638 Forestry Quarterly 



The most important duty of the Economist is to find markets 

 for Indian forest produce, and to find in Indian forests substitutes 

 for imported articles. An effort is made to co-operate with firms 

 in India or the United Kingdom in conducting all tests on a com- 

 mercial scale. There is a bold disregard of trifles about the work 

 which is inspiring. Typical instances are the departmental 

 working of the turpentine forests, and the building of distillation 

 plants to put the refined article on the market, or the taking of a 

 departmental contract for the creosoting of 1,000,000 sleepers. 

 This broad conception and freedom combined with the labora- 

 tories and staff, which sooner or later will come, will put the 

 Research Institute in an enviable position. 



A Forest Board exists, consisting of the Inspector General of 

 Forests, President of the Research Institute, Chief Conservators, 

 and one Conservator from each Province where there is no Chief 

 Conservator. The Board meets once in three years at Dehra 

 Dun, outlines the three-year program of research work, and dis- 

 cusses questions affecting administration throughout India. The 

 resolutions of the Board are submitted to the various Governments 

 concerned and are frequently made effective by Government 

 orders. 



The inability of the Research Institute to overtake the urgent 

 problems demanding solution has led to talk of establishing 

 Provincial Research Institutes. As such Provincial Institutes 

 would almost certainly be understaffed, no great improvement 

 could be expected. The true solution lies in increasing the 

 personnel of the central Institute, by appointing men, not trained 

 in general forestry, but specialists in the various branches of the 

 work. 



Administration 



The Indian Forest Service, not having to woo the ear of a 

 variable democracy, has not maintained a propaganda, therefore 

 they do not confuse works written about with works accomplished, 

 therefore if you wish to see what they have accomplished you look, 

 not into their reports and speeches, but into their forests. The 

 best answer to the pessimist, who feels discouraged about the 

 situation in Canada, is found in the result now to be seen in Indian 

 forests of half a centiiry's work on the part of a small band of 

 foresters whose nimibers have only recently passed the 200 mark. 



