112 C. A. SCHENCK. 



After the Spanish War, the United States came in possession, 

 in the Philippine Islands, of some 47 million acres of tropical 

 woodlands. In 1907, the Philippine Bureau of Forestry reports 

 that, within this acreage, 40,000 square miles (or approxim- 

 ately 25 million acres) of woodlands are stocked with valuable 

 timber. 



To begin with, the Philippine forests were managed under the 

 auspices of the War Department: Capt. G. P. Ahern being 

 placed at the head of forestry in the Philippines. 



The "Philippines Forest Act," of May 7th. 1Q04, provides 

 that the public forests shall be administered for the protection 

 of the public interests, and for their self-perpetuation by wise 

 use ; that the public forests shall include all public lands covered 

 with trees of any age or size ; that special forest reserves may 

 be set apart from the public lands by proclamation of the civil 

 governor, and that such reserves shall not be entered or sold ; 

 that the timber of the forests can be sold at fixed prices under 

 regulations prescribed by the Bureau of Forestry ; and that the 

 boundary lines of the forests and of the forest reserves shall 

 be demarcated by the Public Survey upon request of the Bureau 

 of Forestry. 



One of the most difficult problems in Philippine forestry is 

 the irregular sort of squatting known as "caingin." 



The "Philippines Reorganization Act," of October 26th. 1905, 

 provided for the consolidation of several Government bureaus 

 in the Islands; and placed the Bureau of Forestry in charge of 

 a "Director of Forestry." The division of forest inspection in the 

 Bureau was abolished at that time ; and all fiscal matters connected 

 with the Philippine forests were transferred to the Philippine 

 Bureau of Internal Revenue. 



The transfer made possible the abandonment of some of the 

 56 forest stations existing within the ten forest districts of the 

 Philippines prior to 1906. 



The Philippine Bureau of Forestry is placed under the Secretary 

 of the Interior. 



Residents of the Philippines, under a general order of 1905, 

 were allowed to utilise, free of charge and without licence for 

 five -years, any and all forest products, except trees of the so- 



