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SECTION  III.—FORESTRY.
(From  Report  on  the  Moral  and  Material  Progress  of  India  during  18/1-2,  by  Clements  R.  Markham,  C.B.)
The  Forest  Departments  in  most  provinces  in  India  have  not  been  in  existence  for
more  than  15  years,  and  much  will  have  to  be  done,  many  difficulties  and  obstructions
must  be  removed,  before  they  will  be  in  thoroughly  effective  working  Order.  The  importance
  of  their  work,  is,  however,  beginning  to  be  understood,  and  when  the  forest
revenues  largely  increase,  the  value  of  conservancy  will  be  recognised,  even  by  the
numerous  dass  which  looks  upon  any  thought  for  future  generations  as  a  waste  of  time
and  money.
Probably  the  most  important,  though  indirect,  object  of  forest  conservancy  is  the
natural  influence  exercised  by  trees  on  the  drainage  of  a  country.  Where  the  mountains
ar - e  bare  the  rain  rushes  down  in  torrents,  destroying  roads  and  bridges,  giving  rise  to
destructive  floods  at  the  outlets  on  the  plains,  and  doing  other  injuries,  botli  in  the
hill  tract  and  the  plains,  and  the  supply  of  water  is  uncertain  and  capricious  during
the  dry  season.  On  the  other  hand,  where  the  forests  are  preserved,  the  superficial
drainage  and  dry  weather  discharge  are  both  gradual,  the  springs  are  better  supplied,
and  regularity  and  safety  are  insured  to  irrigation  works  on  the  plain.
The  direct  objects  are,  first,  to  meet  a  rapidly  increasing  demand  throughout  India
for  enormous  supplies  of  timber  and  fuel.  The  cultivators,  as  their  condition  improves,
require  to  exchange  miserable  huts  for  better-built  houses  and  better  furniture.  There
is  an  immense  demand  for  railway  sleepers,  for  fuel  for  steamers  and  railways,  and  for
timber  and  fuel  for  large  towns.  The  interests  of  trade,  which  have  a  direct  bearing  on
the  prosperity  of  the  people,  also  require  consideration,  in  order  to  meet  the  demand  for
teak,  sandal-wood,  catechu,  lac,  caoutchouc,  and  other  forest  products.  The  rapid
increase  in  the  magnitude  of  these  demands  is  strikingly  shown  by  the  effect  it  has  had
on  the  export  timber  trade  in  some  parts  of  India.
Unless  the  small  extent  of  remaining  available  forest  is  very  carefully  managed,  there
will  be  great  diffieulty  in  meeting  the  demands  for  timber,  bamboo,  and  fuel,  which  are
increasing  everywhere.  In  1846  a  department  was  organised  in  the  Bombay  Presidency
under  Dr.  Gibson  ;  in  1856  Drs.  Cleghorn  and  Brandis  commenced  work  in  Madras  and
British  Burmah  respectively.  Dr.  Cleghorn  not  only  created  the  department  in  Madras,
but  also  laid  the  foundation  of  forest  administration  in  the  Punjab,  and  was  subsequently
associated  with  Dr.  Brandis  in  organising  the  Forest  Department  in  Bengal.  In  1864
Dr.  Brandis  was  appointed  Inspector-General  of  Forests  to  the  Government  of  India.
It  has  been  found  necessary  to  retain  as  many  important  forest  tracts  as  possible  in
the  hands  of  the  State  for  exclusive  management,  as  it  is  impossible  to  control  the
forests  efficiently  when  in  private  hands,  and  the  Government  forests  offer  the  only
means  of  training  an  experienced  bocly  of  foresters  with  practical  knowledge.  The
reserved  forests  are  under  the  exclusive  management  of  the  department.  But  the  largest
portion  of  the  forest  area  is  still  unreserved,  and  the  people  retain  rights  of  pasturage,
of  destructive  burning,  of  desultory  cultivation,  which  is  equally  destructive,  and  of
collecting  products.  These  unreserved  forests  are  generally  under  local  district  officers,
and  when  well  managed  they  yield  a  good  revenue  available  for  roads  and  other  public
improvements.  Thus  the  forests  under  the  control  of  Government  are  divided  into  three
main  divisions,—reserved  forests,  unreserved  forests,  and  plantations.  The  forests  reported
to  have  been  reserved  and  secured  to  the  State  cover  6,200,000  acres  as  compared  with
6,000,000  acres  in  Prussia,  2,500,000  in  France,  and  112,000,  comprising  the  Crown
forests  of  England.  Much  time  must  elapse  before  the  Forest  Department  in  India  can
reach  a  really  prosperous  condition  as  regards  financial  results.
The  great  mass  of  the  forests,  bwing  to  past  neglect,  is  in  a  poor  and  exhausted
state,  and  large  sums  must  for  a  long  time  be  annually  spent  on  surveys,  demarcations,
boundaries,  roads,  and  plantations.  The  income  of  the  last  three  years  has  fluctuated