General Conditions. 331 



entails difference in methods of procedure. There are, 

 to be sure, a few points of similarity: the large size 

 of country under one government, and that in the 

 hands of an English speaking race; the fact that the 

 fire scourge, as with us, but from different reasons, is 

 still the greatest problem; that there are arid regions 

 and deserts (not over 10 percent), and irrigation 

 problems and flood dangers to deal with; and finally 

 the long delay in establishing a definite forest policy. 

 Although this policy was inaugurated over 40 years ago, 

 India has not yet, and will by the nature of things, 

 not soon pass out of the first stage of development, 

 which we may confidently expect to pass through 

 much more rapidly, due to the conditions in which we 

 resemble Europe more closely. 



The greater part of India, namely 62 percent of the 

 1,766;000 square miles, is under British administration, 

 and is peopled by a subject race of nearly 240 million, 

 without a voice in their government, which is carried 

 on by a small handful of the conquerors (not 100,000 

 Englishmen are living in India), while the balance 

 of nearly 600,000 square miles with 53 million people is 

 divided among a large number of more or less inde- 

 pendent native StateS; very different in their civili- 

 zation from ours. 



Industrially, the difference will appear from the 

 statement that about 70 percent of the population is 

 engaged in agricultural pursuits, hence there is no 

 active wood market as with us, except for domestic 

 purposes, and, as the woods, like those of most tropical 

 forest, are mainly cabinet woods, even the export 

 trade is insignificant, amounting to hardly 3 million 



