13 



11. REVISION OF BOUNDARIES. In certain localities considerable 

 tracts of grass-land have been included within the forest boundaries, and it 

 has been suggested that the boundaries should be revised so as to exclude 

 these tracts. Certain of these grass-lands could, no doubt, be relinquished 

 without detriment to the Forest Department, but if any scheme of revision is 

 contemplated the Department should be represented on the revising body, 

 and each case should be judged on its merits. It is important to note . that 

 suitable areas of grass-land within or adjoining the forests are necessary for 

 the provision of grazing for animals working in the forests and for the flocks 

 of squatters cultivating in them, while in the neighbourhood of bamboo areas 

 or possible pulp-factory sites, special care should be taken not to alienate 

 land suitable for the formation of fuel plantations ; some indication of the 

 area required for this purpose will be found in paragraph 42. It should be 

 noted also that grassy glades of comparatively small size intersecting the 

 forests should be maintained as part of the forest area, otherwise the Depart- 

 ment will find it impossible to take adequate precautionary measures against 

 fire. 



7. FIRE PROTECTION. 



12. In the highlands special fire-protective measures are necessary 

 mainly in the cedar and the plateau (muhugu) forests. Fire is one of the 

 most serious forms of injury to which the cedar forests are subject, and it 

 is no exaggeration to say that the damage from this cause alone has run 

 into at least a million pounds, and in all probability greatly exceeds this 

 figure. Apart from this, it is probable that much of the damage done by the 

 cedar fungus owes its origin to the admission of spores through wounds 

 caused by fire (see paragraph 26). 



In former years much of the damage done by fire in the Aberdares and 

 elsewhere was, no doubt, attributable to the grazing fires of the Masai. 

 More recently, in forest areas which no longer adjoin Masai country, the 

 greatest offenders have been Nderobo and Kikuyu honey hunters, who leave 

 fires burning within the forests, or in some cases set fire to trees in order to 

 smoke out bees. For the prevention of fires originating within the forests in 

 this way fire-lines are of no avail, but the Forest Department has achieved 

 considerable success by a system of strict patrolling. Honey hunting without 

 . permit is now an illegal act, and the practice is regulated by giving permits 

 for the placing of honey-barrels in trees, the position of which is notified 

 to the Department; such authorized honey-hunters are an assistance rather 

 than a source of danger, in that they assist in their own interests by report- 

 ing cases of unauthorized honey-hunting. Recently, experiments have been 

 made in burning grass-lands in the cedar forests early in the season before 

 there is danger of the fire spreading into the forest. This operation, which 

 is regularly carried out in India, has proved successful in reducing the 

 danger from fire, for although the bush round the edges of the forest, and 

 occasional young cedar trees, are scorched at the time of burning, the damage 

 is negligible compared with what it would be in the event of a conflagra- 

 tion in the middle of the fire season. 



Fire-protective measures have not yet been fully organized, and are 

 effective only within a comparatively limited radius of forest stations. In 

 certain localities a system of fire-traces is adopted, but so far experience has 

 shown that in the majority of cases strict patrolling is more effective as well 

 as more economical than the maintenance of cleared traces. In dealing with 

 outbreaks of fire the presence of labour on the spot is a valuable asset, and 

 when plantation work on the system advocated in paragraphs 21 and 22 is 

 fully organized the presence of cultivators should constitute an important 

 safeguard. When such plantation work is carried out on a large scale some 

 effective method of safeguarding the cedar plantations will be necessary, 



