; on the other hand, as population increases, the urgent demand for action calculated to increase the produce of waste land is certain to grow. We are satisfied that a share of the attention which has hitherto been bestowed on the valuable section of the country's forest property should now be spared for, and concentrated on, the problems presented by that section of the forest land now regarded and treated as "waste."

The differentiation we have recommended above is, in effect, that which is at present being carried out in Madras. The main difference between the suggestion we have put forward and the policy which has been adopted in that province is that, under our proposals, two divisions will be established within the Forest Department itself whereas, in Madras, the village forests have been transferred to the supervision of the Revenue Department. The Madras system has the advantage that it leaves highly trained forest officers entirely free to concentrate on what we agree is their main function, that of exploiting the timber forests, and that it marks a definite cleavage with the tradition of rigid administration in the interests of revenue which, in the minds of a very large section of the rural community, has become inseparably associated with the Forest Department. The question whether the new division we propose should continue under the Forest Department or be placed under the Revenue Department is one for decision in the light of local conditions. If the first alternative is adopted, we would stress our conviction that the object of our proposal will be entirely frustrated if the new division is regarded as a source of revenue or if any attempt is made to enforce restrictions which are entirely appropriate when the adequate protection of the forests proper is in question. If the supervision of the management of village forests is entrusted to the Revenue Department, we consider it most desirable that that department should have the advice and assistance of officers who possess a knowledge of forestry, more especially of sylviculture. We would, therefore, suggest that officers of the Forest Department possessed of the tact and enthusiasm which are as essential

as technical knowledge to the success of the schemes we have in view, should be seconded from the regular line of that department to undertake this work.

We are aware that a further burden will be imposed on a small body of officers if the recommendations we make in this paragraph are accepted. For the administration of 108,000 square miles of reserved and protected forests, the State employs some 360 officers in the Indian and some 300 officers in the Provincial Forest Service. The revenue which they have secured for the State has risen in thirty years from Rs. 166 lakhs gross to Rs. 599 lakhs, and from Rs. 75 lakhs net to Rs. 260 lakhs. When we suggest that more attention should be given to the needs of agriculture, we do not fail to appreciate the good work that has been done for the tax-payer; and we recognise that our proposals will require an increase of personnel and of expenditure.

AND

AGRICULTURAL

DEPARTMENTS.

ment

forest and

233. We made a point of asking the directors of agriculture and (v) RELATIONS BE- forest officers who gave evidence before us whether TWEEN THE FOREST they were satisfied that the relations between the agricultural departments were sufficiently close. We consider that it may be accepted that relations between the two departments are generally satisfactory. The formation of the minor forests divisions, which we have recommended in the preceding paragraph, should lead to still closer relations between the forest and agricultural departments. We consider that further advantages would result if a forest officer on first appointto the Forest Department underwent a definite, course of instruction at an agricultural college. We recommend, in Chapter X, a similar procedure for irrigation officers. There is a close parallel between the respective relationships of the forest and irrigation departments to agriculture. In both cases, it is a matter of adjusting administrative action to meet the requirements and wishes of the cultivator, so far as this is compatible with the public interest. In the control of natural resources, the peasant is prone to take a shortsighted view of even his own interests. A knowledge of agricultural practice and some familiarity with the point of view of the cultivator is of much assistance in enabling an officer to exercise the necessary restraint with the least possible friction. It is true that the forest officer does not in the ordinary course of his duty come into such intimate touch with the main body of cultivators as the irrigation officer, but the interests of a considerable number of cultivators on the margins of the forests and in enclaves in forest lands are very closely affected by forest policy; the development of forest industries will also bring the forest departments into more intimate relations with the agriculturist. If care is taken to select suitable instructors, much could be learnt in a short course modelled on the lines of the rural economy course held at the Lyallpur Agricultural College. This course lasts one month and is designed to give officers of the Indian Civil Service, the Irrigation, Co-operation and other departments an insight into the work of the Punjab Agricultural Department. The knowledge acquired should be tested by an examination.

MO Y 286-18a

In addition to this short course of theoretical instruction, we consider that a forest officer, when first posted to the minor forests division, should be attached for a period of not less than three months to the headquarters of the provincial agricultural department, 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. Part of this period should be devoted to a special study of co-operative methods of organisation.

SUMMARY OF CONCLUSION S AND RECOMMENDATIONS.

