516 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [Feb. 1, 1094. 
control over all their work, and under whose direction 
tlie pnpils should attend sach other lectures in the 
Univejsity ua might be deeD:)ed advisable. 
On the whole if Cooper's Hill is abolished, and the 
Continental training cannot be reverted to, I think 
that the University course, supplemented by at least 
a year's practical work in the forests of Germany or 
France will furnish the Indian Forest Service with a, 
body of men worthy to carry on the excellent work of 
those who have gone before them. I hope, however, 
that Cooper's Hill may still be allowed to continue its 
useful existence and to supply the Indian Forest 
Service with the high class of trained men that it has 
done in the past. 
Geokge r. Pearson, Colonel, 
Formerl.T Offg. Inspector- General of Forests 
in India and in chsrge of pupils at Nancy. 
— Indian Foresttr. 
___ 0. 
THE YIELD OF MADRAS FORESTS. 
In 1882 Sir Dietrich Brandis estimated that the 
forest revenue of the Madras Presidency should 
amount to Es. 9,00,000, and based his proposals for 
establishment and other expenditure on this figure, so 
that while the forests yielded no net revenue, neither 
were ihey a charge on Government. Within twenty 
years the forest levenue has risen to Rs. 25,00,000 »nd 
"the expenditure to Es. 17,60,000; that is to say, that 
the revenue has nearly trebled, while the expenditure 
has not quite doubled, and the Government now 
obtains a net revenue of Es, 7,50,000 from a depart- 
ment which was not remunerative twenty years ago. 
"Will the forest revenue continue to expand in future, 
it so at what rate ; and what should be the eventual 
annual yield in hard cash of the State forests ? 
AEEA OP THE FORESTS. 
The area of the forests under the direct control o' 
the Department, i.e., reserved forests, reserved lands 
and topes, amounted to 19,657 square miles on the 30th 
June, 1902, and as the work of selection of areas for 
reservation is approaching completion, no great 
increase in area is probable, and the ultimate forest 
area may be put down as 20,000 square miles. 
The unreserved and unoccupied area exceeds 51, COO 
square miles, but this includes all land not shown as 
occupied in the village registers ; river beds, tank beds, 
roads, village-sites, lands liable to spasmodic cultiva- 
tion at intervals of a few years, swamps, marshes, 
sand dunes, etc., as well as unreserved forest areas are 
clubbed together under this one head in the annual 
returns, and it is impossible to' say what is the actual 
area of unreserved forest over which the Department 
exercises a limited control, and from which it derires 
revenue ; equally impossible is it to discover how much 
forest revenue is derived from unreserved lands, though 
it undoubtedly amounts to a large sum in several 
districts in which the produce of fiuit tiees, the bark 
of the tangedu (Cassia auriculata) and other D;inor 
products are sold annually by auction, in addition to 
which permits are issued for certain classes of trees, 
and the value of all trees on lands taken up for culti- 
vation helps to swell the miscellaneous forest revenue 
cot derived from the areas under the special charge of 
the Department. No calculations based on the gross 
forest revenue could be applied to the actual reserved 
area, and a statement that the yield of the State 
250. OOO ., 
fore8ls= — -— -=R3. 125 per square mile would be far 
from correct. We must therefore turn to the forests 
themselves and endeavour to show what would be the 
Value of thtir yield if they were properly protected 
and markets could be found for their annual yield. To 
arrive at uuythiijg like a correct figure, the forests 
would have to be divided iato classes, the annual yield 
in material of each class being treated separately. 
Sir Dietrich Brandie, after iuspecting many of the 
forests of (he Presidency, estimated the growth in the 
poorest of the poor forests of Cuddapah at one-fifth 
ton per- acre per annum ; the Nellore casuaiina pUnt 
tations yield from 40 to 50 tons at ten years of age, or 
say, four tons per acre per annum ; the Inxurian 
growth of the Western Ghats must average quite one 
ton, and the great value of sandal wood places it in a 
class by itself, while bamboos with their rapid repro- 
duction raise the average yield of many otherwise 
poor forests; but, on the other hand, petty thefts, 
organised thefts and fires sadly diminish the annual 
growth which Government can hope to sell or to store 
up for the improvement of its forest estate. 
A very rough division of the State forests gives one- 
third unproductive, one-third productive and ohe-thiid 
remunerative ; the actual unproductive area is prob- 
ably less than one-third, but in generalising it is safer 
to under- than .to over-estimate the sources of income. 
The productive area is principally deciduous forest 
yielding fuel and small timber, and the remunerative 
area includes casuarina plantations, sandal wood areas 
and high timber forests. 
UNPRODUCTIVE rOBESTS. 
Under unproductive forests are included all the 
poorest forests, in which the annual growth is estimated 
at less than one-fourth ton per acre per annum ; such 
areas are mostly very badly stocked and are burnt 
over annually ; to improve thtm and convert them into 
productive forests would necessitate a long period of 
rigorous closure and fire-proteotion, aided in many 
instances by artificial reproduction. But absolute 
closure is impossible on account of the demand for 
pasturage for the cattle of neighbouring villages ; this 
with the sale of thatching grass and pofsibly a small 
income from the sale of fuel is the only revenue which 
can be expected until these areas are re-afibrested, and 
the average annual revenue may be put down at six 
pies per acre or Rs. 1,33,000 altogether, 
PRODUCTIVE FORESTS. 
In the productive forests the annual growth is not 
less than one-fourth ton per acre per annum, and 
taking this minimum as an average in order to eir on 
the safe side, and further assuming that the gross value 
of the wood does not exceed Es. 2 per ton (a very 
moderate estimate,) the annual yield would amoaut 
to eight annas per acre or Rs. 21,33,000, to which must 
be added grazing at 6 pies per acre or Rs. 1,33,000 and 
minor produce at say 1 pie per acre, or Rs. 22,000; in 
all Es. 22,88,000. 
THE PRODUCE OF REKUNEKATIVE FORESTS. 
In the remunerative forests the province varies con' 
siderably ; teak and rosewood are worth up to Rs. 160 
per ton (gross), sandal wood realises as much as Rs. 450 
to Rs. 500 per ton ; the value of casuarina is much 
lower, but the yield per acre is considerable, and in 
none of the forests of thid class would the gross 
annual yield be less than Rs. 5 per acre if all the 
timber could be brought to market ; at present this is 
impossible owing to want of roads, timber slides, 
tramways, etc., but as this estimate is based on the 
assumption that in due course all snch necessaries will 
exists, Bs. 5 per acre is taken as the average yield ; 
this gives the rather astonishing figure of Bs. 
2,13,33,000. This large figure only means after all 
that in a fully stocked timber forest, worked on a 
revolution of 120 years, each acre should, on attaining 
maturity, contain timber worth (gross) Rs. 600; a low 
estimate of the crop on such an area would be 30 trees 
of two feet diameter and 40 feet bole, which would 
yield over 3,000 feet of timber ; the above estimate 
therefore works out to Rs. 0-3-2 per cubic feet, which 
it must be admitted is very low, especially as it re- 
presents the gross value of the wood at; the nearest 
market. 
Add now Rs. 1,33,CG0 for grazing, for although these 
forests are richer than the preceding classes they 
are not more suitable for grazing, and Rs. 1,33,0W 
for minor prodacei aa it is in these forests^that (hQ 
