Nov.  i,  1892.] 
THE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST. 
3°l 
the  species  to  be  lopped.  The  operation  is  a very 
exhausting  one  to  the  forest,  and  gives  only  small 
returns,  and  should  he  restricted.  In  the  S uthern 
Province  the  kitul  rent  has  only  obtained  B,2C3'02, 
The  headmen  in  the  villages  usually  bid  for  the 
lease  of  all  the  kitul  trees  in  a forest,  and  make  a 
profit  by  re-renting  single  trees  to  separate  people. 
When  they  bid  of  course  the  other  people  in  the 
village  do  not  like  to  outbid  them  and  the  revenue 
is  as  yet  small.  The  total  value  of  minor  produce 
taken  from  the  forests  by  purchasers  amounts 
to  R6, 980-55.  TT  , _ . 
Exports  of  Forest  Produce. — The  Hon.  the  Prin- 
cipal Collector  of  Customs  has  kindly  furnished  me 
with  a table  showing  the  exports  of  timber  and  other 
forest  produce  sent  from  Ceylon.  The  table  will  be 
found  in  appendix  D.  The  exports  of  ebony  and 
halmilla  have  considerably  diminished  during  the 
year,  but  those  of  sstin  have  risen  from  306  to 
1,409  cwt.  The  export  of  ironwood,  which  I expect 
must  be  palu,  have  nearly  doubled.  The  export  of 
palmirah  laths  and  rafters  fell  off  by  about  half 
during  the  year.  This  may  be  due  to  the  attention 
of  the  Jaffna  people  being  diverted  to  the  collection 
of  palmirah  fibre  for  Messrs.  Vavasseur  & Co. 
Amongst  the  officers  mentioned  with  special  ap- 
probation by  Mr.  Broun  is  the  Assistant  Conser- 
vator cf  Sibr.ragamuwa.  Mr.  Lewis.  While  dilatori- 
ness was  complained  of  in  regard  to  many,  Mr* 
Lewis 
was  the  first  to  send  in  his  annual  report,  which 
reached  me  on  7th  March.  He  sent  a very  full 
report,  accompanied  by  a map  showing  very  clearly 
the  distribution  of  different  classes  of  forests,  the 
mountain  ranges,  and  the  catchment  areas  of  the 
Kalu  and  Walawe  gangas.  The  Assistant  Conservator, 
Sabaragamuwa,  has  also  annexed  a map  to  his  re- 
Eort  showing  the  areas  which,  in  his  opinion,  should 
e reserved. 
As  regards  probationers  at  Dehra  Dun  forest 
school,  we  learn  that 
Mr.  W.  Ferguson  obtained  the  Banger’s  certificate 
at  Dehra  Dun,  while  Mr.  J.  St.  L.  Hansard  failed 
to  obtain  the  necessary  certificate.  The  illness 
which  he  contracted  after  being  mauled  by  a man- 
eating  tiger  interfered  with  his  studies,  notwithstand- 
ing that  he  was  given  one  year  extra  at  the  school, 
and  he  was  unable  to  get  pass  marks.  Mr.  A.  M. 
Walker  was  the  only  student  left  at  Dehra  during 
the  rest  of  the  year.  He  passed  the  final  examinations 
after  completion  of  the  year. 
Thb  concluding  paragraphs  of  this  interesting 
report  are  as  follows : — 
Agri-Horticulturai,  Show  in  Colombo.— All  As- 
sistant Conservators,  except  the  Assistant  Conservator 
North-Central  Province,  sent  specimens  of  timber  and 
forest  produce  to  this  Show.  The  collection  was  really 
a very  good  one,  that  from  the  North-Western  Province 
calling  for  special  remark  on  account  of  the  handsome 
timber  specimens  exhibited,  while  the  Eastern  Pro- 
vince sent  in  a capital  collection  of  minor  forest 
produce.  Uva  also  sent  a very  good  collection,  but  it 
was  broken  up,  and  the  fibres,  dyes,  &c,,  were 
exhibited  in  another  section. 
The  following  silver  medals  were  awarded : — ■ 
For  the  best  collection  of  cabinet  woods — Assistant 
Conservator,  North-Western  Province. 
For  the  best  collection  of  forest  produce — Assistant 
Conservator,  Eastern  Province. 
For  the  best  collection  of  timber — Assisiant  Con- 
servator, Central  Province,  Assistant  Conservator, 
Sabaragamuwa. 
For  the  best  collection  of  jungle  fruit— Assistant 
Conservator,  Uva. 
For  the  best  collection  of  jungle  roots,  &c. — As- 
sistant Conservator,  Western  Province. 
Game  Laws. — A law  for  the  protection  of  elephants 
and  buffaloes  has  at  last  been  passed,  and  a law  for 
raising  an  export  duty  on  hides  and  horns.  It  is  hoped 
that  these  measures  will  have  some  effect  in  stopping 
indiscriminate  slaughter.  There  has  been  a great  deal 
of  grumbling  on  aocount  of  the  license  for  shooting 
elephants  being  raised  to  BlOO.  I cannot  see  much 
cause  for  this  grumbling.  To  a person  who  has  never 
shot  an  elephant  and  who  is  desirous  of  killing  one  an 
elephant  should  be  well  worth  R100,  and  one  animal  of 
this  kind  should  satisfy  most  men.  Those  who  are  not 
satisfied  should,  if  they  are  not  willing  to  pay  the  money, 
confine  themselves  to  proscribed  rogues  which  the 
Government  Agents  will  gladly  allow  them  to  kill  with- 
out paying  for  licences.  The  export  duty  on  hides  and 
horns  will  no  doubt  have  some  effect  in  eheoking  whole- 
sale slaughter  of  game,  but  it  will  not  put  a stop  to  the 
battues  organised  by  gypsies  and  by  estate  coolies,  who 
go  to  the  low-country  for  the  sake  of  the  meat  of  deer 
and  pig,  which  they  dry  and  take  up  for  sale  to  the 
estates. 
The  Assistant  Conservator  of  Uva  reports  a case  of 
this  sort  and  suggests  that  Forest  Officers  be  empowered 
by  Government  to  arrest  any  person  killing  game  or 
shooting  out  of  his  division  without  a license. 
Elephant  Establishment  in  the  Eastern  Pro- 
vince.— An  elephant  was  captured,  but  received  a fall 
when  it  was  caught,  from  the  effects  of  which  it  ulti- 
mately died.  Another  was  found  in  the  jungle,  but 
having  lost  its  mother  and  being  still  very  young  it 
died  before  it  could  be  taken  out  of  the  jungle.  An- 
other, a cow-elephant,  was  caught  and  is  doing  well. 
She  was  found  stuck  in  the  mud  at  Lahugalla 
tank  and  was  rescued  and  brought  in.  The  elephant 
caught  in  1890  is  doing  well  and  growing  fast.  He 
is  now  very  fairly  trained  for  depot  work. 
Collection  of  Palmirah  Fibre.— Dr.  Trimen,  in 
his  annual  report,  has  already  referred  to  the  trade  in 
palmirah  fibre  which  has  sprung  up  in  the  Jaffna 
peninsula.  What  is  sought  for  is  the  base  of  the 
petiole  of  the  leaf,  and  only  the  ends  of  old  leaves 
which  have  already  dropped  off  should  be  pulled 
from  the  trees.  But  the  people  in  their  greed  for 
money  pull  off  stalks  which  have  not  died  off  com- 
pletely, and  thus  the  naked  stems  of  the  palms  are 
exposed  prematurely,  and  many  trees  die  off.  It  is 
to  be  hoped  that  in  Crown  lands  at  least  a check  is 
given  to  this  new  trade,  and  that  only  trees  which 
would  any  how  be  felled  for  their  timber  will  be 
stripped  of  their  leaves. 
We  now  quote  the  seotion  on  natural  and 
artificial  reproduction  : — 
natural  reproduction. 
Most  of  the  Assistant  Conservators’  reports  speak 
more  about  the  sending  than  about  the  reproduction. 
On  the  whole  the  year  seems  to  have  been  fairly  good, 
althoogh  the  Assistant  Conservator,  Central  Province, 
complains  that  the  excess  of  wet  in  the  wet  part  of 
his  Province  killed  the  seed,  while  the  Assistant  Con- 
servator, Northern  Province,  blames  the  dry  weather 
in  his  Province  for  causing  much  of  the  seed  to  be 
sterile.  The  Assistant  Conservator,  Sabaragsmuwa, 
who  has  evidently  studied  the  natural  reproduction 
of  his  forests  with  great  care,  and  who  gives  in  his 
report  the  result  of  his  remarks,  reports  that  the 
abnormal  rainfall  has  caused  a large  increase  of  seed- 
lings in  his  forests. 
The  reports  on  all  species  are  shown  in  table 
in  appendix  A,  and  I shall  here  only  make  special 
mention  of  the  more  important  species. 
Na  ( Mesua  ferrea)  : in  the  Kadawatu  and  Atakalan 
korales  of  the  Batnapura  District  the  seed  crop  of 
the  year  was  not  quite  so  large  as  in  previous  years, 
but  a good  supply  of  plant  was  produced. 
Red  Dun  ( Doona  zeylanica)  flowered  abundantly  and 
germinated  very  freely  in  the  Morahella  forests  in 
the  Ratuapura  District.  I noticed  that  the  white  dun 
( Doona  trapezijolia)  also  seeded  freely,  but  the  seeding 
of  not  only  the  duns  but  of  other  Dipterocarps,  such 
as  Shoreas  and  Eopeas,  appears  to  be  very  uncertain, 
or  only  recurred  at  intervals  of  several  years.  I have 
thus  for  the  last  two  years  been  unable  to  get  the 
seed  of  several  species  which  are  yet  unidentified. 
Halmilla  [Berry a amnionilla).  In  the  Matale  Dis- 
trict of  the  Central  Province  this  tree  is  springing 
np  in  favourable  localities  wherever  light  is  ad- 
admitte  I by  the  felling  of  other  trees.  In  the 
Eastern  Province  seedlings  are  also  abundant  and 
fill  up  gaps  in  the  forests,  and  in  the  Manu- 
wangama  forest  of  the  Chilaw  District,  North- 
Western  Province,  and  in  the  Kolonna  korale  of  the 
Province  of  Sabaragamuwa’there  is  a plentiful  crop.  In 
