Part 11 - Rain delays, meeting with H.H., and concerns about pine forest management

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SUMMARY:
A planned picnic on the 4th was postponed due to rain and mist, and surplus food was sent in. On the 5th April, H.H. visited for an extended discussion about the Treaty and forest management, including concerns over the lack of young pines due to annual grass burning for cattle grazing.

CONTENT:
great ceremony, with the dancers to meet us and all the accompanying tamasha. But meals with H.H. are always private. No servants are allowed in the room except to serve, and then only for the minimum time. Even so a meal is a bit of a trial. On 4th H.H. proposed a picnic, but it rained and misted, and we put it off. An army of servants had already set out, with food etc, but they were recalled, and the unwanted food sent in to us in enormous bowls full. Spent the day in reorganising a few things.

5th April. Halt. Again rain and mist all day, no sun. H.H. sent to say he would come up after our lunch at about 12.30, and would like to have a friendly talk and stay to dinner. His usual hour for dinner is 9.0 pm, but we could not manage that, and compromised at 7.0. He arrived a little before 12.0 and left at 8.0, so we had a pretty hard afternoon, but still a pleasant and I hope a profitable one for all concerned. He led me away after lunch to have a talk, and we talked for fully two hours or more. We discussed the Treaty and all the possibilities of various clauses in it. "Why would India not hear of any arbitration?" There seems no answer except that she will not accept any arbitration that is fair.

I told H.H. about the awful present state of the pine forests between Bigiti Sam and here. The forests are only of old fully or more than half grown trees. Young trees barely are to be seen. All are burnt when the grass is burnt annually. I suggested either shutting off whole areas, never to be burnt, or of shutting areas for 5 or more years at a time. The grass is only burnt to get fresh grass for cattle grazing. When I asked H.H. how many cattle there were in the 25 miles of forest we passed through, he said "at