The subjoined table shows the forests of various European states:--_Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, "Foraminifera" to "Fox, Edward" Volume 10, Slice 6

+------------------+-------------+------------+------------+------------+

+------------------+-------------+------------+------------+------------+

| Sweden | 49,000,000 | 48 | 33 | 9.5 |

| Norway | 17,000,000 | 21 | 28 | 7.6 |

| Finland | 518,000,000 | 40 | 61 | 5.9 |

| Herzegovina | 6,400,000 | 50 | 78 | 4.0 |

| Bulgaria | 7,600,000 | 30 | 30 | 2.3 |

| Turkey | 11,200,000 | 20 | . . | 1.7 |

| Servia | 3,900,000 | 32 | 37 | 1.5 |

| Rumania | 6,400,000 | 18 | 40 | 1.3 |

| Spain | 21,200,000 | 17 | 84 | 1.2 |

| Hungary | 22,500,000 | 28 | 15 | 1.2 |

| Austria | 24,000,000 | 32 | 7 | .9 |

| Greece | 2,000,000 | 13 | 80 | .85 |

| Luxemburg | 200,000 | 30 | . . | .82 |

| Switzerland | 2,100,000 | 20 | 5 | .7 |

| Germany | 35,000,000 | 26 | 34 | .6 |

| France | 24,000,000 | 18 | 12 | .6 |

| Italy | 10,400,000 | 15 | 4 | .3 |

| Denmark | 600,000 | 6 | 24 | .25 |

| Belgium | 1,300,000 | 18 | 5 | .2 |

| Portugal | 770,000 | 3.5 | 8 | .15 |

| Holland | 560,000 | 7 | ? | .1 |

| Great Britain | 3,000,000 | 4 | 3 | .07 |

+------------------+-------------+------------+------------+------------+

These data exhibit considerable differences, since the percentage of the

forest area varies from 3.5 to 50, and the area per head of population

from .07 to 9.5 acres. Russia, Sweden and Norway may as yet have more

forest than they require for their own population. On the other hand,

Great Britain and Ireland, Germany, Denmark, Portugal, Holland, and even

Belgium, France and Italy have not a sufficient forest area to meet

their own requirements; at the same time, they are all sea-bound

countries, and importation is easy, while most of them are under the

influence of moist sea winds, which reduces to a subordinate position

the importance of forests for climatic reasons.

Intimately connected with the area of forests in a country is the state

of ownership--whether they belong to the state, corporations or to

private persons. Where, apart from the financial aspect and the supply

of work, forests are not required for the sake of their indirect

effects, and where importation from other countries is easy and assured,

the government of the country need not, as a rule, trouble itself to

maintain or acquire forests. Where the reverse conditions exist, and

especially where the cost of transport over long distances becomes

prohibitive, a wise administration will take measures to assure the

maintenance of a suitable proportion of the country under forest. This

can be done either by maintaining or constituting a suitable area of

state forests, or by exercising a certain amount of control over

corporation and even private forests. Such measures are more called for

in continental countries than in those which are sea-bound, as is proved

by the above statistics.

_Supply of Timber--Imports and Exports._--The following table shows the

net imports and exports of European countries (average data, calculated

from the returns of recent years).

