( 47A ) 



above ife was pointed out that afforestation was a branch of a 

 soienoe of which officers in the Forest department had little 

 experience ; and it was definitely stated that, even though the 

 operations might extend so far as to necessitate the creation of a 

 afforestation branch of the department, it was not the intention of 

 Government that the department should, as a general rule, manage 

 the forests which local bodies or zamindars might establish but 

 rather that it should advise the owners in the methods of manage- 

 ment when asked to do so. It has been suggested that at the 

 present juncture it is useless to expect private owners themselves 

 to do anything towards developing their waste land and therefore 

 unless Government undertakes direct action for the purpose of 

 afforestation no advance will be made. With the example of the 

 Fisher forest before him, however, Sir James Meston cannot 

 accept this statement of the position, and he hopes that persuasive 

 treatment and the object lessons provided by successful Government 

 plantations will induce many other individuals or local bodies to 

 follow the example of the Btawah zamindars In sanctioning the 

 formation of the Etawah forest division, the main object of which 

 is to manage under agreement the waste lands of the local land- 

 holders, His Honour had no intention of departing from this 

 general principle. The action taken in Etawah was taken for 

 special reasons, partly in order to provide exemplary plantations 

 on a large scale, partly in order to check the devastating erosion 

 which is continuous in the Jumna-Chambal tracts of the district 

 and partly to develop the industry of grazing which is specially 

 suited for this backward tract of country. As regards the general 

 policy of the afforestation division however His Honour adheres 

 to the principle that direct action is not desirable. It must not be 

 overlooked that the question of afforestation is largely one of 

 economic conditions. From the first it was clear that with ample 

 staff and money, trees could be grown almost anywhere except 

 perhaps on bare rock. Ihe object of the afforestation officers must 

 be not to confirm what is already known but to ascertain whether, 

 in existing economic conditions or in the near future it is possible 

 to establish fuel and fodder reserves which will cover their cost 

 either directly or indirectly. The policy of Government at first 

 must be to maintain experimental plots so as to obtain the requisite 

 sylvicultural or other experience, to undertake a few reserves in 

 suitable situations as examples to the people, and finally to search out 

 those areas where the sentiment of the landholders, the existence 

 of a demand for grass or fodder and other conditions are favourable 

 to the formation of reserves. In those areas attention should be 

 given to enlisting the sympathies of the people and to inducing 



