Oct. 2, 1893.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
269 
FOREST COiS'SEEVANCY. 
Among the msny AJministrati n Reports furnished 
to Governmtnt, there is perh p3 none more gene- 
rally intereeiing to the oomnuDity than that of 
Mr. A. F. BiOUD, Confervator cf Forests. S ms 
years ago, Mr. F. D' A. Vincent afi nd'^d ua a 
taste cf what a first-c asa Anglo-Iodiau Officer could 
do in the way of inveaiigating, and then pr-'paring 
a valuable Report where a free hand was bSorded 
him. We are in no danger in Oeylon of incuriing 
the penalty which has fallen on ceitaia lands from 
the ruthless destnictiDn of the r forests and 
malgre Sir Arthur Gordon and the Spectator, even 
had there been no Order from Downing Street 
Bhmting ofi f'-om public sale a'l forests at an 
altitude oyer 6,000 feet, this ielai d in the pathway 
of the two monsoons, an i wiih iis moist climate 
on the mountain zone, could scarcely run the 
risk which has been incurred by some other 
Colonies less favourably situated As it is, our 
planters in the higher districts have, of their 
own accord, set to with their usual energy to plant 
op their reservep, their waysides and bare places 
with ustful timber or luJ trees and in some 
districts we have a process of re-afforesting going 
on of a most interesting character, apart from 
the Forest Department altogether. But that 
dosB not affect the very important work of the 
Forest Depaitment in its various branches as 
related in the Report before us. The Conservator 
has really enteitd on a notable work in this little 
ieltnd and one that is bound to produce much 
good fruit il he is only allowed to carry it on 
Bteadiiy and judiciou ly, But alas I even in ree- 
peot of Fortst Cunservati^n, there must needs be 
wheels withia wheels and a vast amount of red- 
tape to overcome. It is quite pitiabJe to read 
Mr. Bronn'a account of how his efiorts to puth 
on with the duties assigcEd to himself and 
his Staff are baffled by certain public ser- 
vants who choote to te obstructive. In 
a previous Report we were told that at 
the rate the work was progressing it woulJ 
take " 400 yeara to reserve the valuable foreHs 
of the island if they still exist by that limo." 
This lime Mr. Broun reports a rather bttter 
rate of progress, though still unsatisfactory. Here 
is a Epsoimen of the Conservator's espenence and 
of the treatment meted out to him and his 
Btafi :— 
1 beg to pUce on record tha' maoy forests are re- 
served or proposed to be re-eived without the slightest 
relereLce to me. The Hon. the Gjverument dgent, 
Western ProviLoe, whenever wi-hen to h»\e au acre 
Bet asiJe lor leseivatioii, a'»aj8r fers hli tte papers 
loi opibion, but as ri garuS ti e f jrests i' Sabara- 
gaiEuwj I kuow no'binfe u tu Iste the notice in the 
Government Uazttte. lu a onon uf tLe amended 
Fottsl Ordiuituce Ills ftited that the Consetvator may, 
as regard reserveii foiests, be investeJ with poweis 
ot a Gu\ernDuent Ageut aud m xle Ji. ectly respoijtible 
with the aoinii iatrntioD and woiking. liseeojS rather 
strange then that ihe ofBcer who may be most in er- 
es;ea in the manai;emeiit of these ar>a3 sboulii have 
so means ot expcesbiDg h s opinion as regards the 
advitability or otaerwise of reserving them. 
In • report to Govetoment submitted towards 
the end of 1891, I stated that there were, es- 
pecially in the Northern, North-Ceutrsl , and Eas- 
tern Proviuces, vast t.-acts of forests which 
weio piacically free of righis, and the settlement 
of which net:d not be delayed by waiting lor detailed 
■Qive^s. 1 am very eeger to have tbeee areas re- 
served, as the framing of even the roughest work ni; 
Flans oauuot be made lor andefinej and uosettle I srois, 
have received proposals from diff' rent Provinces, 
and I hope tuat Goverument may take the natter 
In parasraph 14 of my acnnal report for 1890, and 
in paregraph 10 of that for 1891, I memtiotji d that 
a vifice o' lan'i bad been taken up wi'hin the Hnpu- 
tble rest rve J fo' est withiu? my knowledj^e, ardlhat 
tlie laud had net been excluded from theiestrvf. So 
f^.r trom anything having be n donp, an edcition'l 
piece was taken up, and low a rmmber of bmloiugs 
have been erected within the re- ervi d forest wiihout 
any atien'ion being made to the provisionB of the 
Forest O dinanoe. All these encroa htBents have 
b"<*i) pountmanced by the Government Agent, who is 
tx officio the Chief Forest Officer for the Province ! 
A Very bad example is set to private persons when 
the vrry 1 ffioers whose duty it is to see the law duly 
CHrried out expose it to such ridicule. It is im- 
posuible for oflBoers of the Department to take a 
real interett in their work when those who should 
really te'p and advise them do their best to make 
a fbroe of the laws which should enable them to 
protect lb ir forests. 
Thn deal ng-i between Assistant Conservators and 
Governm-i t Agen's b»ve been satisfactory in seven 
ut ol the nil e Prjvmces. Of the other two the 
Ies= said the belt r. Id order to regulate these 
re'ations, and to d fine exactly the duties of the 
A 'istant Cons 1 v-itors, Government istned a circular, 
which was meant to be obeyed, but whit;h was set 
at Daught by the Hon. the Government Aeent, 
Western Province. The result i", as far as 1 am 
at present concerned, that the office ace unts are in 
such a state that I am unable to obtain the annual 
forms necessary for niy annual report. I am there- 
lore unable to stale how far the Province itself has 
derived benefit or otherwise from the rigime which 
i-i I ow in force. I may however be al owed to 
dcubt that a system which necesfitates constant 
appeals to Government from one side or the 
o»her can be benefic a'. 
What would Governors Sir Henry Ward or 
Sir Hercules Robinson — to mfntion no mora — 
do, it such a^ Report came before them '? It is 
scarcely neoessary for us to describe their 
action, but we venture to say there could 
be DO further complaint of the tiod?— We 
have already laid before our readers one of the 
most interesting po^tiors of Mr. Brcun's Report 
in the description he afforded of the several Plan- 
tations Undertaken by his StaS under his direction. 
There is further interesting remaika in re- 
ference to '-Natural" as well as ' Artificial" 
Reproduction, and the foundation is being laid 
for the collection of a vast amount of most useful 
information respecting the very valuable property 
of the Crown and public in the Ceylon Forests. We 
must, however, reserve further details, merely 
giving the Value of the Pro luce sold by the 
Dfpartment in 1892: — to Public Departments 
R272,I65; Private Purchasers B197,U99— total 
R480,fc8-5. There were besides free grants of Forest 
Produce : to the Chicago Exhibition for inttinoe, 
and the Stock in depo s at the end of the year 
was valued at R229 931. In 1891, after defraying 
all the charges and the cost of the Estab ish- 
ment there was a deficit of R31,170; in 189^, the 
deficit was only R13,178— so that for 1893 we 
may expect the Forest Department to be self, 
support ng, while the work ol Forest Conservation 
and Reproduction (in Plantations and otherwise) 
cannot fail to be a very profitable one to (be 
Colony as time tolls on. 
TINPLATE MAKERS AND THE TEA 
TRADE. 
The sufgostion is being revived in some qaartera 
for the employment ot tea chatta in the tea trade 
made of tiuplate instead ot leid-liued wotd as at 
present. la this ooDucotien ii ia poin ed out that 
tb« Uejloa and laaUn trade coaiiouei to |row« 