The only timber-exporting countries of Europe are Russia, Sweden,

Norway, Austria-Hungary and Rumania; all the others either have only

enough for their own consumption, or import timber. Great Britain and

Ireland import now upwards of 10,000,000 tons a year, Germany about

4,600,000 tons, and Belgium about 1,300,000 tons. Holland, France,

Portugal, Spain and Italy are all importing countries, as also are Asia

Minor, Egypt and Algeria. The west coast of Africa exports hardwoods,

and imports coniferous timber. The Cape and Natal import considerable

quantities of pine and fir wood. Australasia exports hardwoods and some

Kauri pine from New Zealand, but imports larger quantities of light pine

and fir timber. British India and Siam export teak and small quantities

of fancy woods. The West Indies and South America export hardwoods, and

import pine and fir wood. The United States of America will not much

longer be a genuine exporting country, since they import already almost

as much timber from Canada as they export. Canada exports considerable

quantities of timber. The Dominion has still a forest area of 1,250,000

sq. m., equal to 38% of the total area, and giving 165 acres of forest

for every inhabitant. Although only about one-third of the forest area

can be called regular timber land, Canada possesses an enormous forest

wealth, with which she might supply permanently nearly all other

countries deficient in material, if the governing bodies in the several

provinces would only determine to stop the present fearful waste caused

by axe and fire, and to introduce a regular system of management. As

matters stand, the supplies of the most valuable timber of Canada, the

white or Weymouth pine (_Pinus strobus_), are nearly exhausted, the

great stores of spruce in the eastern provinces are being rapidly

destroyed, and the forests of Douglas fir in the western provinces have

been attacked for export to the United States and to other countries.

_Net Imports and Exports of European Countries._

+------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+

| | Quantities in Tons. | Value in L Sterling. |

| Countries. +-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+

+------------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+

| United Kingdom |10,004,000 | . . |26,540,000 | . . |

| Germany | 4,600,000 | . . |14,820,000 | . . |

| Belgium | 1,300,000 | . . | 5,040,000 | . . |

| France | 1,230,000 | . . | 3,950,000 | . . |

| Italy | 620,000 | . . | 2,100,000 | . . |

| Spain | 470,000 | . . | 1,500,000 | . . |

| Denmark | 470,000 | . . | 1,250,000 | . . |

| Switzerland | 204,000 | . . | 480,000 | . . |

| Holland | 180,000 | . . | 720,000 | . . |

| Servia | 110,000 | . . | 160,000 | . . |

| Portugal | 60,000 | . . | 200,000 | . . |

| Greece | 35,000 | . . | 130,000 | . . |

| Rumania | . . | 400,000 | . . | 840,000 |

| Norway | . . | 1,300,000 | . . | 2,200,000 |

| Herzegovina | . . | 3,996,000 | . . |11,400,000 |

| Sweden | . . | 4,460,000 | . . | 7,930,000 |

| Finland | . . | 6,890,000 | . . |10,440,000 |

| +-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+

| Total |19,283,000 |17,046,000 |56,890,000 |32,810,000 |

+------------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+

| Net Imports | 2,237,000 | | |24,080,000 |

+------------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+

These net imports are received from non-European countries. They

consist chiefly of valuable hardwoods, like teak, mahogany, eucalypts

and others.

Taking the remaining stocks of the whole earth together, it may be said

that a sufficient quantity of hardwoods is available, but the only

countries which are able to supply coniferous timber for export on a

considerable scale are Russia, Sweden, Norway, Austria and Canada. As

these countries have practically to supply the rest of the world, and as

the management of their forests is far from satisfactory, the question

of supplying light pine and fir timber, which forms the very staff of

life of the wood industries, must become a very serious matter before

many years have passed. Unmistakable signs of the coming crisis are

everywhere visible to all who wish to see, and it is difficult to

over-state the gravity of the problem, when it is remembered, for

instance, that 87% of all the timber imported into Great Britain

consists of light pine and fir, and that most of the other importing

countries are similarly situated. In some of these countries little or

no room exists for the extension of woodland, but this statement does

not apply to Great Britain and Ireland, which contain upwards of

12,000,000 acres of waste land, and 12,500,000 acres of mountain and

heath land used for light grazing. One-fourth of that area, if put under

forest, would produce all the timber now imported which can be grown in

Britain, that is to say, about 95% of the total.

