14 FOREST LIFE AND SPORT IN INDIA 
many drives through the forest; but even if this 
operation is successful, the work is not yet over, and 
it may be still the labour of days to extinguish the 
timber smouldering on the burnt area, which may 
at any time, in the high winds, again cause confla- 
grations to break out in the area that has been 
saved. Some 4,500 fires are reported yearly in the 
‘Indian forests, and it is certain that each of these 
caused anguish and” trepidation to one or more 
' Forest Officers ; and thus the dry season is often a 
period of mental and physical strain that is liable to 
undermine both health and energy in a most marked 
degree. 
The executive Forest Officer is therefore not a 
planter of trees by profession ; he is rather the land- 
agent for a vast estate that is chiefly concerned with 
forestry. If his only accomplishment is a knowledge 
of silviculture, he cannot efficiently carry out the 
duties entrusted to him. He requires besides some 
knowledge of botany, and of chemistry and zoology; 
he must be an engineer to align his roads and de- 
sign and build his bridges and houses; he must be 
familiar with the timber and fuel trade, and pos- 
sess commercial information with regard to other 
products of the forest, such as lac, myrabolams, wax, 
hides, spices, dyes, and roots; he must be ready to 
afford facilities for railway construction, and know 
all about the rafting, sledging, and sliding of timber; 
he must be an adept at the vernacular languages, 
and be able to influence the people ; he may, indeed, 
be a magistrate, and be authorized to punish their 
offences; and if to these accomplishments he can 
add some hobby which has its foundation in a love 
