FOREST PROBLEMS IN THE PHILIPPINES 



By HARRINGTON MOORE, M,F,, United States Forest Service 



[Coiitiiiiicd from the February niiinber] 



IV HOW PROBLEMS ARE BEING SOLVED 



IT IS with great pleasure that we 

 turn from the consideration of the 

 problems to a brief sketch of the fine 

 work which is lieing done to solve them. 



All the strictly botanical work has 

 been very wisely turned over to the 

 Bureau of Scieiice, which describes and 

 classifies the specimens sent in to them 

 by the Bureau of Forestry. The Bu- 

 reau of Forestry collects enormous 

 quantities of specimens, generally a 

 large section of the tree and leaves, to- 

 gether with the fruit wherever possible. 

 On each specimen is placed a serial 

 number. This number is always men- 

 tioned in any future reference to the 

 specimen and serves as a sure means 

 of identification. The Bureau of 

 Science keeps a careful record of all 

 the information on a card catalogue 

 system and sends back to the Bureau 

 of Forestry such data as is necessary. 

 In the Bureau of Forestry hand speci- 

 mens of all the species identified are 

 kept on shelves, arranged alphabetically 

 by families, genera, and species, so that 

 it is possible to pick out any desired 

 species instantly. This botanical work 

 of the Bureau of Science, requiring, as 

 it does, a systematic botanist of the 

 highest skill, has been done so well that 

 it is acknowledged to be better than 

 any botanical work heretofore done on 

 tropical trees in the world. 



In addition to this strictly botanical 

 work of the Bureau of Science, an eco- 

 logical study of the whole forests of 

 the Philippines is being made by the 

 chief of the Bureau of luvestigation, 

 who probably knows as much about the 

 ecology of tropical trees as any man 



living. This invaluable work, when 

 complete, will be unique of its kind. 



The properties and uses of the woods 

 identified is so carefully and thor- 

 oughly done, that even those species of 

 rare occurrence are worked up, because 

 they may be found to be of value for 

 some special purpose, such as tool 

 handles, etc., so that it will pay to go 

 long distances in the forests for a single 

 tree. 



As regards silviculture, practically 

 nothing has been done so far, on ac- 

 count of the smallness of the force and 

 the pressure of other work, demanding 

 more immediate attention. However, 

 a beginning is being made by the draw- 

 ing up of a plan for a system of sam- 

 ple plots. This work is to be done by 

 a man of wide experience with sample 

 plots in the United States, and will 

 doubtless lay the foundation of a thor- 

 ough silvicultural study of all the trees 

 of the islands. 



As regards the problem of popula- 

 tion, the need for fuel and buikling 

 material has been met by the setting 

 aside of any small bodies of forest 

 which a community may apply for, lo 

 l)e devoted solely to supplying the needs 

 of that community. This is an adapta- 

 tion of the system used with more or 

 less success in parts of India. 



As far as Caingins are concerned, it 

 is unfortunate that very little can be 

 done at present. Although the bureau 

 is making strenuous efforts to stop 

 them, the smallness of the force at its 

 disposal, the large areas of unde- 

 markated forests which it has to look 

 after, and. above all, the lack of sup- 

 port from headquarters, make the task 

 an impossible one. As soon, however, 



149 