The subjoined table shows the movements of timber within the greater

part of the British empire:--

_Net Imports and Exports into and from the British Empire._

+-----------------------+---------------------+---------------------+

| | Annual Average | Annual Average |

| Countries. | during the Years | during the Years |

| | 1884-1888. | 1900-1903. |

+-----------------------+----------+----------+----------+----------+

| | Net | Net | Net | Net |

+-----------------------+----------+----------+----------+----------+

| | L | L | L | L |

|United Kingdom |15,000,000| . . |26,540,000| . . |

|Australasia | 1,284,000| . . | 568,000| . . |

|Africa | 72,000 | . . | 737,000| . . |

| Honduras and Guiana | . . | 207,000| . . | 71,000|

| Mauritius | . . | 528,000| . . | 580,000|

|Dominion of Canada | . . | 4,025,000| . . | 4,789,000|

| +----------+----------+----------+----------+

| Total |16,356,000| 4,760,000|27,845,000| 5,440,000|

+-----------------------+----------+----------+----------+----------+

|Net Imports |11,596,000| . . |22,405,000| . . |

| 16 years | . . | . . |10,809,000| . . |

| of net imports | . . | . . | 675,562| . . |

+-----------------------+----------+----------+----------+----------+

_Forest Management._--In early times there was practically no forest

management. As long as the forests occupied considerable areas, their

produce was looked upon as the free gift of nature, like air and water;

men took it, used it, and even destroyed it without let or hindrance.

With the gradual increase of population and the consequent reduction of

the forest area, proprietary ideas developed; people claimed the

ownership of certain forests, and proceeded to protect them against

outsiders. Subsequently the law of the country was called in to help in

protection, leading to the promulgation of special forest laws. By

degrees it was found that mere protection was not sufficient, and that

steps must be taken to enforce a more judicious treatment, as well as to

limit the removal of timber to what the forests were capable of

producing permanently. The teaching of natural science and of political

economy was brought to bear upon the subject, so that now forestry has

become a special science. This is recognized in many countries, amongst

which Germany stands first, closely followed by France, Austria, Denmark

and Belgium. Of non-European countries the palm belongs to British

India, and then follow Ceylon, the Malay States, the Cape of Good Hope

and Japan. The United States of America have also turned their attention

to the subject. Most of the British colonies are, in this respect, as

yet in a backward state, and the matter has still to be fought out in

Great Britain and Ireland, though many writers have urged the importance

of the question upon the public and the government. There can be no

doubt that all civilized countries must, sooner or later, adopt a

rational and systematic treatment of their forests.

For details as to the separate countries, see the articles under the

country headings; in this article only some of the more important

countries are dealt with, in so far as the history of their forestry is

important. A few notes on Germany and France will be given, because in

these countries forest management has been brought to highest

perfection; Italy is mentioned, because she has allowed her forests to

be destroyed; and a short description of forestry in the United Kingdom

and in India follows. A separate section is devoted to the United

States.

_Germany_ is in general well-wooded. The winters being long and severe,

an abundant supply of fuel is almost as essential as a sufficient supply

of food. This necessity has led, along with a passion for the chase, to

the preservation of forests, and to the establishment of an admirable

system of forest cultivation, almost as carefully conducted as field

tillage. The Black Forest stretches the whole length of the grand-duchy

of Baden and part of the kingdom of Wurttemberg, from the Neckar to

Basel and the Lake of Constance. The vegetation resembles that of the

Vosges; forests of spruce, silver fir, Scotch pine, and, mingled with

birches, beech and oak, are the chief woods met with. Until

comparatively recent times large quantities of timber derived from these

forests were floated down the Rhine to Holland and also shipped to

England. Now the greater part of it is used locally for construction, or

it is converted into paper pulp. In the grand-duchy of Hesse the

Odenwald range of mountains, stretching between the Main and the Neckar,

contains the chief supply of timber. In the province of Nassau there are

the large wooded tracts of the Taunus mountain range and the Westerwald.

In Rhenish Prussia valuable forests lie partly in the Eifel, on the

borders of Belgium, and on the mountains overhanging the Upper Moselle,

but they do not furnish such stately trees as the Black Forest and the

Odenwald. The Spessart, near Aschaffenburg in Bavaria, is one of the

most extensive forests of middle Germany, containing large masses of

fine oak and beech, with plantations of coniferous trees, such as

spruce, Scotch pine and silver fir. Bavaria possesses other fine forest

tracts, such as the Baierischewald on the Bohemian frontier, the

Kranzberg near Munich, and the Frankenwald in the north of the kingdom.

