52 



of treatment more from the picture which an inspection of 

 the various crops has left in his mind than from any written 

 description ; while, as regards officers who, persooally 

 unacquainted with the areas to which the plans relate, have 

 to scrutinise the descriptions, iheir minds are incapahle of 

 grasping all tue details and of forming a mental picture 

 from such a mass of writing as usually accompanies an 

 Indian working-plan dealing, as it often does, with a large 

 area. It is, therefore, a question whether it would not be 

 better, in some cases, to abolish these written descriptions 

 and to replace them — apart from the broad general descrip- 

 tion of the forest or of each type of forest as a whole — by 

 &took maps. 



To prepare such maps it will, in most cases, be sufficient to 

 distinguish each class of forest by a flat wash of distinct colour 

 and to indicate the age by tone, the darker the tone the older 

 the crop. Or a system of ruled lines may be used, 

 different species being represented by different colours, 

 density, completeness and age, by the closeness and length 

 of the lines, and seedlings by small dots. 



In the Revue des Eaux et Forks for the 10th Jane 1890, Monsieur Maroel 

 Tolmerange writes rs follows on the subject ; — 



" One of the most troublfSDme portions of a working-plans report is the descrip- 

 tion of the comparrments. This requires as much minute oare on the part of the 

 writer as it does f'teady atiention on the part of the reader; and, after all, it is 

 extremely difficult, from a pernsil of it, to gather an; idea of the forest in its entirety. 



A grap)iio representation of the nature and composition of the forest would probably 

 g're a better general idea of its conii'.ion and contents, and could be prepared with 

 far less trouble. 



Snob a method would consist in indicating on a sketch map by conventional signs 

 the prinoip»l faotors of the crop, different colours being used to show the species of 

 trees, for example : — 



Seedling crop . . ,000000 



'Ibirket of saplings . . .080800 

 Fob crop .... + + + + + 



Young I igh forest ... X X X X X 



Mature high forest . . — — — — — 



RjTsr-mainre or decaying high forest = ^ = = ^ 



Complete crops might be indicated by a continuous line. 



These oonvemionai signs, or sni^h <ithers as might be preferred, could be used in 

 Tarions cowbinHtions, and would thus enable the composition of the forest in eaoh 

 oouipartiiient to be shown with wlatevir degree of aocmrHcy or detail might be 

 desirable ; nbile » geneial idea of the forest as a whole ouuld be gained from a simple 

 inspection of a map. 



Ill order to conipltte the deseription, a brief acommt would ba Eufficiein to explain 

 ths nature of the soil, ui less it was tbouglit practicable, and not too difficult, also to 

 record the quality of soil by a similar method of si(;ns and colours. 



It wfuld aUo prove interesting, after the lapse of a certain number of years, to 

 make, using similar sitfns, a new map, which, ty comparison with the old mup, would 

 at .mre indiente tlie alterations and impi'ovements in the condition of the crops and 

 would facilitate the detennicatitn of the changes required in the treatment," 



