Canadian Forestry Journal, July, ipi6. 



617 



meji, ninety miles from Lagos, is 

 the old headquarters, and here the 

 forestry work of the Southern Prov- 

 inces is directed. Zaria, situated 

 some 450 miles from Lagos, is the 

 headquarters of the Forestry De- 

 partment in the Northern Provinces. 

 A newly appointed officer would 

 be liable to be sent to either of these 

 last-named places; but owing to the 

 larger number of men being sta- 

 tioned in the Southern Provinces, 

 the majority are sent to that centre. 

 Olokemeji is in the middle of a 

 forest reserve, 26 square miles in 

 extent, and is also the headquarters 

 both of the Western Circle and of 

 its Northern Division. In each 

 circle there is a conservator of 

 forests in charge, and he has an as- 

 sistant to manage each divison. In 

 the event of a shortage of staff it 

 may happen that a new man is put 

 in charge of a division, and thus has 

 an opportunity of learning all about 

 the work much more quickly than 

 would otherwise be the case. In 

 the ordinary way he only corre- 

 sponds with his conservator and the 

 timber interests of his division on 

 purely local matters. 



The Tricks of Carriers. 



At first sight, on examining the 

 tropical forest, it appears like a very 

 mixed collection of different kinds 

 of trees; on closer inspection, how- 

 ever, similarities and contrasts are 

 apparent, such as ebony, with its 

 thin, black, scaly bark, and that of 

 the somewhat regularly, deeply fis- 

 sured bullet-wood tree, and its 

 white latex, which the former does 

 not exude. 



In walking through a forest it is 

 normally best to make the carriers 

 precede, though their scent is not 

 entirely pleasant if one is close be- 

 hind. Owing to their tendency to 

 lag, and their desire to sit down at 

 inconvenient times, it is an advan- 

 tage to have them in front. Fre- 

 quently one may have to stop and 

 examine a flower or leaf, and it only 

 adds to the carriers' labour if the 



whole column has to stop whilst 

 seeds and specimens are being col- 

 lected. A march of about fifteen 

 miles is sufficient, and takes up the 

 better part of the day if an examina- 

 tion of the forests is being made on 

 the way. In most parts villages are 

 eight to ten miles apart, sometimes 

 nearer, so the carriers can stop and 

 purchase food. In the larger forests, 

 however, a distance of over twenty 

 miles is sometimes covered without 

 sight of a house ; in that case, the 

 people of the last village are asked 

 to bring food for the carriers, and 

 the carriers themselves are given a 

 day's food as well, which has to be 

 cooked on reaching camp. In some 

 places the chiefs provide food (yams 

 etc.) which is distributed to the car- 

 riers, or in some places 3d a day per 

 head is allowed them for purchasing 

 food. So long as the carrier gets 

 food ,and his load is not excessively 

 heavy, he is quite cheerful and walks 

 well. 



Nigerian Wages. 



Current wages vary from 9d. to Is. 

 a day, the headman getting from Is. 

 to 2s. a day. Local felling permits 

 being issued both by the district and 

 forest officers to natives for felling 

 timber for local use, at district sta- 

 tions a call is paid to the District 

 Officer to discuss current forest 

 questions and examine the permit 

 books. At the same time there is an 

 opportunity of seeing what further 

 development of forest work is pos- 

 sible in the district. The local forest 

 guards, foresters, or forest rangers 

 report themselves, usually giving a 

 very good account of the local forest 

 conditions. Since the demand for 

 local timber has been growing, a 

 stop may have to be made to super- 

 vise the marking or girdling of suit- 

 able trees for bridge building under 

 the auspices of the Public Works 

 Department. On a journey through 

 the mahogany forest, the different 

 camps of the timber firms have to 

 be visited. These firms have hun- 

 dreds of square miles for the pur- 



