by timber merchants in order to supply the Government's requirements and by the people carrying on on the lines which had been in force for centuries; but it will be shown that towards the end of the period a full realization of the value of the forest estate had been come to by the Secretary of State and the Government of India. It may be added that this recognition of the value of the forests was to no slight extent due to the work and warnings of a small number of officials chiefly of the Medical Service; but also, in some notable instances, Civil and Military Members of the Civil and Political Services who at various times during the period in question had taken particular interest in the forests of the country. Whilst engaged upon the History I have become impressed with the fact that this work will prove not only of value to India, but to the younger forestry services under the Colonial Office. Many of these are in the position with which India was faced half a century ago. Shifting cultivation is practised over extensive areas; the firing of the forests and unchecked grazing are still rife; methods of exploiting the forests by timber merchants or the local population are still far from being organised on up-to-date lines, and so forth. A study of how these practices were gradually checked and order brought into the forestry estate in the different Provinces throughout India (and the steps taken were by no means the same in each) should prove of considerable value to the Colonial Forest Services. In addition to an index I have added a short glossary of the Indian words, made use of in old reports, etc., consulted, where quoted in the text. I would wish to offer my thanks for the permission so kindly conceded me by the Secretary of State for India and the Government of India to make use of such records and reports as I required. My thanks are also due to the officials at the India Office, notably Mr William Foster, C.I.E., Registrar and Superintendent of Records, and to the officials in India who have kindly made accessible to me old records and returns. The illustrations call for special mention. It seemed desirable that these should be as representative as possible of the period dealt with in this volume. To this end I have reproduced a few from Cleghorn's Forests and Gardens of Southern India. For others I am indebted to some old albums in the India Office Library. The illustration of Dr. Hooker is a reproduction of a portrait hanging on a wall at the India Office. Of the remainder a few are my own, and the rest are from the Collection at the Research Institute at Dehra Dun, kindly made available by Mr. W. F. Perree, C.I.E., President, with the permission of the Government of India. Finally, I would also wish to thank my friend, Sir Sainthill Eardley Wilmot, K.C.I.E., who kindly read through the proofs, and Mr. J. S. Gamble, C.I.E., F.R.S., for information given me which facilitated my work. E. P. STEBBING THE UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH October, 1921 |