THE WOfeK 0& TBE FOREST bEtARTMENT IN INDIA. 59 



produced in India. The solution to the difficulty lies in 

 producing coal-tar creosote locally; were this undertaken, 

 there can be no doubt that not only would an entirely new 

 industry spring up but also the sleeper requirements of the rail- 

 ways would be far more easily satisfied. 



In reviewing the position of affairs in regard to the treat- 

 ment of timber, in connection both with sleeper work and with 

 constructional timber, there can be no doubt that India is far 

 behind most civilized countries. On the other hand the possi- 

 bilities are great, for suitable timber is available in large quant- 

 ities, which after treatment can be successfully employed for 

 sleepers and constructional work, while the growing scarcity and 

 ever increasing rates paid for the better classes of constructional 

 timber all point to the utilization of our auxiliary species, which 

 after careful seasoning and treatment might well take the place 

 of timbers now more commonly in use. Another aspect of the 

 position which deserves attention is that relating to the growing 

 demand for timber due to increase of population and higher 

 civilization. Owing largely to the inaccessibility of many of our 

 important forest tracts this can be barely met by our present 

 supplies and has to be augmented by imports, so that every 

 effort should be made to husband resources. There can be no 

 doubt that the treatment of timber to make it more durable is a 

 matter which deserves more serious consideration than it re- 

 ceives at present. 



(5) The dry distillation of wood. 



The manufacture of charcoal is as old an industry as 

 civilisation, though even now the methods usually employed 

 involve the loss of all the volatile products given out during its 

 preparation. A stage further than simple charocal-making, is 

 found in the wood-tar industry of Sweden and the United States 

 of America, where the wood is burnt in masonry kilns. The 

 tar as it trickles from the burning wood is collected in a channel 

 at the bottom of the kiln and so passes out through a pipe to a 

 collecting vessel. In this process, however, only two out of many 

 valuable products are recovered. 



The modem dry distillation plant is almost perfect. It 

 consists of a system of retorts which are heated by coal and wood 



