Through the long history of India that preceded the arrival of the Mohammedans in the 10th to 12th centuries, it appears that the forest area was only slowly encroached upon by the Hindoo civilization. Even when the invaders, nomads by habit, drove many of the native race into the jungle to eke out a precarious existence, owing to the remarkable recuperative powers of a tropical nature the impression made was not permanent. Although much forest growth was then destroyed, cleared or mutilated, changes took place only slowly. It has been claimed, that in consequence of the destruction, which was incident to the nomadic life of the Mohammedans and the shifting agriculture of the aborigines, climatic changes were produced, but the proof for this assertion has remained questionable. When in the 18th century the British entered India in rivalry with the French and other European nations, it was, of course, only for purposes of exploitation, and for a long time after the British had attained the ascendancy and had subjected most of the territory now ruled by them, not much concern was had about the forests; they furnished but small values, excepting in one particular, namely supplies of Teak for naval purposes. In the beginning of the 19th century the Government became concerned regarding these supplies, which under the rough exploitation threatened to become exhausted. The first step towards securing some conservative management dates back to 1806, when Captain Watson was sent to India as Conservator of Forests, to look after the interests of the East India Company in this direction. His inability to compromise with those who had secured timber privileges led to his removal and an abandonment of the office, in 1823. Ineffective, sporadic efforts at administration by the provincial governments then followed. In 1839-40, the government of the Bombay Presidency stopped the cutting of Teak trees on government property. In 1834, M. Connolly, Collector of Malabar in the Madras Presidency, began to plant Teak on a large scale at Nilambur. In 1847, Dr. Gibson was appointed Conservator of Forests in Bombay; from 1848 to 1856, Lieutenant (now General, C. S. I.) James Michael conducted the government timber operations in the Anamalai Teak forests (Madras), and made the first recorded attempts to protect Indian forests from injury by annual jungle fires. In 1856, Dr. Hugh Cleghorn was appointed Conservator of Forests in Madras. He checked the destructive practices of temporary cultivation in the government forests of that Presidency, a measure, which at first was strongly opposed by the people, but his well-known desire to promote native interests inspired the rulers of the country with confidence, and finally his measures were successful.