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MEMORANDUM RE ECONOMIC POSSIBILITIES OF
FORESTRY IN HONG KONG.
In view of the note of the Director, Imperial
Forestry Institute to the Secretary of State for the
Colonies enclosed with the Secretary of State's despatch No.6 of 6th January, 1939, it is considered that a paper on the subject generally should help in arriving at a decision on the proposal to investigate the economic possibilities
of Forestry in Hong Kong by an officer of the Malayan
Forestry Service. This paper is divided into the following heads: (1) Discussion of the Director, Imperial Forestry Institute's Report (2) Statement re Forestry in Hong Kong and (3) Value of an Independent Survey.
1. Discussion of the Director. Imperial Forestry Institute's
Report.
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The Report can be divided into three sections
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(a) the necessity for
Section I - This deals with
data from which to judge the present condition of
Forestry in Hong Kong. In regard to this, Standard
Forms are being used in the Departmental Annual Report for 1938 (in so far as they apply) and there-
fore, this point is being met. (b) the absence of
local knowledge. It is considered that this is the
most important thing in any assessment of local
forestry possibilities, as the conditions of forestry
in Hong Kong are so much different from those in other
Colonies that no useful opinion could be formed
without it, in other words the economics of Hong Kong
forestry will be difficult to measure by the yardstick
of other Colonies, owing to its peculiarly local
conditions.
Section II
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Deals with (a) various details affecting
matters generally. These need not be discussed here
as they are dealt with in a later section of this