FOKEST POLICY. 



INTRODUCTION. 



Most people know what a forest is, but a definition of it, which 

 suits all cases, is by no means easy to give. Manwood, in his 

 treatise on " The Lawes of the Forest," 1598, defines it as 

 follows : — 



" A forest is a certain territory of woody grounds, fruitful 



pastures, privileged for wild beasts and fowls of forest chase, 



and warren, to nest and abide in, in the safe protection 



of the King, for his princely dehght and pleasure, which 



territory of ground, so privileged, is meered and bounded 



with unremovable marks, meers and boundaries, either 



known by matter of record, or else by prescription." 



This shows that in Britain a forest was formerly an area set aside 



for the Royal chase. In modern times, when the economic 



aspects of forests came into the foreground, that definition gave 



way to others. In the early part of the nineteenth century, 



forest was defined as an area which contained wild growing trees. 



This definition is not correct, as many of the existing forests were 



artificially created. Another definition, given about the same 



time, defined a forest as " an area which has been set aside 



principally for the production of wood, and which, at any rate for 



the greater part, is covered with trees." Many areas are, however, 



classed as forest which do not contain trees, wliile others, such as 



avenues and hedgerows, bear trees and produce wood, although 



they cannot be classed as forests. 



Owing to the difficulty of drawing up a definition which suits 

 all cases, the Indian Legislature, when preparing a Forest Act for 

 India, provided merely that " the Government may declare 

 certain lands to be forest and as such be subject to the provisions 

 of the Indian Forest Law." 



