REPORT ON THE FORESTS OF INDIA. 223 



gained head, they picked up their traps and fled the place ; or a 

 native poacher fired at a deer, and the rag which he interposed 

 between his powder and ball was fanned into a blaze as it left the 

 gun, and the forest was on fire before he had time to make away 

 with his deer. 



Over 500 square miles of forest are under fire-protective rules, 

 and costs up to date have been limited to about £2 per square 

 mile ; and although success is by no means general, the possibility 

 of excluding fires has been so far practically demonstrated as to 

 encourage to fresh efforts. 



IV. — Future Prospects of the Indian Forests. 



In laying bare the fact (presumption only in some cases) that 

 the deodar, the sal, and the teak, the three principal timbers of 

 India, are being annually exploited in quantities in excess of the 

 permanent capacities of the forests, I am actuated by no captious 

 spirit, nor with any desire to find fault with the forest administra- 

 tion. On the contrary, while admitting the full economic value 

 of the axiom, that the annual increment is the true measure of 

 material for exploitation, I am utterly opposed to the view, that 

 as long as we have the needful timbers in the forests, railways or 

 other important public works should be delayed in their execution 

 for want of timber. There are many points to be considered in 

 connection with the Indian forests, which will not readily suggest 

 themselves to foresters accustomed to deal with forests that have 

 long been under systematic management, as for instance the want 

 of due proportion of age classes. 



This want of just proportion may often result in our cutting 

 towards a gap — idesh — a period at which we must either cease 

 felling or reduce the age limit, even while our fellings are well 

 within the limits of the annual increment. In many cases we are 

 doing this in forests which, having been deprived of all their 

 mature timber, will require only to be laid up for twenty or 

 thirty years to be in a position to yield a permanent supply in 

 excess of the present drain on them. This is of course when the 

 final age class is below its just proportion. Even where the final 

 age class is in excess, it must be remembered that fully mature 

 timber makes little increment, while to fell it under proper pro- 

 vision for reproduction would be to raise the annual increment of 

 the forest ; and although it might not be generally desirable to 



