mount of the annual
rent of the whole of the lands of the district, or the whole annual
rent for above thirteen years.[8]

But I have not included the groves of mango and tamarind, and other
fine trees with which the district abounds. Two-thirds of the towns
and villages are imbedded in fine groves of these trees, mixed with
the banyan (_Ficus Indica_) and the pipal (_Ficus religiosa_). I am
sorry they were not numbered; but I should estimate them at three
thousand, and the outlay upon a mango grove is, on an average, about
four hundred rupees.

The groves of fruit-trees planted by individuals for the use of the
public, without any view to a return in profit, would in this
district, according to this estimate, have cost twelve lakhs
[12,00,000] more, or about twice the amount of the annual rent of the
whole of the lands. It should be remarked that the whole of these
works had been formed under former governments. Ours was established
in the year 1817.[9]

The Upper Doab and the Delhi Territories were denuded of their trees
in the wars that attended the decline and fall of the Muhammadan
empire, and the rise and progress of the Sikhs, Jats, and Marathas in
that quarter. These lawless freebooters soon swept all the groves
from the face of every country they occupied with their troops, and
they never attempted to renew them or encourage the renewal. We have
not been much more sparing; and the finest groves of fruit-trees have
everywhere been recklessly swept down by our barrack-masters to
furnish fuel for their brick-kilns; and I am afraid little or no
encouragement is given for planting others to supply their place in
those parts of India where they are most wanted.

We have a regulation authorizing the lessee of a village to plant a
grove in his grounds, but where the settlements of the land-revenue
have been for short periods, as in all Upper and Central India, this
authority is by no means sufficient to induce them to invest their
property in such works. It gives no sufficient guarantee that the
lessee for the next settlement shall respect a grant made by his
predecessors; and every grove of mango-trees requires outlay and care
for at least ten years. Though a man destines the fruit, the shade,
and the water for the use of the public, he requires to feel that it
will be held for the public in his name, and by his children and
descendants, and never be exclusively appropriated by any man in
power for his own use.