General Conditions. 321 
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 
