The Philippine Bureau of Forestry. 603 



from public lands. The public land laws also provide that any- 

 body before making a "caingin," or temporary cultivation on pub- 

 lic land, must first procure a permit from the Bureau of Forestry. 

 The land laws further provide for the regulation and management 

 of public forests by the Bureau of Forestry, including sale of 

 forest products, and the reproduction and protection of the forest 

 to secure a continuous timber supply and for water conservation. 

 There are fixed forest charges for products collected for sale 

 from public forests established by law. On forest products for 

 personal use of the collector there are no forest charges. The 

 Government stumpage charges on saw timber amount to about as 

 follows : 



First group of timber — $5 per 1000 board feet. 



Second " " " 3 " " " 



Third " " " 2 " " " 



Fourth " " " I " " " 



Considerably more than half the timber produced is of the third 

 and fourth group. 



It can readily be seen that these laws secure to the Bureau of 

 Forestry the absolute control of the forest and water situation in 

 the Philippines. 



Work of the; Bureau of Forestry 



From its organization in 1900 until December, 1905, the chief 

 work of the Bureau of Forestry was in connection with the col- 

 lection of revenue on forest products, and very little was done ire 

 the way of silviculture and investigation. Although an elaborate 

 set of forest regulations and restrictions for licensees cutting 

 timber was prepared and adopted, yet practically nothing was 

 done in the way of inspection of cutting areas to enforce such 

 regulations. By an act dated October 26, 1905, reorganizing the 

 Bureaus of the Philippine Government this revenue work was 

 transferred entirely to the Bureau of Internal Revenue. It was 

 at this time that the Commission came very nearly abolishing the 

 Bureau of Forestry entirely or making it a section in the Bureau 

 of Agriculture. The day was saved by Major Ahern's securing 

 the aid of Air. Pinchot. The appropriation, however, for the 

 work of the Bureau was cut down from $150,000 to $50,000 per 

 annum; the field force was reduced from 138 to 43; and the office 