North Germany has extensive forests on the Harz and Thuringian

Mountains, while in East Prussia large tracts of flat ground are covered

with Scotch pine, spruce, oak and beech.

Every German state has its forest organization. In Prussia the

department is presided over by the Oberland Forstmeister at Berlin,

while each province, or part of a province, has an Oberforstmeister,

under whom a number of Oberforsters administrate the state and communal

forests. These, again, are assisted by a lower class of officials called

Forsters. The Oberforsters throughout Germany are educated at special

schools of forestry, of which in 1909 the following nine existed:

In Prussia: at Eberswalde and Munden.

In Bavaria: at Munich and Aschaffenburg.

In Saxony: at Tharand.

In Wurttemberg: at Tubingen.

In Baden: at Carlsruhe.

In Hesse: at Giessen.

In the grand-duchy of Saxony: at Eisenach.

The schools at Munich, Tubingen and Giessen form part of the

universities at these places; that at Carlsruhe is attached to the

technical high school; the others are academies for the study of

forestry only, but there is a tendency to transfer them all to the

universities. The subordinate staff are trained for their work in

so-called silvicultural schools, of which a large number exist. In this

way the German forests have been brought to a high degree of

productiveness, but the material derived from them falls far short of

the requirements, although the forests occupy 26% of the total area of

the country; hence the net imports of timber amount already to 4,600,000

tons a year, and they are steadily rising.

_France._--The principal timber tree of France is the oak. The cork oak

is grown extensively in the south and in Corsica. The beech, ash, elm,

maple, birch, walnut, chestnut and poplar are all important trees, while

the silver fir and spruce form magnificent forests in the Vosges and

Jura Mountains, and the Aleppo and maritime pines are cultivated in the

south and south-west. About one-seventh of the entire territory is still

covered with wood.

Forest legislation took its rise in France about the middle of the 16th

century, and the great minister Sully urged the enforcement of

restrictive forest laws. In 1669 a fixed treatment of state forests was

enacted. Duhamel in 1755 published his famous work on forest trees.

Reckless destruction of the forests, however, was in progress, and the

Revolution of 1789 gave a fresh stimulus to the work of devastation. The

usual results have followed in the frequency and destructiveness of

floods, which have washed away the soil from the hillsides and valleys

of many districts, especially in the south, and the frequent

inundations of the last fifty years are no doubt caused by the

deforesting of the sources of the Rhone and Saone. Laws were passed in

1860 and 1864, providing for the reforesting, "_reboisement_," of the

slopes of mountains, and these laws take effect on private as well as

state property. Thousands of acres are annually planted in the

departments of Hautes and Basses Alpes; and during the summer of 1875,

when much injury was done by floods in the south of France, the Durance,

formerly the most dangerous in this respect of French rivers, gave

little cause for anxiety, as it is round the head waters of this river

that the chief plantations have been formed. While tracts formerly

covered with wood have been replanted, plantations have been formed on

the shifting sands or dunes along the coast of Gascony. A forest of

_Pinus pinaster_, 150 m. in length, now stretches from Bayonne to the

mouth of the Gironde, raised by means of sowing steadily continued since

1789; the cultivation of the pine, along with draining, has transformed

low marshy grounds into productive soil extending over an area of about

two million acres. The forests thus created provide annually some

600,000 tons of pit timber for the Welsh coal mines.

The state forest department is administered by the director-general, who

has his headquarters at Paris, assisted by a board of administration,

charged with the working of the forests, questions of rights and law,

finance and plantation works.

The department is supplied with officers from the forest school at

Nancy. This institution was founded in 1824, when M. Lorentz, who had

studied forestry in Germany, was appointed its first director.

