ADDRESS BY THE PRESIDENT, NOVEMBER 4, 1874. 205 



by clearing. In 1843 the political economist Blanqui graphically 

 described the great evils which follow extended clearing, and ravages 

 of torrents, where there is not a bush to shelter a bird, and where, 

 when a storm bursts over the mountains, masses of water deluge 

 the valley, overflowing the fields and stripping off the soil. The 

 attention of the State was earnestly directed to the evils of denuda- 

 tion and the action of torrents; and the measures of the French 

 authorities have been vigorous and successful. The conservative 

 action of the woods has been generally recognised by the public of 

 France, and the government has enacted laws for the protection of 

 existing forests and for the formation of new ones. 



The quantity of timber required in France is enormous, and the 

 serious point is that the increase in the consumption is in in- 

 verse proportion to production. Dearth of wood is certain in 

 the future, unless determined action be taken to replant and bring 

 waste land under forest cultivation. The consumption of wood in 

 the coal mines of France is very large; a great part of the supply is 

 obtained from Switzerland and Savoy, and the cost increases annu- 

 ally. One mining company has purchased all the available land fit 

 for growing timber in the neighbourhood, and already possesses a 

 fine young forest of considerable extent (3000 acres). The government 

 devotes annually a certain sum to replanting forest land, but this is 

 found to be quite insufficient; it therefore seeks to stimulate private 

 enterprise by offering grants and rewards to those who cultivate or 

 extend their forest lands. 



It is well known that other countries are not so well supplied 

 with timber as formerly. Russia, Sweden, and Norway, which have 

 to a great extent met the demands of our eastern ports as well as 

 those of the northern coast of France, have begun to consider the 

 state of their forests, and to "regulate the annual felling of pines. 



Let us now turn for a moment to the state and progress of 

 forestry in British India. On referring to " Loudon's Encyclopedia 

 of Gardening," Edinburgh, 1850, a work constantly consulted by 

 all who are interested in arboriculture and horticulture, I find 

 Indian forests summarily disposed of in the following passage, p. 

 304 : — " Forest trees do not naturally abound in Bengal ; the teak 

 tree Teetona grandis, is the oak of the East, and grows in abund- 

 ance in the hilly kingdoms of Burma and Pegu, whence Calcutta is 

 supplied for the purposes of naval architecture. Whether it will 

 ever be found worth while to cultivate this tree in Bengal appears 

 very doubtful. The bamboo is the timber used in the general 



