264 SYLVICULTURE IN THE TROPICS pt.it 



upkeep. It is very desirable that this register be 

 started as soon as the delimitation is begun, and that it 

 be kept up to date. Any neglect of this principle will 

 lead to further procrastination later on, when other 

 forest works come to take up the forest officer's time. 



Should any lands belonging to another owner be 

 " enclaved " within the forest, they must also be de- 

 marcated. It is usual in this case to make the boundary 

 pillars of such enclosures of a different size or shape 

 from those which mark the outside of the forest. 



If a forest be of such a size as to be subdivided into 

 different blocks or compartments, these should also be 

 indicated on the ground by means of marks. AVhenever 

 possible or practicable, natural features, roads, or bridle- 

 paths are taken as boundaries, or it may be necessary to 

 clear lines of demarcation through the forest. "Wherever 

 these boundaries meet or cross a road or the boundary 

 of the forest, some mark, such as a board on a post or 

 tree or a stone pillar, should be put up, indicating the 

 name of the block and the numbers of the compartments 

 which it divides. 



These boundaries should also be entered on the 

 map of the forest, and a record of each block and com- 

 partment should be kept in a separate register, in which 

 not only their boundaries and respective areas are 

 entered, but a description of the stock and of any opera- 

 tions carried out within them. If a working plan of the 

 forest has been made, this register will show what 

 operations are prescribed by it, and how they are being 

 carried out. 



I have not said anything about fencing the bound- 

 aries of the forest in this chapter, because I have already 

 dealt with the subject in a former chapter, and because, 

 with the huge areas which usually have to be dealt with 

 in the Tropics, the cost of fencing or putting up walls is 

 often prohibitive. The existence of fences in forests 

 where fire protection has to be carried out would be 

 a hindrance rather than a benefit in many cases. 



After boundary lines have been cleared, they will 