_Italy._--The kingdom of Italy comprises such different climates that

within its limits we find the birch and pines of northern Europe, and

the olive, fig, manna-ash, and palm of more southern latitudes. By the

republic of Venice and the duchy of Genoa forestal legislation was

attempted at various periods from the 15th century downwards. These

efforts were not successful, as the governments were lax in enforcing

the laws. In 1789 Pius VI. issued regulations prohibiting felling

without licence, and later orders were published by his successors in

the pontifical states. In Lombardy the woods, which in 1830 reached

nearly down to Milan, have almost disappeared. The province of Como

contains only a remnant of the primitive forests, and the same may also

be said of the southern slopes of Tirol. At Ravenna there is still a

large forest of stone pine, _Pinus pinea_, though it has been much

reduced. The plains of Tuscany are adorned with planted trees, the

olive, mulberry, fig and almond. Sardinia is rich in woods, which cover

one-fifth of the area, and contain a large amount of oak, _Quercus

suber, robur_ and _cerris_. In Sicily the forests have long been felled,

save the zone at the base of Mount Etna.

The destruction of woods has been gradual but persistent; at the end of

the 17th century the effects of denudation were first felt in the

destructive force given to mountain torrents by the deforesting of the

Apennines. The work of devastation continued until a comparatively

recent time.

In 1867 the monastic property of Vallombrosa, Tuscany, 30 m. from

Florence, was purchased by government for the purposes of a forest

academy, which was opened in 1869. As only 4% of the total forest area

belongs to the state, it is doubtful whether much good can now be done.

_Great Britain and Ireland._--The British Isles were formerly much more

extensively wooded than at present. The rapid increase of population led

to the disforesting of woodland; the climate required the maintenance of

household fires during a great part of the year, and the increasing

demand for arable land and the extension of manufacturing industries

combined to cause the diminution of woodland. The proportion of forest

is now very small, and yields but a fraction of the required annual

supply of timber which is imported with facility from America, northern

Europe and the numerous British colonies.

Owing to the nature of the climate of the British Islands, with its

abundance of atmospheric moisture and freedom from such extremes of heat

and cold as are prevalent in continental Europe, a great variety of

trees are successfully cultivated. In England and Ireland oak and beech

are on the whole the most plentiful trees in the low and fertile parts;

in the south of Scotland the beech and ash are perhaps most common,

while the Scotch fir and birch are characteristic of the arboreous

vegetation in the Highlands. Although few extensive forests now exist,

woods of small area, belts of planting, clumps of trees, coppice and

hedgerows, are generally distributed over the country, constituting a

mass of wood of considerable importance, giving a clothed appearance in

many parts, and affording illustrations of skilled arboriculture not to

be found in any other country.

The principal state forests in England are Windsor Park, 14,000 acres;

the New Forest, &c., in Hampshire, 76,000 acres; and the Dean Forest in

Gloucestershire, 22,500 acres. The total extent of crown forests is

about 125,000 acres. A large proportion of the crown forests, having

been formed with the object of supplying timber for the navy, consists

of oak. The largest forests in Scotland are in Perthshire,

Inverness-shire and Aberdeenshire. Of these the most notable are the

earl of Mansfield's near Scone (8000 acres), the duke of Atholl's larch

plantations near Dunkeld (10,000 acres), and in Strathspey a large

extent of Scotch pine, partly native, partly planted, belonging to the

earl of Seafield. In the forests of Mar and Invercauld, the native pine

attains a great size, and there are also large tracts of indigenous

birch in various districts. Ireland was at one time richly clothed with

wood; this is proved by the abundant remains of fallen trees in the bogs

which occupy a large surface of the island. In addition to the causes

above alluded to as tending to disforest England, the long unsettled

state of the country also conduced to the diminishing of the woodlands.

The forests of Great Britain and Ireland, in spite of the large imports

of timber, have not been appreciably extended up to the present time

because (1) the rate at which foreign timber has been laid down in

Britain is very low, thus keeping down the price of home-grown timber;

(2) foreign timber is preferred to home-grown material, because it is in

many cases of superior quality, while the latter comes into the market

in an irregular and intermittent manner; (3) nearly the whole of the

waste lands is private property. As regards prices, it can be shown that

the lowest point was reached about the year 1888, in consequence of the

remarkable development of means of communication, that prices then

remained fairly stationary for some years, and that about 1894 a slow

but steady rise set in, showing during the years 1894-1904 an increase

of about 20% all round. This was due to the gradual approach of the

coming crisis in the supply of coniferous timber to the world. It can be

shown that even with present prices the growing of timber can be made to

pay, provided it is carried on in a rational and economic manner.

