Forestry in India 645 



necessary to actually fill the positions of Chief Conservators, 

 Conservators and Divisional Forest Officers, with a very few green 

 assistants. Only rarely can an experienced man be spared from 

 his executive duties to prepare working plans. Too often the 

 working plan falls to the inexperienced assistant. Certain pro- 

 vinces are now seeking authority from the Imperial Government 

 for the creation of a special post of Working Plans Officer in order 

 that more time and care may be given to plans in the future. 



Altogether, plans are in effect over 53,926 square miles in India. 

 Plans are already needed for an additional 33,000 square miles, 

 but cannot be prepared for lack of staff. 



Silvicultural Operations 



Plans have first been made for the wrecked forests of Central 

 India, for the teak of Southern India, the deodar of the Himalayas, 

 the sal of northern India and Assam, and the teak of Burma. 

 Other areas which the poor development of forest transport 

 renders inaccessible must within a few years be opened up by 

 railroad and will then require working plans. The methods of 

 treatment provided by the working plans in force is shown by the 

 following table which gives the area of forest under each system, 

 excluding Bombay Presidency : 



Area 

 Method Square Miles 



Selection with improvement fellings 16,664 



Improvement fellings 9,487 



Coppice with standards 5,269 



Simple coppice 377 



Clear fellings by compartments 204 



Uniform system 150 



Group system 95 



32,246 



The selection system as practised in India is not the selection 

 system of Etirope. It is a method of working the high forests, 

 particvilarly of deodar and teak, which prevents clear-cutting 

 and the immediate extinction of the valiiable species by limiting 

 operations to matiire trees. The forest is worked over periodically, 

 usually every 30 years for teak. The improvement of the forest 

 is sought by periodic improvement fellings the aim of which is to 

 destroy creepers, free young teak, and, if possible, encom-age teak 

 regeneration. The impracticability of covering the whole forest 



