NIGERIA 187 



through the mahogany forest, the different camps of the timber firms 

 have to be visited. These firms have hundreds of square miles for 

 the purpose of exploiting mahogany and furniture woods. At the 

 same time the checking and inspecting of the stumps of all the 

 trees felled has to be gone through. The young mahogany seedlings 

 are also seen, and from the number of these it is known whether 

 sufficient have been planted to take the place of those cut down. The 

 very rapid growth of these trees can here be studied to advantage ; 

 trees now 40 feet high have only been planted a few years. The 

 relative value of the direct planting of seedling trees as compared 

 with the natural regeneration of the forest by self-sown seedlings 

 can be observed with ocular clearness. In one part of the forest 

 one sees natives standing on a platform hacking away with an axe 

 into a huge 50-feet mahogany ; in another place a similar tree, 

 fallen, its 90-feet bole already sawn into three round logs : while 

 in a third locality may be seen a native, axe or adze in hand, squaring 

 mahogany logs with a 4-feet side. Later in the season eighty 

 or more natives are engaged in dragging one of these logs on round 

 billets of wood (for rollers) along a track, roughly cleared to the height 

 of a man, to the nearest natural water-way ; still later (that is, in 

 July or August), when the rivers rise, the logs may be seen floating 

 singly down to the rafting-place on the main creek, where rafts are 

 made with logs four or eight abreast, each fastened to the next, from 

 a timber-dog at either end, with cane. From here, riverine natives 

 such as the Ijors take the logs to the nearest river or ocean-going 

 steamer port. 



The administrative work of the Department is in the hands of 

 the Senior Conservators of Forests, under whom the Conservators 

 manage their circles. The Chief Conservator of Forests, the head 

 of the Department, initiates and controls the whole policy of the 

 Department, being relieved of all details of administration. In order 

 to ensure continuity of policy and action, a Working-plans Division 

 has been formed. A working plan for the forests is a scheme of 

 management laid down for a number of years ; no change can 

 be made in such a plan without special reference both to the 

 head of that division and to the head of the Department. With 

 only one year's service, followed by leave of absence, continuity 

 of action would be broken if it were not for a definitely approved 

 plan. 



The Forest Department has supplied the Railway, Marine, and 

 Public Works Department with timber of various kinds. In some 

 cases the timber is obtained by departmental working, and in others 

 is cut by native contractors under the supervision of the Department. 

 In the first instance, the conditions under which timber is to be 

 supplied to other departments are put before the Secretariat, and 



