Timbers. 



34 



[January, 1912. 



Insects and Diseases. 

 The only insect dangerous to Coffea 

 robusta that has been noticed so far is 

 Xyleborus coffece, Wurth, which bores 

 holes in the branches ; the damage from 

 this is lessened by topping the tree and 

 encouraging the formation of secondary 

 branches. The most serious diseases is 

 caused by Corticium javanicum (see 

 Agricultural News, Vol. IX-, pp. 286, 

 318, 334, 383, and 414). In the treatment 

 for this, it is advised that the trees be 

 cut down, and the sucker which arises 



be topped and allowed to take the place 

 of the old plant. Frequent and thorough 

 examination should be conducted for 

 the detection of corticium. Lastly, 

 Coffea robusta is only slightly attacked 

 by Hemeleia vastatrix, and the root 

 disease which is so serious in regard to 

 Para rubber is never found on the living 

 roots of the coffee, so that there appears 

 to be no fear of an increase in the 

 amount of this disease in Para rubber 

 through the intercalary cultivation of 

 Coffea robusta. 



TIMBERS. 



THE FORESTS OF THE EMPIRE. 



(From the Indian Forester, Vol. 

 XXXVII., No. 12. December, 1911.) 

 The increasing interest taken in most 

 civilised countries in questions of forest 

 conservation is a notable proof of the 

 growth of wisdom in the utilisation of 

 the world's resources. For centuries 

 mankind was prone to regard forests 

 mainly as arenas for wholesale and 

 often wanton destruction. The forests 

 were, as the Siberian peasants still say, 

 " the gift of God," to be used or wasted 

 without let or hindrance. Their effect 

 upon rainfall and temperature, their 

 value in preventing the denudation of 

 soil, the large part they play in the 

 control of rivers and the preservation 

 of moisture were factors either not 

 understood or disregarded. Happily 

 most Governments are not recognising 

 that forests are valuable assets, both by 

 reason of the revenue they produce and 

 the direct and indirect benefits they 

 confer. The steady growth of checks 

 upon the reckless exploitation of forests 

 is a wholesome sign. Germany led the 

 way in scientific forestry, and her 

 splendid woodlands, now a possession of 

 enormous value, have been to a large 

 extent under* State control for a 

 hundred years. Austria-Hungary has 

 long realised the importance of her 

 forests to agriculture, particularly in the 

 Alpine provinces, and has developed an 

 efficient forestry system. France has 

 not only carried out large works of 

 afforestation on waste lands, but has 

 exemplifed the close interdependence of 

 forest and water-supply in the official 

 title of her Forest Department. The 

 vast forests of Russia are slowly coming 

 under scientific control. In the centre 

 and south of Russia stringent measures 

 of regulation have been introduced, 

 though the huge timber areas in the 



north are still almost without State care. 

 In Southern Siberia the process of 

 forest extermination is now largely 

 supervised, and in Central Asia the very 

 special value of the mountain forests as 

 "preservers and distributors of rain" 

 receives constant official attention. 

 Norway and Sweden have both begun to 

 appreciate the fact that their valuable 

 forests are not meant solely for destruc- 

 tion. The United States, already con- 

 suming three times as much timber as 

 the country annually produces, is turning 

 with enthusiasm to problems of practical 

 forestry. It is curious, and not a little 

 regretable, that, while so much activity 

 is visible in other lands, the forests of 

 the British Empire have hitherto 

 received comparatively scant scientific 

 treatment at the hands of the State. 

 The one shining exception is India, 

 where an admirable Forest Department 

 is doing excellent work. Canada is still 

 chiefly engrossed in production, and 

 gives little serious attention to the 

 restocking of cleared areas, although 

 her productivity must inevitably 

 diminish in time. Australia has not 

 only failed to realise the immense im- 

 portance of forest conservation, but in 

 some quarters at the antipodes the 

 question is even regarded as a matter of 

 little account. In the United Kingdom 

 the influence of forests on rainfall and 

 water-supply is fortunately a negligible 

 issue, but the economic advantages of 

 schemes of afforestation are only now 

 arousing the belated interest of the 

 authorities. 



Even in India, the earlier administra- 

 tors only drifted into tentative measures 

 of forest control almost by accident. It 

 was the possibility of using teak as an 

 alternative for oak in the construction 

 of warships which first led to attempts 

 to supervise the output of the forests. 

 That the forests of India had any direct 



