GOLD COAST REPORT ON FORESTS. 79 



timber to be floated down it. This fact excludes for the present 

 the advisability of taking up as a reserve the rather extensive 

 forests drained by the upper reaches of the river where only a 

 few villages and farms are said to exist. 



The large number of farms in the lower basin of the river and 

 within the limits of the proposed reserve would make it very 

 awkward to establish reservation here ; this, coupled with the 

 fact that the forests are poor in economic plants, that the ground 

 is to a large extent swampy, and that owing to the .steepness of 

 the western slopes of the hills but little other forest-covered land 

 is available, induces me to recommend the abandonment of any 

 scheme for forming a reserve here. Owing to the number of 

 farms existing in the locality, the measure is certain to prove 

 very unpopular with the inhabitants. 



A well cut and graded mule path was found along the crest 

 of the Dampia range; it was apparently constructed by one of 

 the mining camps (the abandoned site of which we visited) some 

 years ago, and is still in good order. 



Though the forests under consideration are not worth reserv- 

 ing with the object of ensuring a contimied supply of forest 

 produce and improving the condition of the growing stock, yet 

 the fact should not be lost sight of that on general principles 

 alone it is highly important that the forests clothing the crests 

 of the hills and the steep slopes should be protected against farm- 

 ing in order to preserve the climatic factors of the country. This 

 measure is in the interests of the farmers themselves as it 

 ensures, apart from the existence of local swamps, the general 

 water supply of the streams, prevents erosion of the hill-sides, 

 and provides for barriers of forest vegetation against the spread 

 of any fungoid diseases or insect pests that may attack the agri- 

 cultural crops. It in fact helps to segregate the infected areas. 



The Forests between the Cape Coast Road and Lake Bosumptwi. 



After leaving Kwisa we marched to Lake Bosumptwi by the 

 Bojawe-Dadiase-Bansu road, which passes through country that 

 has been extensively farmed. In fact, with the exception here 

 and there of narrow belts of secondary forest growth, most of the 

 land is now under crops, such as cocoa, cola, yams, maize, &c. 

 Small plantations of Funtwnia ehistica have also been made in 

 the vicinity of the villages passed through. The secondary 

 forest contains the usual species common to the forests of Ashanti 

 along this parallel of latitude. Odoum is common, and so is the 

 shingle tree, the Offram ; these, with a few cedars (Psciidoce- 

 dre/a), are practically the only useful trees to be met with. 



The hills bordering the southern edge of the lake are, how- 

 ever, more extensively wooded, and here cedars and mahoganies 

 are more plentiful. One species of the latter, probably Khaya 

 grandis, is very abundant along the southern shores of tiu 1 

 lake. A rough valuation survey made over 6'4 acres gave 

 approximately an average of three trees over 4' 6" in girth to the 

 acre, a very high figure when the area covered by a mahogany 

 tree is taken into consideration. The natural regeneration of 



