132 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



17. Silviculture in Trinidad. 



By G. I. Campkeix. 



It was my privilege while on a recent visit to the Island of 

 Trinidad to spend an afternoon in that portion of the southern 

 Government Forest Reserve, where, since the year 1910, 

 systematic forestry operations have been in progress. 



Trinidad, situated 10° north of the equator, still contains for 

 its area — some 1754 square miles — a considerable proportion of 

 unalienated natural forest, in the hands of the Government of 

 the island and in charge of a Forest Conservator, who is a 

 Government official. Of this forest very large areas are set 

 apart permanently as Crown Lands Reserves. 



These Reserves are valued for the following reasons : firstly, 

 because it is very wisely desired to provide for a reserve of 

 timber within the island ; secondly, because the presence of 

 forest has a considerable influence on the rainfall, which is 

 none too great ; thirdly, parts of the forest are so far removed 

 from transport facilities of any kind, that to use the land for any 

 other purpose would be entirely unremunerative ; and fourthly, 

 because in many places, and especially along the south coast, 

 the forest soil, even after generations of accumulated humus, is 

 too poor to allow of cocoa cultivation. 



The greater part of the Reserve is just natural tropical forest, 

 entirely uninfluenced by the hand of man, so thick that once off 

 the trail, or "trace" as it is locally called, a man could only get 

 through by cutting his way. In other districts where roads 

 penetrate the forest, the more valuable trees have been cut out, 

 leaving only those species of lesser timber value, the palms and 

 the rank growing bush. 



In 1 9 10, 1000 acres of forest in a favourable locality were 

 set aside and the first attempt at silviculture was made. 



The whole intention behind these efforts differs entirely from 

 what is in our minds at home, where we set out to grow trees, 

 and this is what makes the experiment so interesting. In 

 Trinidad the policy of the Forestry Department is not to grow 

 a " crop " of trees as we understand the term — though there is 

 no doubt that this could be done, as will be shown later in the 

 case of teak — but merely to increase the proportion of trees of 

 commercial timber value, in any given area. In the untouched 



