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 
