TRANSACTIONS OF SECTION E. 



715 



In order to secure the forests from over-fellino:, aud to ensure that all 

 work done may tend towards the production of the larg-est quantity of wood of 

 the kind most desired, working plans are a necessity; and considerable progress 

 has been made in their preparation. During the drj^- weather the forests l^ecome 

 extremely inflammable, aud vast areas have been annually burnt over from time 

 immemorial, with the result that the crop is reduced to the poorest possible 

 condition, or enth'ely destroyed. Measures have been taken to meet this great 

 evil, and large areas are now successfally protected. 



The controlUng staff' of the Forest Department is trained in England, but the 

 candidates follow a course of practical instruction in Continental State forests. 

 The native executive officers are trained at the Imperial Forest School at Dehra 

 Dun. 



What has been done could not have been accomplished by private enterprise. 

 The Government has set an example which has been followed by several of the 

 more important Native States. Much more remains to be done, but forest con- 

 servancy in India has reached a stage at which its steady progress cannot be 

 arrested. 



4. A Scheme of Geogra2)hical Classification. 

 By Hugh Egbert Mill, D.Sc, F.R.S.E. 



A classification of any branch of knowledge is necessary for the purpose of 

 recording the several contributions of specialists, and the following scheme of 

 geogTaphical classification has been worked out practically during the elaboration 

 of a subject catalogue of geographical literature. The essential primary' division 

 is into general and special geography. The former, which might equally well be 

 termed pure or abstract geography, includes all general considerations which do not 

 depend upon particidar places; the latter reduces itself to an index of positions. 

 It would be served most completely by employing latitudes and longitudes ; but 

 practically political subdivisions must be used. 



The first principle in the classification of each great division is to group together 

 facts of approximately the same order ; thus, e.g., we might take the continent as the 

 first order of classification in the second division, the country as the second, and 

 the province and county as the third and fourth. It would be fatal to the logical 

 completeness of any scheme to mix up the three orders in one category. The 

 number of orders to be adopted would depend to some extent on the detail 

 required, but practically four would suffice, and in many cases three. A con- 

 venient notation would facilitate classification, and one is suggested in the paper 

 whereby the various orders are distinguished by letters of diflerent type and by 

 numerals. 



Outline of Classification. 



Geogeapht, Gbneeal. 



Mathematical Geogeapht in gene- 

 ral : — 



Geodesy. 



Surveying. 



Cartography. 



Globes and models. 



Geographical instruments. 

 Physical Geography in general : — 



Geomorphology. 



Mountains in general. 



Earthquakes. 



Glaciers. 



Lakes. 



Eivers. 



[To the second order.] 



Climatology. 



Oceanography. 

 Bio-GEOGEAri£T in general: — 



Distribution of plants. 



Distribution of animals. 

 Anthropo-Geogeaphy in general : 



Ethnography. 



Historical geography. 



Political geography. 



Commercial geographj-. 



Geographical education. 



Place names. 



Geographers' biographies. 



