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The cabinets in which these wood specimens are to he kept may of course be constructed 

 variously aucording to taste, but they should always be 2J or 3 feet deep, and be made so that 

 they can be closed when not in use. Woods cannot be poisoned like plants without destroy- 

 ing their appearance, and, therefore, special arrangements are required to prevent not only 

 cockroaches and other insects from destroying the labels, but also to prevent wood boring 

 beetles from attacking the specimens themselves. To do this effectually, I would recommeud 

 camphor being kept in an open bottle with a narrow mouth, so as to prevent its too rapid volati- 

 zation. To prevent white ants from attacking the specimens, poisoned pasteboards may be 

 placed under the legs of the cabinet the boards being an inch broader than the legs them- 

 selves. I have found this to be the only means by which I have been able effectually 

 to keep out these destructive insects. The pieces of pnstebo:ird, of a coarse and thick consis- 

 tence, should be soaked for a whole night in a powerful solution of corrosive sublimate, or 

 better still in arsenic (say about a table spoon full to a tumbler full of spirits of wine). They 

 must also be whipped occasionally to remove the dust that may accumulate on thera. 

 Another method would be to place a zinc-plate at the bottom of the case, with thick project- 

 ing, rounded and polished edges, and to have the stands of the case also of metal. 



The cost of conserving such a collection of woods, including the cabinets, would in my 

 opinion not exceed, even at the head-quarters office, Rs. 300 per annum ; but as carpenters 

 are indispensable for carrying out the work, an additional outlay for establishment would be 

 required. 



Leaves, flowers and fruits, belonging to the wood specimens, would, of course, be kept in 

 a separate cabinet, and would form the forester's herbarium. 



5. Difficulties of carrying out the above system, and some of Us direct advantages. 



Simple as the carrying out of such a scheme as that proposed in the preceding chapters, 

 would appear to be, there are certain difficulties which cannot be easily overcome. From the 

 nature of the work it is clear, that the most responsible task rests entirely with the provincial 

 heads of the Forest Department. When they are botanists, or have oidy a general know- 

 ledge of botanical matters, the work will go on smoothly, but when they are not botanists, 

 the work will, I fear, be encumbered with many difficulties which can only be gradually 

 removed by their mastering the more common trees. Proper control and instruction from 

 head-quarters will no doubt spread botanical knowledge most effectually amongst foresters in 

 the provinces. But to understand the soil-question in all its bearings is such a difficult matter, 

 that errors in this direction cannot always be avoided ; still a knowledge of its principal rudi- 

 ments may and must be expected from the forester. Hence the very basis for a correct 

 understanding of the forests of a district (the key to which would be afforded by the rational 

 forest survey) is involved in such a network of difficulties, that even a trained botanist 

 would not always find the means for unravelling them. 



On the other hand, the direct advantages to be derived from the collection and testing of 

 woods would not only be that the foresters under such a system would be obliged to make 

 themselves (althougii slowly yet steadily and progressively) acquainted with the trees in their 

 districts and with the quality of their timbers, but it would be a great assistance to the Con- 

 servators to have their local collections examined and named at the head-quarters office ; 

 while the officers at head-quarters would themselves acquire not only a more extended know- 

 ledge of the trees and timbers over the whole empire, but would be able to rely upon the results 

 attained, which at present they can hardly do. Add to this the thorough knowledge of Indian 

 timbers one may be able to acquire from the perusal of such a collection of correctly named 

 specimens, and the facility which would be afibrded to the public generally to select such 

 timbers as are most useful and best adapted for carpentry, engineering, turning, dyeing, etc., 

 and the importance of having a general collection of woods in the capital of India cannot bo 

 denied. 



The head of the Forest Department would also be enabled to exercise a strict control not 

 only over the working of the system itself, but also over the greater or lesser abilities in this 

 direction of his subordinates in the provinces, for any serious mistakes in the selection aud 

 collection of woods in one province would, in most cases, soon be detected at the head-quarters 

 office by contradictory reports from other provinces. 



Aud in addition to this there are the probable advantages which foresters may derive in 

 matters of timber plantations, after they have correctly recognised by direct experiments the 

 influence of subsoil and climate upon the quality of timber, and tiie shape of the trees them- 

 selves. They would learn to know the substrata that produce crooked or straight stems, or 

 that produce heavier or lighter timber, and could thus model the quality and shape of the trees 

 at their will. 



In England the value of such a collection of correctly named woods, especially if accom- 

 panied by a record of the results derived from the experiments made for testing their strength 

 aud quality, would soon be fully appreciated, and tiie requirements of the timber market 

 would be increased. But there is still another field open to forest industry : if we could ob- 