Improved silvicultural methods must be applied, so as to produce a

better class of timber, and the forests must be managed according to

well-arranged working plans, which provide for a regular and sustained

out-turn of timber year by year, so as to develop a healthy and steady

market for locally-grown material. Unfortunately the private proprietors

of the waste lands are in many cases not in a financial position to

plant. Starting forests demands a certain outlay in cash, and the

proprietor must forgo the income, however small, hitherto derived from

the land until the plantations begin to yield a return. In these

circumstances the state may well be expected to help in one or all of

the following ways: (1) The equipment of forest schools, where economic

forestry, as elaborated by research, is taught; (2) the management of

the crown forests on economic principles, so as to serve as patterns to

private proprietors; (3) advances should be made to landed proprietors

who desire to plant land, but are short of funds, just as is done in the

case of improvements of agricultural holdings; and (4) the state might

acquire surplus lands in certain parts of the country, such as congested

districts, and convert them into forests. Action in these directions

would soon lead to substantial benefits. The income of landed

proprietors would rise, a considerable sum of money now sent abroad

would remain in the country, and forest industries would spring up, thus

helping to counteract the ever-increasing flow of people from the

country into the large towns, where only too many must join the army of

the unemployed. Even within a radius of 50 m. of London 700,000 acres of

land are unaccounted for in the official agricultural returns. In

Ireland more than 3,000,000 acres are waiting to be utilized, and it is

well worth the consideration of the Irish Land Commissioners whether the

lands remaining on their hands, when buying and breaking up large

estates, should not be converted into state forests. Such a measure

might become a useful auxiliary in the peaceful settlement of the Irish

land question. No doubt success depends upon the probable financial

results. There are at present no British statistics to prove such

success; hence, by way of illustration, it may be stated what the

results have been in the kingdom of Saxony, which, from an industrial

point of view, is comparable with England. That country has 432,085

acres of state forests, of which about one-eighth are stocked with

broad-leaved species, and seven-eighths with conifers. Some of the

forests are situated on low lands, but the bulk of the area is found in

the hilly parts of the country up to an elevation of 3000 ft. above the

sea. The average price realized of late years per cubic foot of wood

amounts to 5d., and yet to such perfection has the management been

brought by a well-trained staff, that the mean annual net revenue, after

meeting all expenses, comes to 21s. an acre all round. There can be no

doubt that, under the more favourable climate of Great Britain, even

better results can be obtained, especially if it is remembered that

foreign supplies of coniferous timber must fall off, or, at any rate,

the price per cubic foot rise considerably.

These things have been recognized to some extent, and a movement has

been set on foot to improve matters. The Commissioners of Woods and a

number of private proprietors had rational working plans prepared for

their forests, and instruction in forestry has been developed. There is

now a well-equipped school of forestry connected with the university of

Oxford, while Cambridge is following on similar lines; instruction in

forestry is given at the university of Edinburgh, the Durham College of

Science, at Bangor, Cirencester and other places. The Commissioners of

Woods have purchased an estate of 12,500 acres in Scotland, which will

be converted into a crown forest, so as to serve as an example. The

experience thus gained will prove valuable should action ever be taken

on the lines suggested by a Royal Commission on Coast Erosion,

Reclamation of Tidal Lands and Afforestation, which reported on the last

subject in 1909.

_India._--The history of forest administration in India is exceedingly

instructive to all who take an interest in the welfare of the British

Empire, because it places before the reader an account of the gradual

destruction of the greater part of the natural forests, a process

through which most other British colonies are now passing, and then it

shows how India emerged triumphantly from the self-inflicted calamity.

As far as information goes, India was, in the early times, for the most

part covered with forest. Subsequently settlers opened out the country

along fertile valleys and streams, while nomadic tribes, moving from

pasture to pasture, fired alike hills and plains. This process went on

for centuries. With the advent of British rule forest destruction became

more rapid than ever, owing to the increase of population, extension of

cultivation, the multiplication of herds of cattle, and the universal

firing of the forests to produce fresh crops of grass. Then railways

came, and with their extension the forests suffered anew, partly on

account of the increased demand for timber and firewood, and partly on

account of the fresh impetus given to cultivation along their routes.

