INDIAN STATE FORESTRY. 22 1 



gravel, and by endangering life by floods and avalanches, but 

 the hill-folk themselves soon learn to regret the want of foresight 

 shown in wasteful utilisation of the benefits the forest affords. 

 For instance, the southern slopes of the Simla Hills are bare 

 of forest, and wood fuel sells amongst a population of 40,000 

 souls at over^i per ton, delivery not included. If these slopes 

 were wooded, as they certainly were in the past, their owners 

 would now be wealthy, the stability of the slopes would be 

 better than at present, and the seats and rails along the public 

 roads would not be so liable to be stolen for fuel. 



The objects of State forestry are then, as I understand them, 

 to secure to an agricultural population those direct and indirect 

 benefits which forests confer, and to further the industrial 

 development of the country. 



The chief factors leading to success in Indian forestry are 

 familiar to us all ; they have been adopted wherever Britons 

 have been called upon to administer their possessions in the 

 East, and they consist in personal influence and in education. 



The part played by the Indian forest officer has been in the 

 past, and, on the borderlands of our less settled provinces still 

 is, that of a pioneer ; and he soon learns the lesson that there is 

 in his calling — perhaps more markedly so than in others— no 

 success without the good-will of his neighbours, and that he 

 cannot overcome their distrust, save by kindly tact, or be able 

 to command their aid, until he first possesses their confidence. 



The life of the forest officer is passed in intimate connection 

 with the people, and it is of great importance that he should be 

 well equipped. The Service may be divided into Imperial, 

 Provincial, and Subordinate, the first being recruited by the 

 Secretary of State for India, the other two by those Local 

 Governments who entertain them. The Imperial officer, to be 

 a useful servant to the State, must have not only a good 

 professional training but also a knowledge of many other things 

 besides forestry. He must be a competent surveyor, a practical 

 engineer, and an efficient timber merchant; he occupies the 

 position of land agent for an estate that may have an area of 

 1000 or more square miles, and he must be physically strong. 

 If to all these qualifications he can add a special knowledge of 

 botany, of chemistry, of zoology and geology, with an intimate 

 acquaintance with modern languages, so that he may read of 

 the doings of foresters in other countries, there should be little 



