Indian Forest Administration. 



By JOHN E. JACKSON, Royal Gardens, Kew. 



Under the title of " Reports on the Forest Administration in the several 

 provinces under the Government of India, v/ith a review by the 

 Inspector-General of Forests," has just been issued from the Govern- 

 ment printing office at Calcutta, a bulky book, the form and green 

 colour of which are now so familiar to all interested in the 

 conservation of the Indian forests. From Dr. Brandis's ' ' Review," 

 we may obtain a very good idea of the extent and produce of some 

 of the more important and best managed forests.' For instance, in 

 the Muraghat forest there are 3,168 acres actually stocked with 

 Sal {Shorca robusta) ; most of these plants, however, are said to be very 

 young, so that it is calculated that cuttings of mature timber will not 

 be made before 1883. Of the Buxa Sal forest, the conservator reports 

 that it is one of the best in Bengal, the trees are of a very fine shape, 

 and attain very large dimensions. 



In the North-western Provinces, the most important work carried 

 out was at Eani Bhet, where 109 acres were planted out with deodar 

 horse-chestnuts, and walnuts. The difficulty here is said to be " the 

 limited area of suitable land available for the extension of these plan- 

 tations, which are necessary in order to ensure a permanent supply of 

 timber, fuel, and water for this important military station." AVith 

 regard to teak {Tedoriea grandis) in the Burmese forests, we are told 

 that in the best natural forests this tree is scattered, and consequently 

 the management of such forests will always be difficult. The culti- 

 vation of teak, therefore, in suitable localities is necessary to obtain 

 forests with a larger proportion of teak, and therefore easier to manage 

 than the present natural teak forests. The raising of artificial forests 

 of teak, whether pine or mixed, with bamboos and other trees in 

 Burmah, is no longer an experiment ; the operations have now been 

 reduced to a regular system, the success of which is certain. What 

 remains to be done is to diminish the cost of the formation and main- 

 tenance of these plantations. This is not an easy task to accomplish, 

 for the rate of wages for such work in Burmah is between eight and 

 twelve annas per diem, while in the Panjab it is about one third of 

 that amount. Every acre, however, stocked with teak on suitable soil 



