64 THE WORK OF THE FOREST DEPARTMENT IN INDIA. 



10. Future Prospects and Requirements. 



The past work of the Forest Department has already borne 

 fruit, not only in a steady rise of revenue but also in the im- 

 proved condition of the forests resulting from careful protection 

 and tending. Much has been done in the way of opening up 

 the forests to regular exploitation; but there is still room 

 for enormous development in this respect, for there are 

 extensive areas of valuable forest as yet almost untouched, and 

 these represent a vast capital locked up and not only lying idle 

 but even deteriorating. Perhaps the two most pressing needs at 

 present are the introduction of improved silvicultural systems 

 and the extension of roads and other export works to facilitate 

 and cheapen extraction. These two must proceed simultan- 

 eously, since they are inter-dependent, for it is obvious that 

 timber and other produce can be extracted far more economically 

 if it is available in large quantities within a limited radius 

 than if it is scattered in small quantities over large tracts of 

 country ; indeed this question must often decide whether 

 extraction is possible or not. Silviculture teaches us how to 

 effect this concentration and is therefore the bed-rock on which 

 future results, financial and otherwise, must rest ; it is of little 

 avail to seek and develop new markets for timbers and other 

 products if these cannot be produced in regular and sufficient 

 quantities and extracted at a reasonable cost. 



The matter primarily resolves itself into one of an adequate 

 staff, on the one hand of forest officers endowed with a thorough 

 scientific training, and on the other of engineers competent to 

 deal with the many difficult problems of extraction which are 

 awaiting solution. The necessity for a staff of scientifically 

 trained forest officers has long been recognised, but the 

 numerical strength of this staff can hardly be said to have al- 

 ways kept pace with the ever increasing work entailed in the 

 development and more intensive management of the forests. The 

 question of a staff of forest engineers is, however, only now 

 beginning to receive attention. A further matter which will 

 require consideration in the near future is whether the business 

 of marketing forest produce should continue to be entrusted 

 entirely to the ordinary staff of the Department or whether a 

 special agency should not be organized for this purpose, 



