It was also in charge of 235 square miles of reserved forest in the Hazára district of the N.W.F. Province, and of 364 miles of fine mountain forest in the native State of Bashahr. In addition a few reserved forests have been made over as grazing areas to the Military Department, and Deputy Commissioners are in charge of a very large area of unclassed forest.
No forest can be declared "reserved" or "protected" unless it is owned in whole or in part by the State. It is enough if the trees or some of them are the property of the Government. In order to safeguard all private rights a special forest settlement must be made before a forest can be declared to be "reserved." In the case of a protected forest it is enough if Government is satisfied that the rights of the State and of private persons have been recorded at a land revenue settlement. After deducting income belonging to the year 1909-10 realized in 1910-11, the average income of the two years ending 1911-12 was £81,805 (Rs. 1,227,082) and the average expenditure £50,954 (Rs. 764,309).
Sources of Income.—In the mountain forests the chief source of income is the deodár, which is valuable both for railway sleepers and as building timber. The blue pine is also of commercial value. Deodár, blue pine, and some chír are floated down the rivers to depots in the plains. Firwood is inferior to cedar and pine, and the great fir forests are too remote for profitable working at present. There are fine mountain forests in Chitrál, on the Safed Koh, and in Western Wazíristán, but these have so far not even been fully explored. The value of the hill forests may be increased by the success which has attended the experimental extraction of turpentine from the resin of the chír pine. The bamboo forests of Kángra are profitable. At present an attempt is being made to acclimatize several species of Eucalyptus in the low hills. The scrub jangal in the plains yields good fuel. As the area is constantly shrinking it is fortunate that the railways have ceased to depend on this source of supply, coal having to a great extent taken the place of wood. To prevent shortage of fuel considerable areas in the tracts commanded by the new canals are being reserved for irrigated forests. A forest of this class covering an area of 37 square miles and irrigated from the Upper Bárí Doáb Canal has long existed at Changa Manga in the Lahore district.
Forests in Kashmír.—The extensive and valuable Kashmír forests are mountain and hill forests, the former, which cover much the larger area yielding, deodár, blue pine, and firs, and the latter chír pine. The total area exceeds 2600 square miles.
CHAPTER VIII
BEASTS, BIRDS, FISHES, AND INSECTS
Fauna.—With the spread of cultivation and drainage the Panjáb plains have ceased to be to anything like the old extent the haunt of wild beasts and wild fowl. The lion has long been extinct and the tiger has practically disappeared. Leopards are to be found in low hills, and sometimes stray into the plains. Wolves are seen occasionally, and jackals are very common. The black buck (Antilope cerricapra) can still be shot in many places. The graceful little chinkára or ravine deer (Gazella Bennetti) is found in sandy tracts, and the hogdeer or párha (Cervus porcinus) near rivers. The nílgai (Boselaphus tragocamelus) is less common. Monkeys abound in the hills and in canal-irrigated tracts in the Eastern districts, where their sacred character protects them from destruction, though they do much damage to crops. Peafowl are to be seen in certain tracts, especially in the eastern Panjáb. They should not be shot where the people are Hindus or anywhere near a Hindu shrine. The great and lesser bustards and several kinds of sand grouse are to be found in sandy districts. The grey partridge is everywhere, and the black can be got near the rivers. The sísí and the chikor are the partridges of the hills, which are also the home of fine varieties of pheasants including the monál. Quail frequent the ripening fields in April and late in September. Duck of various kinds abound where there are jhíls, and snipe are to be got in marshy ground. The green parrots, crows, and vultures are familiar sights. Both the sharp-nosed (Garialis Gangetica, vern. ghariál) and the blunt-nosed (Crocodilus palustris, vern. magar) crocodiles haunt the rivers. The fish are tasteless; the rohu and mahseer are the best. Poisonous snakes are the karait, the cobra, and Russell's viper. The first is sometimes an intruder into houses. Lizards and mongooses are less unwelcome visitors. White ants attack timber and ruin books, and mosquitoes and sandflies add to the unpleasant features of the hot weather. The best known insect pest is the locust, but visitations on a large scale are rare. Of late years much more damage has been done by an insect which harbours in the cotton bolls.