70

S11223 58

First Published in 1926

Made and printed in Great Britain at The Mayflower Press, Plymouth, William Brendon & Son, Ltd.

I

PREFACE

N completing the third volume of this history of the Forests of India, a labour of the past seven years is

brought to a conclusion for the time being. It is in the

nature of things, perhaps, that no historian can rest entirely satisfied with the results of the work achieved. He will have read so deeply and gone to so many sources for his information that he remains fully conscious of the mass of detail which has inevitably had to be rigidly curtailed or omitted. As an officer in active service during a portion of the period dealt with in this volume I was aware of the gradual progress which was taking place in the administration of the forests. Owing to the kindness of the Government of India, through the representations of Sir Peter Clutterbuck, C.I.E., C.B.E., Inspector-General of Forests, in inviting me to revisit the forests, and in generously defraying a part of the expense involved, I was able to make personal acquaintance with the very great progress in scientific forest administration which has taken place during the past decade and a half. The tour was undertaken in the early months of 1925, and my sincere thanks are due to Senior Officers of the Central Government, Heads of Provincial Administrations, their Secretariats, and to all ranks of the Forest Department who accompanied me out in the great forests of the country. It is due to that tour, and the unwearied assistance I have received, that it has been possible to write this volume. The record, however inadequate, will, I believe, show that in certain aspects of its work the Indian Service can take rank with some of the most highly organized Forest Services in Europe. If the progress of the past few years is maintained at its high level of efficiency, and a highly trained staff will improve upon it, the value of her

forests to India as a whole, both economic and financial, will become increasingly important.

In coming back to the Forests after fifteen years' absence with, so to speak, a fresh outlook, I have perhaps occasionally regarded matters from a different viewpoint to that of the officer who has passed his service in the country. Whilst this has been a source of interest to myself, it may not prove of disservice to my colleagues in India.

In previous volumes I have drawn attention to the value of this history to officers serving in the Forestry Services under the Colonial Office. As a result of my recent tour and my study of the magnificent Research Institute at Dehra Dun, I have little hesitation in saying that a visit to certain Indian Forest Divisions with a period of study at the Institute will become, has become, a necessity for the officers of these Services if a rapid and efficient progress is desired. Once trained, and with a few years' service over their heads, India should be the goal for which the greater percentage of our Colonial Service Forest Officers should aim for a course of further training and study.

At the end of this volume I have expressed my special acknowledgments to those officers whom I met in India or who kindly prepared special memoranda for me. To Sir Peter Clutterbuck my thanks are due for the unremitting attention and kindness which he has displayed in supplying me with records, memoranda, statistics, and his great assistance in arranging my tour in India. My acknowledgments are also due to Mr. J. W. Bhore, C.I.E., C.B.E., Secretary, Education, Health and Lands Branch; Sir Clement Hindley, Chairman of the Railway Board; Mr. W. P. Sangster, C.S.I., C.I.E., Head of the Punjab Irrigation Branch; and Mr. W. F. Perree, C.I.E., late President of the Forest Research Institute, Dehra Dun.

For the many beautiful photographs I have to thank Messrs. A. Rodger, O.B.E., President of the Forest Research Institute; H. R. Blanford, O.B.E.; H. M. Glover, E. A. Smythies,