Forestry in India 637 



reports made by the Inspector General as a result of such trips 

 are submitted by the Government of India, to whom they are 

 addressed, to the local government concerned, and though the 

 latter is in no way bound to act upon the recommendation of the 

 Inspector General such a course usually follows. 



Research 



The work of forest research, which in the diversified forests of 

 India involves many more problems than in America, is imder 

 the direction of the Inspector General. The administrative and 

 executive organization of the Forest Service not providing for any 

 silviciilture or other research work, this also remains exclusively 

 with the central organization. The Forest Research Institute at 

 Dehra Dim embraces therefore a wider range of subjects than is 

 attempted either at Madison or McGill. The work of the in- 

 stitute is grouped under five heads, Silvictdture, Zoology, Botany, 

 Economy, and Chemistry. The staff in each department con- 

 sists of one man only, excepting for one assistant in Economy. 

 The staff in the two most important departments, Silviculture 

 and Economy, are recruited from Divisional Forest officers who 

 possess only the ordinary forest training. Men are assigned to 

 the Research Institute for short terms rather than appointed to 

 it for sufficient periods to enable them to plan and carry out 

 effective work. 



The field for forest research work in India is probably the 

 greatest in the world. There are already hundreds of products 

 and by-products profitably extracted from the Indian forests; 

 there remain many thousands of square miles of accessible forest 

 awaiting development when problems of utilization and seasoning 

 have been settled. Grasses and bamboos also exist in vast 

 volume over wide tracts of land under forest administration. 

 Silvicviltiu-e is yet confined to three or four species, and every- 

 thing is yet to learn concerning the silviculture of scores of valu- 

 able species. The Silviculturist and Economist at Dehra Dun, 

 facing these problems without assistance, are attempting ropes of 

 sea sand. Much valuable work has been done, buildings have been 

 erected, now devoted to museimi space which would house both 

 the Madison and McGiU Laboratories, but of the facilities and 

 staff for doing original work on the problems awaiting solution in 

 Indian forests there are none. 



