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that every effort be made to gradually convert a fair percentage of the 

 forest land from its present condition into normal and more productive forest. 



Apart from the immediate gain derived from the exploitation of their 

 resources the native owner has no idea of the value of the forests to the 

 county, and is entirely ignorant of the need of doing anything to keep 

 them in perpetuity, and improving them for the benefit of future genera- 

 tions while exploiting them, therefore, as a general principle, and until 

 private owners can see the need of growing as well as cutting trees, in the 

 interests of posterity control is essential, otherwise the forests will con- 

 tinue to deteriorate in value, and either disappear altogether or become 

 overgrown chiefly with soft-wooded rapid-growing species, which always 

 spring up when felling has taken place and the canopy has been opened up, 

 and which very effectively prevents the natural regeneration of the slower 

 growing valuable timber-producing species. 



Further the valuable timber-producing tree Mvule, Chlorophora cxcclsa, 

 Bcnth, is gradually disappearing from native mailos (this is especially 

 noticeable in Kiawge), and unless exploitation is controlled, and its re- 

 generation insisted upon on mailos where it is being eploited, it must event- 

 ually cease to exist in any quantity on native estates. 



With the exception of Mvule, which has been ruthlessly cut down and 

 sold at ridiculously low prices, and which is becoming scarce in parts of 

 Buganda, the forests owned by natives have not as yet suffered excessive 

 damage from over-exploitation, and the need for control may not be apparent 

 to the casual observer as the transition stage, while being insidious, is 

 slow, but the eventual elimination of valuable species and their substitution 

 by worthless ones, or the disappearance of the forests is certain unless 

 exploitation is controlled and regeneration provided for, and the sooner 

 legislation to provide for the " wise management " of native forests is 

 enacted the better both for the forests and the Protectorate generally. 



The Padua Botanic' Garden. — The Revue Ilurticole for Decem- 

 ber 19, 1922 has an article by A. Meunissier on the Botanic 

 Garden of Padua. This is the oldest botanic garden in Italy, and 

 possibly in the world, having- been established in 1545 at the in- 

 stigation of Professor Francescho Bonafcde, who created the 

 "Chair of Simples" at the University of Padua in 1533. The 

 area of the garden has remained until now the same as in the 

 beginning, namely, 20.664 mq. In this garden is a specimen of 

 the Vitcx Agnus Castus planted in 1550, and therefore 372 years 

 old. This is probably the oldest specimen of this species of 

 known age in existence. The tree was referred to by Caspar 

 Bauhin in 1650 as being the most beautiful plant in the garden. 

 Other plants of notable age are the following: 



