THE PHILIPPINE BUREAU OF FORESTRY— ITS 

 ORGANIZATION AND WORK. 



By W. D. Sterrktt. 



The total area of the archipelago is about 75,000,000 acres. Of 

 this area at least 60,000,000 is public land covered with grass, 

 brush, second-growth, and merchantable forest, and an inconsider- 

 able portion under cultivation of a shifting character. 



A conservative estimate places the area of merchantable forest 

 at 20,000,000 acres, with an average of 10,000 feet of timber per 

 acre, or a total of 200,000,000,000 feet of standing saw timber in 

 the Islands. All of this timber is included in the area of public 

 land. Much of it occurs on land suitable for agriculture, while 

 there is much waste mountainous land, unsuitable for agriculture 

 which is covered with grass or brush. Over one-fourth of the 

 area of the Philippines is so steep and mountainous that it should 

 be permanently held as public forest for timber and water purpos- 

 es. 



CONTROI, OF InSUIvAR FoRESTS 



Practically all of the timber in the Philippines is on public land. 

 The Philippine Public Land Laws place the control of all public 

 forests, and public land most suitable for forest and water con- 

 servation purposes, in the hands of the Bureau of Forestry. 

 These laws provide that no public land can be acquired by private 

 parties without the approval of the Bureau of Forestry, certify- 

 ing that such land is more valuable for agriculture, or for pur- 

 poses other than growing timber and conserving water. The 

 Bureau of Forestry thus has the decision as to what public land 

 shall be retained for forest and water purposes. 



The laws provide that no timber or other forest products can be 

 collected and sold from public lands without a license from the 

 Bureau of Forestry. 



In 1905 a law was passed allowing people for a term of five 

 years to take what timber and forest products they needed for 

 their personal use without license. Previous to this a license was 

 required to collect and remove any forest product for any purpose 



