es. 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 _deodar_ in
the Himalaya, were treated as the property of the Raja. Under the tenure
prevailing in the hills the soil is the Raja'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 Panjab, 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 Panjab 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 _deodar_, blue pine, fir, and oak in the
Himalaya above the level of 5000 feet. The hill forests occupy the
lower spurs, the Siwaliks in Hoshyarpur, etc., and the low dry hills of
the north-west. A strong growth of _chir_ pine (Pinus longifolia) is
often found in the Himalaya 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 Panjab 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 _phulahi_ (Acacia
modesta) and wild olive. What remains of the scrub and grass _jangal_ of
the plains is to be found chiefly in the Bar 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 Bar
was in good seasons a famous grazing area. The scrub consisted mainly of
_jand_ (Prosopis spicigera), _jal_ (Salvadora oleoides), the _karil_
(Capparis aphylla) and the _farash_ (Tamarix articulata).

~Management and Income of Forests.~--The Forest Department of the Panjab
has existe