l8o pROCEEDINCxS OF THK 



It is cause for congratulation that at every step the 

 Civil Commission has been in thorough sympathy with 

 a rational forest policy. This is further shown by the 

 public land act (926), which provides that public wood- 

 lands shall not be entered, sold, or leased until a certi- 

 ficate is received from the Bureau of Forestry that the 

 land is more valuable for agricultural than for forest 

 purposes. The removal of valuable timber from leased 

 land is also subject to the regulations of this Bureau. 



In order to take forest products from public lands, 

 a person should make application to the nearest forest 

 station for a license. If the license is for a small 

 amount, the same may be granted by the local forest 

 officer; if for a large amount, the application is for- 

 warded to the Manila office, with remarks by the local 

 forest officer. These licenses are usually granted in 

 July of each year, and are usually for a period of one 

 year. In cases where a company may desire to operate 

 on a large area, a license agreement may be entered 

 into for a period not to exceed 20 years, whereby the 

 company secures an exclusive privilege to operate over 

 the territory desired for the period stated. Before 

 entering into this agreement, the officials of the Bureau 

 make a careful examination of the territory desired, 

 noting the character of the forest, facilities for logging, 

 proximity of settlements, and also report just what 

 logging operations are being conducted in this vicinity 

 by the local residents. The officials of the Bureau will 

 cooperate with representatives of any company desir- 

 ing to secure data concerning the amount and value of 

 forest products in any particular region where opera- 

 tions are contemplated. No charge is made by the 

 Bureau for the examination, nor for the license 

 granted. 



The charges are made on the timber after felling. 



