, 1874-02-18

occasion, in fact for a more practical plan
ner, it now becomes incumbent on us,
before proceeding further, to prove
what we have asserted above, viz: that
the quantity of moisture melted out to US
would be sufficient for the purposes named,
if it were more equally distributed, and
that done, it becomes the business of " the
man with a practical plan" to come for
ward and show up how it can be stored
for distribution.
For that purpose occurs is had to q
country which furnishes better examples
than these islands. In the East Indies,
this question Of the distribution Of moisture
is as important an element in successful
cultivation as it is here. From observa-
tions extant on the rainfall, India has been
divided into the arid, the dry and the wet
districts. In the first, the average rainfall
is Is inches, or less than half of ours, with
an equally burning sun and consequent
evaporation. Throughout this arid part
of India the spontaneous arborescent vege-
tation is extremely scanty, although a thin
sprinkling of low thorny shrub on the
hills offers interesting employment enough
to the botanist but to him only. In this
region the work of the forester and the
agriculturist is limited to those tracts
which can be irrigated, q work that can
there be accomplished in comparatively
few places from the rivers bringing the
water from more favoured places. Stop
that irrigation and the growth of trees and
useful vegetation ceases.
Outside this arid tract there are two
belts with a rainfall Of between Is and 30
inches which might be called the dry
zones of India. The spontaneous arbores-
cent vegetation is also here scanty, save in
the moist lands along the great rivers, butt
is of course better than in the arid tracts.
Here we find the ancient irrigation works,
tanks, ETC., and where water is thus sup
piled, fields aud gardens are mosb luxuri-
ant, sven in this dry region, which does
not receive 3 of the moisture we get. We
pass on to consider those parts of India
which have an average rainfall of from 30
to 40 inches, and with which we may
compare St. Croix. We may assume as
q settled thing, that where a large tree will
grow without artificial watering, there
almost any plant indigenous or exotic, be-
longing to that vegetable zone, may be
cultivated successfully by regulating the
cultivation to suit. Are now the cOndi-
tons for forest vegetation in those parts of
India with which our island may be COM
pared, favourable to the production of for
est trees, without artificial aids2 We
find that they are not. There are forests,
and we know that this island too was once
nearly covered in the same manner, but
they are not luxuriant, except In the lower
grounds, and in the %rayines, which would
also have been the case in this island if our
forests had been left undisturbed Really
thriving forests in the burning climate of
India, are only found when the fall exceeds
AS inches, and luxuriant vegetation is Ii
mited to those belts which have a much
higher rainfall. But in these last we are
not interested at present, not furnishing
any parallel for our case. But we are, SO
far, concerned in those regions between
the dry and the moist, where the annual
rainfall is more than 80 and less than so
inches, comprising q great part of India.
In those tracts, like in our island, the main
obstacles to luxuriant forests growth and
successful cultivation, without artificial
- 10 po+ g n uueh nm Insufficient SIM