156 THE INDIAN FOREST SCHOOL, 
forest officers, who had already gained practical experience by 
service in their own country. At the same time, acting under 
the orders of the Secretary of State for India, he made arrange- 
ments for the instruction, at the French and German forest 
schools, of a number of candidates for the Indian Forest Depart- 
ment. The first students were sent to these schools in 1867 ; 
but after 1871 no more of them were sent to Germany, as it 
was found more convenient to concentrate all the instruction 
in France, and although arrangements are now being made to 
carry on the theoretical instruction in England, the candidates 
continue to pass through the French school to the present day. 
Ninety-one officers trained in this manner have been sent out 
to India. The advantages which have accrued from the system 
adopted in 1866 have been incalculable, and the enormous strides 
that have been made in forest management in India are mainly 
due to the large number of professionally-trained men with whom 
the department has been recruited. 
But up to 1869 nothing whatever had been done towards the 
professional education of the subordinate ranks. As the nature 
of the work in the forests gradually emerged from that of simple 
protection, and as operations requiring professional skill and ex- 
perience began to be undertaken in localities at long distances 
from one another, it became impossible for the European officers 
to exercise the increased supervision over the large areas with 
the management of which they had hitherto been charged ; 
neither could their number be largely increased, for this would 
have thrown too heavy a burden on the finances of the depart- 
ment; and thus it became necessary to subdivide the “divisions,” 
as they are called, into a number of smaller charges under the 
executive control of natives of the country, and it was obviously 
necessary that these latter should receive a sufficient amount of 
professional education to enable them to carry out the orders 
they might receive from their immediate superior, the “ divisional 
officer.” No facilities, however, existed in India for the giving 
of this instruction, and Mr Brandis submitted to the (Government 
proposals which embraced— 
1. The organisation of the subordinate staff in the different 
provinces on a definite footing. 
2. The selection of a certain number of apprentices, who, 
having received some practical training under selected 