234. The conclusions and recommendations in this chapter may be summarised as follows:

(1) Grass cutting should be encouraged as an alternative to grazing (paragraph 218).

(2) The grazing of inferior cattle in the forests should be discouraged (paragraph 218).

(3) The intensity of grazing consistent with the proper development of the forest and the preservation of desirable grasses should be determined as soon as possible (paragraph 218).

(4) The question of fodder supplies from forest areas requires careful examination by forest and agricultural officers in consultation (paragraph 219).

(5) Fodder should be transported by the railways at the cheapest possible rates (paragraph 219)..

(6) An investigation into the cost and efficiency of wood and charcoal relative to that of coal is urgently required (paragraph 220).

(7) The railway rates for the transport of wood, charcoal and coal should be examined (paragraph 220).

(8) The investigation recommended in (6) should include an enquiry into the economic possibilities of afforestation for fuel supplies (paragraph 221).

(9) Forests cannot furnish any general supply of humus for plant food (paragraph 223).

(10) The initiation of new, and the development of existing, forest industries are matters of great importance to the agricultural population in the vicinity (paragraph 224).

(11) There is a wide field for both experiment and development in regard to these industries (paragraph 224).

(12) Forest lands required for the construction of small irrigation works should be freely disafforested (paragraph 225).

(13) In regions of heavy rainfall, the essential remedy against harmful deforestation 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 high cost (paragraph 226).

(14) Temporary afforestation is, under certain conditions, a remedy for restoring the fertility of exhausted soils (paragraph 227).

(15) All" shifting cultivation "should be brought under control with a view to the practice being entirely stopped wherever it is productive of harmful results (paragraph 228).

(16) Forest areas in each province should be classified with a view to determining those areas which are most suitable for the growth of timber or the preservation of which under forests is desirable on climatic or physical grounds, those which are most suitable for development as fodder reserves or grazing grounds and those which should be handed over for ordinary cultivation (paragraph 229).

(17) The most promising method of establishing village forests is to be found in handing over to village management certain more or less wooded areas now under the management of the Forest Department (paragraph 230).

(18) The creation of a special agency is required to manage minor forests, to give advice and technical assistance to forest panchayats and co-operative afforestation societies, and generally to develop to their utmost economic capacity the forest resources of the plains (paragraph 231).

(19) The question whether this branch should be part of the Forest Department or should work under the Revenue Department is one to be decided in the light of the local conditions (paragraph 232).

(20) The relations between the forest and agricultural departments are generally satisfactory, but it would be advantageous if short courses were instituted at the agricultural colleges for all newly recruited forest officers and if forest officers were attached to the headquarters of the provincial agricultural department before being posted to the new minor forests division (paragraph 233).

SCOPE CHAPTER.

CHAPTER IX

DISEASES OF LIVESTOCK AND THEIR CONTROL

OF

THE

235. The scope of this chapter may be briefly indicated. We endeavour to show the harmful effect of cattle diseases on agricultural development; we describe in some detail the character of rinderpest and the methods required to control it; we discuss the meagre provision at present made for veterinary aid; finally, we discuss the provision of superior and subordinate veterinary services and of scientific guidance for those engaged in combating disease.

DISEASE.

236. The control of livestock diseases presents a very difficult THE RAVAGES or problem. Their character and the ravages they cause call for the services of veterinarians possessed of a thorough training and a high degree of professional skill. On the other hand, the poverty of cultivators and the large cattle population make it essential that, if cultivators' cattle are to get any attention beyond inoculation when epidemics break out, a large number of officers, who have sufficient knowledge to treat cattle intelligently, provided they are directed and guided by qualified veterinary surgeons, must be provided at low cost to the public.

It is, we believe, agreed that the working capital of the cultivator is mainly represented by his livestock. Estimates of the total value of Indian livestock have been attempted but sufficient has been said in Chapter VII to show that little reliance can be placed on them. That the aggregate value of livestock in this country is very great cannot, however, be questioned. It is equally indisputable that the annual losses from disease are very heavy and that these press hardly on the cultivator who may have to pay Rs. 50 to Rs. 150 to replace a good bullock and Rs. 100 to Rs. 200 to replace a good cow or she-buffalo which bas been killed by disease. Although efforts are made in all provinces to ascertain the number of deaths due to certain diseases, the statistical information collected, unfortunately, gives little indication of the actual financial losses sustained by cultivators. The recorded deaths from three widespread diseases in the years 1923-24 to 1926-27 were as follows: