Nov.  i,  1892.] 
THE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST. 
299 
Western  and  Northern  Provinces  there  is  no  such 
co-operaticn.  The  Government  Agents  give  orders  to 
subordinates  without  referring  to  the  Assistant  Con- 
servators, who  are  in  the  same  cases  left  in  ignorance 
of  forest  work  -which  has  beeu  carried  out,  and  of 
expenditure  disbursed  daring  the  jeer.  This  has  in 
the  case  of  the  Western  Province  led  to  confusion 
in  the  accounts  and  to  an  expenditure  larger  than 
the  vote  allotted.  In  the  Central  Province  the  Go- 
vernment Agent  declined  to  have  any  responsibility 
with  respect  to  forest  business,  and  as  I received  no 
orders  from  Government  to  take  over  the  responsibility, 
the  Assistant  Conservator  was  more  or  less  indepen- 
dent of  all  control. 
We  take  it  for  granted  that  the  Governor, 
who  read  this  report  before  it  was  printed,  took 
immediate  and  stringent  measures  to  correct 
a state  of  things  so  injurious  to  the  public 
interests  as  is  above  represented,  Mr.  Broun 
complains,  too,  of  discouragement  from  the 
judicial  officers  of  Government  : — 
Altogether  1,364  cases  were  taken  up,  and  resulted 
in  799  convictions  implicating  1,294  persons,  and 
459  acquittals  concerning  916  persons.  The  pro- 
portion of  acquittals  to  convictions  is  some- 
what large,  but  it  is  not  to  be  wondered  at 
when  Magistrates  take  so  little  trouble  to  deal 
severely  with  cases  of  chena  and  of  timber 
theft.  The  Assistant  Conservator,  Sabtragamuwa, 
complained  to  me  that  it  was  of  little  use  his 
bringing  any  cases  in  KegaPa  and  Ea'napura  courts, 
ns  the  Judge  in  the  latter  court  gave  such  slight 
punishments  when  oonvictions  were  obtained,  ihat 
they  were  rather  nn  encouragement  than  a preven- 
tion to  offenders.  At  Kegalla  the  District  Judge 
ill  conceals  his  sympathy  with  the  accused.  Only 
recently  in  a case  brought  against  an  estate  for 
cutting  down  a stream  reservation  he  stated  that 
Government  had  received  in  exchange  land  covered 
with  tea,  and  that  it  had  therefore  not  suffered,  but 
obtained  improved  value. 
At  Yavuniya  two  men  were  caught  by  the  Assistant 
Government  Agent  cutting  branches  of  palai  trees  [ 
for  fruit.  Notwithstanding  that  this  is  a practice 
which  has  been  grossly  abused  for  years,  the  men 
were  discharged  with  a caution. 
A man  was  prosecuted  by  the  Assistant  Agent  in 
the  Tangalla  Court  for  clearing  a chena  in  Palla  Kota, 
where  he  felled  a number  of  large  trees.  The 
Magistrate  fined  the  defendant  R50.  On  appeal  to 
the  Supreme  Court  the  judgment  was  quashed,  because 
the  proceedings  had  been  irregularly  taken.  Another 
case  was  entered  against  him  on  precisely  the  same 
evidence  and  before  the  same  Magistrate,  who,  how- 
ever, this  time  acquitted  the  accused  ! In  both  cases 
the  latter  produced  a “labima,”  not  registered.  This 
“labima”  only  showed  one  boundary,  “the  river.”  On 
the  strength  of  the  judgment  the  man  now  claims 
a large  extent  of  country,  including  a portion  of 
Palla  Rota,  always  looked  upon  as  Crown  forest.  He 
appeared  with  a large  knife  at  a place  where  15  palu 
trees  had  been  felled  by  the  Assistant  Conservator, 
and  threatened  to  use  it  against  anybody  who  touched 
the  trees. 
Aoate  was  brought  by  (he  Forest  Ranger,  Kalmuoai, 
sgainst  a man  for  offering  him  a bribe  to  induce  bim 
not  to  report  a theft  of  timber  from  Crown  forest.  The 
Polioe  Magistrate  hold  that  the  timber  theft  being 
oompouudable,  section  211  of  the  Penal  Code  does  not 
apply  to  it.  The  consequence  is  that  almost  all  forest 
offences  being  compoundable,  no  man  cm  be  punished 
for  offering  bribes  for  concealing  them  aud  that,  con- 
versely, no  fotest  officer  can  be  punished  for  accept- 
ing bribes  for  ooncealing  offences  other  than  those 
under  sections  66  and  67  of  the  Ordinance  ! I repre- 
sented the  matter  to  Government,  and  stated  that  the 
officer  in  question  was  not  empowered  to  receive  com- 
pensation, but  to  no  effect,  and  the  Hon.  the  Attorney- 
General  expressed  a doubt  as  to  the  possibility  of 
altering  either  the  Penal  Code  or  the  Ordinance,  be- 
cause ordinary  people  cannot  be  expected  to  know  what 
offioers  are  empowered  and  who  are  not. 
