94 



forest law in 1870, it appears that the financial exigencies of the country had rendered 

 imperative the alienation of the greater part of the forests at the disposal of the State, 

 and that it was only intended to retain a limited area of State forests, mainly with the 

 view of supplying the timber required by the navy, and the forests required for this pur- 

 pose the bill proposed to declare inalienable. 



" Thus, with regard to forest matters," says Captain Walker, " it seems probable 

 that Italy will pursue a policy different from that which^as of late years been initiated 

 in most provinces of India. In those provinces we acknowledge the necessity of main- 

 taining certain areas under forest, or of clothing them with forest when they are bare ; 

 but we do not expect any satisfactory success in those attempts, unless the forests to be 

 thus maintained or created are under the entire control of the State, and we entertain no 

 serious hopes of effecting any real good by the supervision of private forests, or by any 

 general kind of control over communal forests, unless the administration or management 

 of such communal forests can be vested entirely in the hands of the public forest officers. 



" In those provinces, therefore, of the Indian Empire, to which I now refer, our 

 principal aim is, in the first place, to consolidate the State forests wherever the State has 

 suitable forest lands at its disposal ; and we hope that eventually, when the majority of 

 public forest officers shall have acquired that professional knowledge, skill, and experi- 

 cence which is necessary for a satisfactory management of forest land, that they may be 

 found competent not only to manage the State forests entrusted to their charge, but also 

 to induce large landed proprietors to follow their example in the management of their 

 own estates, and, if such should ever be found necessary and expedient, to exercise an 

 efficient supervision over private and communal forest lands ; but we think that any at- 

 tempt to exercise supervision and control over private and communal forest lands through 

 the agency of forest officers who have not actually charge of public forests entirely under 

 their own control, and who cannot point to the management of their own forests as an 

 example to be followed in the management of the private or communal forests, would lead 

 to unsatisfactory results. The further development of the general forest policy in Italy 

 will doubtless be followed with great interest by Indian foresters, and on this account it 

 appeared to me right to add the present remarks." 



It may be valuable here to notice that in this, as in other points, the practical ideas 

 of the Indian commissioner might well be applied in Canada. There is good reason to 

 fear over-denudation here ; there is also reason to believe that we shall have an interval 

 in which to takl measures for avoiding the evU. In that interval the course stated by 

 the commissioner as likely to be followed in India might, it appears to me, profitably be 

 pursued here, namely, the taking in hand by Government of any amount of forest fit for 

 the purpose, and which could be spared from the operation of the system at present pur- 

 sued, and preserving them on the European plan. This will further on be more fuUy 

 treated. 



KussiA. 



In this vast empire, where, as in the United States, we have been accustomed to 

 believe the forest is interminable, and where, in fact, the amount of woodland in the 

 northern two-thirds i? more than twice as great in proportion to its area as in the United 

 States, the Government has turned its attention energetically to the subject of forestry, 

 and has undertaken to establish by regulation conservative measures. As yet, private 

 persons and establishments owning forests enjoy the absolute right to cut and clear at 

 will. But these do not own nearly so much as the Government, which has about three 

 hundred and thirty million acres of woods j the others holding about one hundred and 

 fifty. About forty per cent, of the country (Russia in Europe) is timbered. I must re- 

 mark that this amount, after so long an occupation, shows that the timber has been taken 