Ultimately, when failure to meet the requirements of public works was

brought to notice, it was recognized that a grievous mistake had been

made in allowing the forests to be recklessly destroyed. Already in the

early part of the 19th century sporadic efforts were made to protect the

forests in various parts of the country, and these continued

intermittently; but the first organized steps were taken about the year

1855, when Lord Dalhousie was governor-general. At that time

conservators of forests existed in Bombay, Madras and Burma. Soon

afterwards other appointments followed, and in 1864 an organized state

department, presided over by the inspector-general of forests, was

established. Since then the Indian Forest Department has steadily grown,

so that it has now become of considerable importance for the welfare of

the people, as well as for the Indian exchequer.

The first duty of the department was to ascertain the position and

extent of the remaining forests, and more particularly of that portion

which still belonged to the state. Then a special forest law was passed,

which was superseded in 1878 by an improved act, providing for the legal

formation of permanent state forests; the determination, regulation,

and, if necessary, commutation of forest rights; the protection of the

forests against unlawful acts and the punishment of forest offences; the

protection of forest produce in transit; the constitution of a staff of

forest officers, provision to invest them with suitable legal powers,

and the determination of their duties and liabilities. The officers who

administered the department in its infancy were mostly botanists and

military officers. Some of these became excellent foresters. In order to

provide a technically trained staff arrangements were made in 1866 by

Sir Dietrich Brandis, the first inspector-general of forests, for the

training of young Englishmen at the French Forest School at Nancy and at

similar institutions in Germany. In 1876 the students were concentrated

at Nancy, and in 1885 an English forest school for India was organized

in connexion with the Royal Indian Engineering College at Cooper's Hill.

In 1905 the school was transferred to the university of Oxford. The

imperial forest staff of India consisted in 1909 of--officers not

specially trained before entering the department, 17; officers trained

in France and Germany, 23; officers trained at Cooper's Hill, 143--total

184.

In 1878 a forest school was started at Dehra Dun, United Provinces, for

the training of natives of India as executive officers on the provincial

staff. Since then a similar school, though on a smaller scale, has been

established at Tharrawaddy in Burma. About 500 officers of this class

have been appointed. In addition, there are about 11,000 subordinates,

foresters and forest guards, who form the protective staff. The school

at Dehra Dun has lately been converted into the Imperial Forest College.

The progress made since 1864 is really astonishing. According to the

latest available returns, the areas taken under the management of the

department are--reserved state forests, or permanent forest estates,

91,272 sq. m.; other state forests, 141,669 sq. m.; or a total of

232,941 sq. m., equal to 24% of the area over which they are scattered.

At present, therefore, the average charge of each member of the

controlling staff comprises 1266 sq. m.; that of each executive officer,

446 sq. m.; and that of each protective official, 21 sq. m. It is the

intention to increase the executive and protective staff considerably,

in the same degree as the management of the forests becomes more

detailed. Of the above-mentioned area the Forest Survey Branch,

established in 1872, has up to date surveyed and mapped about 65,000 sq.

m. From 1864 onwards efforts were made to introduce systematic

management into the forests, based upon working plans, but, as the

management had been provincialized, there was no central or continuous

control. This was remedied in 1884, when a central Working Plans Office,

under the inspector-general of forests, was established. This officer

has since then controlled the preparation and execution of the plans, a

procedure which has led to most beneficial results. Plans referring to

about 38,000 sq. m. are now (1909) in operation, and after a reasonable

lapse of time there should not be a single forest of importance which is

not worked on a well-regulated plan, and on the principle of a sustained

yield. While the danger of overworking the forests is thus being

gradually eliminated, their yield capacity is increased by suitable

silvicultural treatment and by fire protection. Formerly most of the

important forests were annually or periodically devastated by jungle

fires, sometimes lighted accidentally, in other cases purposely. Now

38,000 sq. m. of forest are actually protected against fire by the

efforts of the department, and it is the intention gradually to extend

protection to all permanent state forests. Grazing of cattle is of

great importance in India; at the same time it is liable to interfere

seriously with the reproduction of the forests. To meet both

requirements careful and minute arrangements have been made, according

to which at present 38,000 sq. m. are closed to grazing; 19,000 sq. m.

