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Indian Experiences. The beneficial effects of large tracts of forests on the climate of the country in which they are situated hL often been questioned, and a recent publication by the Indian Government throws a very dear light on this vexed and debatable matter. The following extracts are taken horn Notes on the Influence of Forests on the Storage and Regulation of the Water-supply," by Mr. S. BardleyWilmot of the Indian Forest Service : — , ■' In India instances have occurred where afforestation increased the rainfall of the country ,o a marked degree, but this advantage, though important, is quite insignificant compared with the .fleets of forests in storing and regulating the present water-supply and preventing it running '" *"lii 1846 Dr Gibson, then Conservator of Forests, drew attention to the rapid denudation of w«,oded areas, and to the effect thereby produced in the drying-up of springs and the general f ng-0 ci » famine Commission in 1880 it was also stated that " there is a irreat amount of evidence from all parts of India showing that the destruction of forests is believed to have acted injuriously by allowing the rain-waters to run off too rapidly, hey descend from the hillsides in furious" torrents, which carry down the soil, cause landslips, and form sandy deposits in the plains, so that the surface drainage which, if gently and evenly distributed over an absorbent soil protected by vegetation, should furnish a perennial supply of fertilising springs, pass* rapidly away, and the streams into which it collects quickly cease to flow, after causing mischief instead of good. So far as any immediate'advantage is to be sought from the extension ot forest in respect to protection against drought, it will, in our opinion, be mamly in the direction of the judicious inclosure and protection of tracts .... from which improved and more oertain pasture may be secured for the cattle of the vicinity, a supply of firewood secured which may lead to a more general utilisation of animal manure for agriculture, and a possible addition made to the power of the subsoil to retain its moisture and to the prospect of maintaining the supply of water in the wells As to the protection of the higher hill-slopes from denudation it may confidently be stated that they will, in any case, be more useful if kept clothed with wood than subjected to the wasteful and destructive process by which they are brought under partial and temporary cultivation; and that, whether the expectation of an improved water-supply as a consequence of such protection is fully realised or not, there is on other grounds suihcient reason for arranging for the conservation of such tracts where it is practicable. " In 1884 Sir D. Brandis wrote, 'Whatever views may be held regarding the effect of forests in regulating the surface draiuage and in improving the water-supply, there is no doubt that on hills clothed with forest the soil is protected, that less soil is carried away, and that less sand and silt are carried down by the rivers. There is not a district in the moister regions of India where the effects of denudation in this respect are not visible. The sand which is washed down from the denuded hills in the Hoshiarpur district of the Punjab has destroyed the fertility of large areas, and ravines and torrents are numerous in the more thickly inhabited portions of the Himalaya. In the Nilgiris every year masses of fine silt, which, if retained, might be a source of wealth to the European planter as well as to the native cutivator, are washed down from them into the rivers. The Ratnagiri district, on the western coast south of Bombay, is almost bare up to the crest of the ranges, and the effect of denudation has shown itself by the silting-up of streams which rise in the mountains and run a short course to the sea; some of these rivers were formerly important for the trade of the country, but are now only navigable for small boats. The benefits, direct and indirect, which the people of India will derive from forest-conservancy, if continued in a systematic manner, can hardly be overstated. , "In 1885-6 Mr. Blanford showed in his annual report on the Central Provinces that prevention of shifting cultivation, followed by fire conservancy, has in ten years increased the rainfall over the affected area by 681 in., as recorded at fourteen stations, and in 1887 he reported that ' the general conclusion to be drawn from the facts set forth in the foregoing pages is that, while no instance fulfils the requirements of scientific proof, the tendency of the evidence they afford is uniformly favourable to the idea that the presence of forests increases the rainfall. Firstly, they help to store the water by protecting the soil, and to keep up a constant evaporation : ami. secondly, by checking and obstructing the movement of the wind they prevent the evaporated vapour being carried away, and tend to produce that calm state of the atmosphere that is favourable to ascending currents and local precipitation.' " Next came Dr. Volcher's report on the influence of forests on agriculture, and lie stated i hat ' It has been much debated whether forests and plantations do actually bring about an increase ■if rainfall or not. But I would point out that their real influence and value consist in their lowering the temperature and thus causing moisture to be deposited where otherwise it would pass on. As a consequence of this, forests and plantations will cause rain to fall in gentle showers instead of heavy and often destructive deluges. Thus, a given quantity of rain will be distributed over a greater number of days, and its value to the agriculturist will be thereby largely increased. The true test of the value of afforestation in this connection is not so much whether the total rainfall be increased, but whether the number of rainy days be more. It has not infrequently been observed that in times of drought there has been plenty of rain in the clouds overhead ; what was wanted was some agent to condense and bring it down. Trees would materially aid in performing this. Again, the difference between the action of a gentle rain and that of a heavy deluge is very ma iked, for while in the former case the water sinks gradually into the soil, in the latter it rapidly runs off the baked surface of the earth, and very often causes damage by the destruction of roads, the washing-away of bridges, and the silting-up of streams. But there are other indirect benefits attending the epread of tree-planting. What trees do is to hold up the soil, preventing it