Alpine Himálaya.—In the Alpine Himálaya the scanty tree-growth is represented by willows, junipers, and birches. After 12,000 or 12,500 feet it practically disappears. A dwarf shrub, Juniperus recurva, is found clothing hillsides a good way above the two trees of the same genus. Other alpine shrubs which may be noticed are two rhododendrons, which grow on cliffs at an elevation of 10,000 to 14,000 feet, R. campanulatum and R. lepidotum, Gaultheria nummularioides with its black-purple berry, and Cassiope fastigiata, all belonging to the order Ericaceae. The herbs include beautiful primulas, saxifrages, and gentians, and in the bellflower order species of Codonopsis and Cyananthus. Among Composites may be mentioned the tansies, Saussureas, and the fine Erigeron multiradiatus common in the forest above Narkanda. In the bleak uplands beyond the Himálaya tree-growth is very scanty, but in favoured localities willows and the pencil cedar, Juniperus pseudosabina, are found. The people depend for fuel largely on a hoary bush of the Chenopod order, Eurotia ceratoides. In places a profusion of the red Tibetan roses, Rosa Webbiana, lightens up the otherwise dreary scene.
CHAPTER VII
FORESTS
Rights of State in Waste.—Under Indian rule the State claimed full power of disposing of the waste, and, even where an exclusive right in the soil was not maintained, some valuable trees, e.g. the deodár in the Himálaya, were treated as the property of the Rája. Under the tenure prevailing in the hills the soil is the Rája's, but the people have a permanent tenant right in any land brought under cultivation with his permission. In Kulu the British Government asserted its ownership of the waste. In the south-western Panjáb, where the scattered hamlets had no real boundaries, ample waste was allotted to each estate, and the remainder was claimed as State property.
Kinds of Forest.—The lands in the Panjáb over which authority, varying through many degrees from full ownership unburdened with rights of user down to a power of control exercised in the interests of the surrounding village communities, may be roughly divided into
| (a) | Mountain forests; |
| (b) | Hill forests; |
| (c) | Scrub and grass Jangal in the Plains. |
The first are forests of deodár, blue pine, fir, and oak in the Himálaya above the level of 5000 feet. The hill forests occupy the lower spurs, the Siwáliks in Hoshyárpur, etc., and the low dry hills of the north-west. A strong growth of chír pine (Pinus longifolia) is often found in the Himálaya between 3000 and 5000 feet. Below 3000 feet is scrub forest, the only really valuable product being bamboo. The hills in the north-western districts of the Panjáb and N.W.F. Province, when nature is allowed to have its way, are covered with low scrub including in some parts a dwarf palm (Nannorhops Ritchieana), useful for mat making, and with a taller, but scantier growth of phuláhí (Acacia modesta) and wild olive. What remains of the scrub and grass jangal of the plains is to be found chiefly in the Bár tracts between the Sutlej and the Jhelam. Much of it has disappeared, or is about to disappear, with the advance of canal irrigation. Dry though the climate is the Bár was in good seasons a famous grazing area. The scrub consisted mainly of jand (Prosopis spicigera), jál (Salvadora oleoides), the karíl (Capparis aphylla) and the farásh (Tamarix articulata).
Management and Income of Forests.—The Forest Department of the Panjáb has existed singe 1864, when the first Conservator was appointed. In 1911-12 it managed 8359 square miles in the Panjáb consisting of:
| Reserved Forests | 1844 | square miles |
| Protected Forests | 5203 | square miles |
| Unclassed Forests | 1312 | square miles |