are closed only against the grazing of goats, sheep and camels; while

176,000 sq. m. are open to the grazing of all kinds of cattle. The areas

closed in ordinary years form a reserve of fodder in years of drought

and scarcity. During famine years they are either opened to grazing, or

grass is cut in them and transported to districts where the cattle are

in danger of starvation. The service rendered in this way by a wise

forest administration should not be underrated, since one of the most

serious calamities of a famine--the want of cattle to cultivate the

land--is thus, if not avoided, at any rate considerably reduced. During

1907 the government of India established a Research Institute, with six

members engaged in collecting data regarding silviculture, forest

botany, forest zoology, forest economics, working plans, and chemistry

in connexion with forest produce and production. The institute is likely

to lead to further substantial progress in the management of the

forests.

The financial results of forest administration in India for the years

1865 to 1905 show the progress made:

+-----------+--------------+-----------------+

| | Mean Annual | Percentage of |

| Period. | Net Revenue. | Annual Increase |

| | | during Period. |

+-----------+--------------+-----------------+

| | Rupees. | |

| | | |

| 1865-1870 | 1,372,733 | . . |

| 1870-1875 | 1,783,248 | 30 |

| 1875-1880 | 2,224,687 | 25 |

| 1880-1885 | 3,385,745 | 52 |

| 1885-1890 | 5,066,671 | 50 |

| 1890-1895 | 7,370,572 | 44 |

| 1895-1900 | 7,923,484 | 7 |

| 1900-1905 | 9,004,367 | 12 |

+-----------+--------------+-----------------+

The highest percentage of increase occurred in the period 1880-1885. The

revenue since 1886 has been considerably increased by the annexation of

Upper Burma.

Apart from the net revenue, large quantities of produce are given free

of charge, or at reduced rates, to the people of the country. Thus, in

1904-1905, the net revenue amounted to Rs. 11,062,094, while the produce

given free or at reduced rates was valued at Rs. 3,500,661, making a

total net benefit derived from the state forests during that year of Rs.

14,562,755, or in round figures one million pounds sterling. The

out-turn during the same year amounted to 252 million cub. ft. of timber

and fuel and 215 million bamboos. The receipts from the sale of other

forest produce came to 9 million rupees, out of a total gross revenue of

24 million rupees.

These results are highly creditable to the government of India, which

has led the way towards the introduction of rational forest management

into the British empire, thus setting an example which has been followed

more or less by various colonies. Even the movement in the United

Kingdom during late years is due to it. Apart from India, substantial

progress has been made in Cape Colony, Ceylon, the Straits Settlements

and the Federated Malay States. Other British colonies are more backward

in this respect. Energetic action is urgently wanted, especially in

Canada and Australasia, where an enormous state property is threatened

by destruction.

LITERATURE.--The following works of special interest may be mentioned:

W. Schlich, _A Manual of Forestry_ (London) (vols. i., ii. and iii. by

W. Schlich; vols. iv. and v. by W.R. Fisher; 3rd ed. of vol. i., 1906,

of vol. ii., 1904, of vol. iii., 1905; 2nd ed. of vol. iv., 1907; 2nd

ed. of vol. v., 1908); Baden-Powell, _Forest Law_ (London, 1893);

Brown, _The Forester_ (ed. by Nisbet, Edinburgh and London, 1905);

Broilliard, _Le Traitement des bois_ (Paris, 1894); Huffel, _Economie

forestiere_ (Paris, 1904-1907); Lorey, _Handbuch der

Forstwissenschaft_ (2nd ed. by Stoetzer, Tubingen, 1903); Rossmassler,

_Der Wald_. (W. Sch.)

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