Page:Indian Journal of Economics Volume 2.djvu/669

 IIDIAI FUEL PROBLEM 651 an average of 280 million cubic feet per year during the qninquennium ending with 1914-15, as compared to an average of B8 million cubic feet per year, for the to 1904-5. This has led to the con- period 1900-1 sideration of fire-wood joint-products in timber extraction, whose sale the margin of profitable and charcoal--the inevitable as articles by timber exploita- tion might be extended. As contrasted with that of wood-hel supply, the supply of timber has attracted more.. attention from Forest Ocers though the Indus- trial Commission is with the manner in in India's largest Forest Burma. ("Re. pozt"l81.) apparently not [quite satisfi6d which even this has been done, asset--vz., the forests of The problem of timber supply has in recent years become grave in Europe and America and it is just that this is what has stimulated the Departments. paper Timber had been the West as it is in possible tion of our Forest Mr. R. S. Pearson read a Science Congress on India's question of wood-fuel countries of be the case if had before Supplies. as urgent atten- In January last the Indian If. the in the India--this would widespread and corn- It is noteworthy that the fuel resources of .be found in the recent Report a source of power has received petent attention in the West. even the luminous remarks on India, which are to they no access to other fuels of a more compact and more efficient character such as coal, coke, and oil--the fire-wood problem would have already bulked large in the Forest and Econo- mic literature o! India as well as of Europe. The importance of fuel supplies in Ind,an Economy should not need any special demonstration. Industrial countries regard the question of fuel supply as one of power. And as civilisation, in Baron Liebig's happy phrase, means economy of power, fuel considered as