The  oase  in  Kegalla  court  mentioned  iu  paragraph  29 
of  my  last  report  has,  for  some  unaccountable  reason 
not  yet  been  finally  dealt  with.  In  another  case  known 
as  the  Mitipola  oase,  the  Superintendent  of  “Fairfield” 
estate  was  fiued  fur  cutting  timber  out  on  adjoining 
Crown  forest  to  build  bis  bungalow,  but,  notwithstanding 
that  the  Magistrate  visited  the  spot  himself  to  satisfy 
himself  as  to  its  being  forest  or  not,  his  finding  was  set 
aside  by  the  Supreme  Court. 
The  above  examples  show  how  disheartening  it  is 
for  forest  officers  who  attempt  to  preserve  the  forests 
under  their  charge  to  try  and  bring  cases  against  poople 
who  go  in  for  system-. tic  pilfering  and  destruction. 
In  dealing  with  forest  fires  Mr.  Broun  starts  the 
theory  that  the  upland  patanas  originated  with 
them  ! H-r  writes 
Fire  protection  is  happily  not  as  important  in 
Ceylon  as  in  India,  as  the  shrubby  evergreen  under- 
growth and  the  dense  leaf  canopy  as  a rule  prevent 
any  fires  reaching  far  into  the  forest.  In  Taman- 
kaduwa,  however,  where  large  herds  of  cattle  graze 
in  the  open  plains  near  the  Mahaweli-ganga  and 
around  Kandela,  Topari,  Giritulla,  and  Minneri,  the 
graziers  set  fire  to  the  withered  grass  so  as  to  obtain 
a green  and  succulent  crop  for  their  cattle.  These 
fires  gather  strength  until  they  reach  the  forest, 
where  they  kill  most  of  the  trees  or  at  least  saplings 
within  some  distance  from  the  edge.  Thus,  year  by 
year  the  grass  lands  encroach  upon  the  forest,  and  it 
is  necessary  that  steps  be  taken  to  save  them  from 
further  damage.  Very  possibly  the  patanas  of  Uva 
and  elsewhere  in  the  island  originated  in  this  very 
manner.  'I  he  hills  which  are  now  covered  with  grass 
were  probably  covered  with  park-like  forest,  such  as 
is  now  found  near  Bkiriyankumbura  and  Bibile  re- 
sembling in  many  respects,  as  well  in  species  as  in 
grassy  undergrowth,  the  sub-Himalayan  forests. 
The  annual  recurrence  of  fires  must  have  stripped 
the  hills  of  all  their  woody  covering  except  in  cool 
sheltered  hollows  and  ravines  where  fringes  of  trees 
are  still  to  be  seen. 
Some  of  tho  patanas  may  have  been  due  to  fire 
end  that  “ devouring  element  ” may  have  extended 
others,  but  the  reoeived  gfologioal  opinion  is  that 
most  of  the  grassy  prairies  of  Nuwara  Eliya, 
tl.e  Horton  and  Elk  Plains  and  Uva  are  due  to 
anc.ent  water  floods  of  great  extent  and  violenoe. 
What  is  said  about  natural  and  artificial  repro- 
duction is  so  interesting  generally  and  calculated 
to  be  so  useful  to  planters  and  others  who  may 
be  trying  experiments  in  arboriculture  that  we 
will  quote  those  portions  of  the  report  in  full  on 
the  completion  of  this  notioe.  We  submit  that 
special  attention  should  be  paid  to  the  careful 
collection  cf  well-ripened  seeds  of  such  valuable  trees 
as  srtimvood,  palu,  kumbuk,  Ac.,  and  that  full 
information  should  be  tabulated  and  published  re- 
garding the  success,  or  otherwise,  at  different 
altitudes  and  in  differing  climates  of  experiments 
with  the  Australian  eucalypti  and  aoaoias,  Grevillea 
robusta  and  other  foreign  trees  as  well  as  those 
indigenous  to  the  island.  It  seems  to  us  that  speoial 
attention  ought  to  be  paid  to  the  cultivation  of 
jak.  It  is  one  of  the  few  valuable  timber  trees  whioh 
grows  rapidly,  and  which  during  its  life  yields 
large  supplies  of  fruit  for  human  food,  while  the 
spare  portions  of  its  luxuriant  foliage  affords  an 
excellent  forage  for  animals.  A young  man  planting 
from  3'0  to  500  acreB  of  jak  in  a good  position 
with  reference  to  carriage  and  demand  for  timber, 
would  at  middle  age  be  possessed  of  a fortune.  Of 
the  introduced  trees  Eucalytus  robusta  and  E. 
diversicolor  seem  amongst  the  best.  After  reference 
to  roads  and  buildings,  we  are  told  under  “ other 
works  ” that 
Tho  most  important  addition  was  the  arrival  of  a 
oircular  saw  and  steam  engine  from  England.  The 
saw  mill  was  sent  to  Batt’calca,  where  it  was  expeoted 
to  be  of  most  use.  It  was  put  up,  but  owing  to  the 
site  beiDg  unsuitable  and  objectionable  to  the  police, 
it  is  to  be  shifted  to  another  ground  which  is  to  be 
