FORESTRY IX BRITISH INDIA 551 



"The regulation of rights and the restriction of privileges of user 

 enjoyed by the inhabitants of the immediate neighborhood are justi- 

 fiable only when the advantage to be gained by the public is great. 



"In the application of this principle, forest lands should be broadly 

 classed as : 



(a) Forests, the preservation of which is essential on climatic or 

 physical grounds. 



(b) Forests w-hich afford a supply of valuable tin;bers for com- 

 mercial purposes. 



(c) Minor forests. 



(d) Pasture lands. 



"Forests of class (a) are generally those essential to the preserva- 

 tion of hillslopes and the regulation of destructive torrents, and so 

 long as there is reasonable hope of the restriction being effective they 

 should be strictly protected. The second class of forest should be 

 managed mainly on commercial lines as valuable State properties and 

 sources of revenue. Even here forest income should be subordinate 

 to the reasonable requirements of the local inhabitants. In the third 

 class of forests (c), useful chiefly for the supply of fuel, fodder or 

 grazing, local interests come first. The claims for cultivation should 

 be recognized as stronger than the claims of forest preservation. 

 Forest lands may be diverted to agricultural purposes provided the 

 cultivation is permanent, does not honeycomb the forests with fields 

 and settlements, or encroach on the minimum forest for general needs ; 

 and provided also that the forest is not essential to the preservation of 

 the tract." 



Roger confirms the six types of forest described by Ribbenthrop : 



(1) Evergreen forests ] 



(2) Deciduous forests [Due to rainfall only. 



(3) Dry forests J 



(4) Alpine or hill forests. Due to elevation. 



(5) Tidal forests. Due to the influence of the tides. 



(6) Riparian forests. Due to the overflow of rivers. 



In 1805. steps were taken to combat the growing deficiency of oak 

 for British naval construction by working the teak forests on the Mala- 

 bar Coast, but through private influence the efficient management which 

 had been secured was abolished in 1823. In 1842 forest conservation 

 was again revived and a small local forest department for Malabar was 

 organized; in 184? the Bombay Conservator of Forests was appointed, 

 and in 1827 a special examination of the forest resources of Burma 

 was authorized. In 1837 the serious absence of young growth v,"as 

 reported and when in 1852 the Province of Pegu was annexed by the 

 British (now Low^er Burma) all forests were declared to be govern- 



