Page:Gazetteer of the province of Oudh ... (IA cu31924024153987).pdf/15

 V

INTRODUCTION,

appearance and slow in progression, will do harder work with the plough, and drag heavier weights for a longer time than the magnificent produce of Gujarat and Hansi. The, indigenous breeds of ponies, of which there are a few, are of about the size of an ordinary English donkey, hideous to look at, and usually vicious in disposition, but, like the cattle, they are hardy, and will go long marches under heavy packs. Goats are bred for their milk and flesh, and sheep for their wool, matton being almost unknown as an article of food. The flora of the reserved Government forests is rich and varied, but nothing can be attempted here in the shape of an exhaustive description, and mention must be confined to those First varieties of wood which are of principal utility or value. among these is the sd.khu or sdl tree, whose timber is of the highest importance for every kind of building purpose. The finest logs are cut in the Khairigarh jungles, and, attached to boats in lots of six or eight together, floated down the Gogra to Bahramghat, where they are sawn by steam into planks or beams. The utmost attention of the forest ofiicers is engaged in preserving the hitherto inferior growths to the east of the line from the various causes which impair their excellence, the reckless fires which are kindled in February or March to lay bare young shoots of grass for grazing, the incessant destruction of the smaller trees by cattle, and the deliberate thefts of the borderOf inferior but still considerable value are the ing villagers. shisham with its fine hard wood ; the dhau, which is prized for the manufacture of cart-pins and shafts ; and the tikni and asna, both of which afford material for furniture or the roofing of sheds. The khair or catechu acacia grows in great quantities, and the residuum obtained by cutting its wood into chips and boiling them down affords a valuable article of commerce and the means of subsistence to a peculiar caste. The most beautiful of the wild trees which are allowed to flourish among the villages and give Oudh scenery its special charm are the three great representatives of the fig tribe the Their massive trunks seamed banian, the pipal, and the pdkar. spread of their branches, and a the wide fissures, with cauntless magnificent domes a these give 140 feet, attaining height often them the loving venerafor gained have and religious grandeur, products by far the vegetable the wild the Of people. tion of in great quantities grows This mahua. is the most important only is when it the junbut all province, over the in the jungles apparent. The flowers, is that full value its gles are cleared brake of grass and tangled dropped into a which formerly

—

—