15 



The Forest Department has done an excellent service to the Colony in 

 raising tree seedlings in large numbers for sale to settlers and others at 

 almost cost price. This adds greatly to the work of the Department without 

 producing a corresponding return, but it is of such benefit to the country that 

 it is to be commended in every way, and the service rendered appears to be 

 generally appreciated. 



9. RESEARCH. 



14. Although forest research has not yet been placed on an organized 

 basis, a good deal of knowledge has been acquired as a result of experience, 

 particularly in methods of raising plants and forming plantations. A great 

 deal of useful work has been accomplished in regard to the botanical identi- 

 fication of the trees and shrubs of the Colony : this is due largely to the efforts 

 of Mr. Battiscombe, himself a keen botanist. A fairly representative her- 

 barium has already been got together at Nairobi, and the specimens have 

 been named at Kew from duplicates sent there : new specimens are constantly 

 being collected, and in time the herbarium should form a complete represen- 

 tation of the forest flora of Kenya Colony. Mr. Battiscombe has recently 

 prepared a useful list of all the known forest trees and shrubs of the Colony, 

 and proposes later to compile a descriptive list of these : such a list will be 

 invaluable for purposes of reference. Much useful work has also been done 

 in the experimental cultivation of trees, both indigenous and exotic, in the 

 Forest Department arboretum at Nairobi. 



Organized research work, however, is urgently required. There is little 

 doubt that the most satisfactory and economical course would be to estab- 

 lish a central Forest Research Institute to serve the requirements of Kenya 

 Colony, Uganda and Tanganyika Territory, work in certain branches being 

 decentralized in matters of detail, but co-ordinated at the central institute. 

 I'f a union of East African territories ever becomes an accomplished fact the 

 establishment of such an institute should certainly be considered. In the 

 present state of the finances of Kenya Colony and of the Forest Department, 

 however, I hesitate to propose any scheme which is likely to involve much 

 capital and recurring expenditure, even if the expenditure is likely to be 

 recouped later as a result of the knowledge gained by research. As a begin- 

 ning, therefore, it is proposed to create one post, namely, a Forest Research 

 Officer, to be employed in the first instance on work of an urgent character. 

 He should receive assistance at headquarters from the Personal Assistant to 

 the Conservator (see paragraph 54). Such an officer, working in co-operation 

 with local officers, could accomplish much useful work, and this would form 

 the nucleus of more extensive work later on if a well-equipped Research 

 Institute is established, either for Kenya Colony alone or for the combined 

 territories of East Africa. 



The work to be undertaken by the Research Officer would be as follows : 



(1) Care of the herbarium, arboretum, and collections of timber and 

 other products. 



(2) Study of the silvicultural characters of the more important 

 trees, and the best methods of regenerating them artificially or naturally. 



(3) Record of damage done by insects, fungi, and phanerogamous 

 parasites. 



(4) Measurements of the rate of growth and outturn of plantations, 

 natural crops, and individual trees. 



(5) Investigations into the growth and method of working of 

 bamboos. 



