State Forests. 389 



the basis upon which the rights of forest property were 

 to be settled. These acts divide the forests into three 

 classes, namely, those in which the right of the State 

 is absolute; those in which the State has property 

 rights, but which are burdened with prescriptive or 

 granted rights of user; and those which are private 

 property, but on which the State reserves the right 

 to cut certain kinds of trees for government use, Teak, 

 Sandalwood, and in some parts Deodar, these being 

 considered "royal trees." The forest act being 

 throughout applicable only at the choice and under 

 the construction of the provincial governments, modi- 

 fied acts, applicable to different parts of the Empire, 

 and different in details, were passed from time to time, 

 and many different local rules were issued by the pro- 

 vincial governments, but all agree in fixing one definite 

 policy, namely declaration or demarcation of govern- 

 ment forests, after inquiry into all existing rights, 

 and division of the declared government forests into 

 three classes, reserves or permanent state forests, 

 protected forests, and unclassed, the latter two still 

 open to change in ownership, and adjustment in 

 rights of user, etc. 



The absolute and relative areas of government pro- 

 perty, therefore, are continuously changing. In 1900 

 the reserve forests comprised 81,400 square miles, or 

 8.6% of the total territory controlled by the British 

 government; the protected forest 8800 square miles, 

 and the demarcated but unclassified area, 117,000 

 square miles. These figures had, in 1904, changed to 

 91,567 for permanent reserves (58 million acres), 

 9865 for protected, and 131,269 for unclassed, showing 



