6cT. 1, 1898.1 tHE TROPICAL AGKICtJLTURIST, 
337 
FOREST CONS R AKCY I'S CETLON. 
Mr. F.C. Fisher supplies ihf- Eepo.^ for 1S?)7. He 
disarms criticism inhis first sentence hy stating that 
he wishes it to be understood that his Report is 
merely a rcsvmc of the reports sent in by the 
As.sistanfc Conservators' of each Province." There 
is nothing novel or oriri ' al, therefore, in the 
pages before rs. Mr. Fisher gives the total 
Revenue of the Department at ... li t.SS.OoG 
Expenditure ... .. H46.5,38.'! 
Balance to the good ... R23,373 
So that, at least, the Forest Denartment pays 
its way. We have then details of the work done 
under " Area and Boundaries " (rf^^erve for-^sts^ : 
" Surveys and Workincr Finns " ; Protection and 
Improvement "; "Yield and Workintr" ; "Financial 
Resultn" (alreadv summarized) and " Ocneral 
Remarks. " The only chapter that contains in- 
formation of general interest is " Protection and 
Improvement" which covers nearly five pages. 
But the arrangement is so bad tint ir is not easy 
to pick out what is of importance. Chena 
cultivation aeems generally dyinjr out save in 
the Uva and Eastern Provinces. "Forest fires' 
are reported to do damacre in tlie same two 
provinces. The hraiches of the Assistants' work 
that ar« of most interest to planters and other.s, 
ar^ sriven under <he headings of "natural" and 
•'artificial " reproduction. In regard to the former 
we learn ; — 
We<;tern PnoviNCE.— Mendora seeded fmely in 
Barawa forest. 
Centeai. Provinok.— Tn Nuwara Elivi Di^tnit the 
Forester reports that keenn. flower'^d very nlentifnlly 
all over the district, the flowering nn the Kfinda- 
ijola side being a. month lat^r than on the N'jv/ava 
Elivff, side of the Pedr« Raneie. Sann (^lirhfjia 
nilatiirica) and mihiriya {Gorrlonin zti/^anwa) tiovrerea 
freely all throngh the vear, but there were no signs 
of reproduction from the year's fruit The red 
flowered mihiriva (Gnrdonia speriosa) blossomed to- 
wards the end of the vear in the Pnndnhi-oya 
forests. Madol, damba, and kndndawla reproduced 
freelv. In the Nanu^va clearings different species 
of Myrtacea with mihiriva are reproducine them- 
selves well. In the Hatton District. d»n. dsimba. and 
kududawla seeded freel^'. and uat«r»l rpprodnction 
haa taken place in tbo Kotagala forest, the seedhngs 
being favourable. In Nawalapitiva District the follow- 
inff species have flowered, seeded, a'ld germ mated 
freely in forests Hnmalvm zejilanicmn (livnn) 
flowered and seeded fairlv, Vatfria rirc,,m{nnta (h?A) 
flowered and seeded wel'. ""d FVirAvn. 'J'ripie.ris 
(pehimhiva), pepHif^ MbW/t 7T/!Yo?iil. damb' lEuriwn 
operoulata). hora (Dip^frncam"! z'^v^-"!'>!i-5^ flowered 
and seeded heavllv. W"l sapu {^richtVin nlauca) and 
porawamara {Cnnlldum didiimnm) havs flowered and 
seeded copiouplv. 
Matam! DisTniCT.— HalmilU, satinwood. wewarana, 
palu, pih'mbiva. snd hulanhik have seeded and ger- 
minated favonrablv where improvement fellings were 
made, and in the forests where fellingi have bc.'n 
fiarried ent numereus Beedhnes are springing up. In 
txei, where light is let into the for«sl: seedlings at once 
ar>099r In a roost verr.arknblo manner. S xtinwnod did 
EOt as a vnlp seed woll file venr, ond ebony dfes not 
apoear to have seed^^d nt f'll. 
NoPTsiCRN Pnr.viNrr. — M.->sf of the ?n'-cie=^ flnweved 
fieelv. tberg havimr been no drought. In some 0.1.863 
seedlings were abundant 
EvsTBRN PprvviNCE.— The we^tber wnq on the whole 
verv favourable for the seedling of th» forc<it trees 
and growth of aeedlinga, as the rainfall was well dis- 
tributed thronghont [the year, and there were no long 
periods of drought. Ebony fruited well iu the Biutenna, 
Koralai, and Porativu foiests, but as usual the js-ed- 
liij;;- ei'-.p-. ate leptrced to liAve been Lxd. Satmwood 
seeded largely r.a nsniil. -j In forests containing 
this tree every open spot almost bad 
seedlings. Halmilla seeded well in the 
Punawa and Nadnkadn pattus, palai seeded 
abuudan'ly. The stunted palai trees in the coast 
forests were as usnxl stripped of their branches by 
people collecting tho edib'^ fruit. Milla is reported 
to have seeded only modeiucely and the germination 
to have been ba Kauai seeded freely in the soutli 
part of the Province, and even better in the Koralai 
pattu. Kumbuk, itumpalai, "margosa, and naval all 
seeded well. 
North- Western PrtovixcF..— ftatin, halniilla, paUi, 
kumbuk, milla, mi, and hora are the principal spociei; 
that seeded abundantly durit^g the year. It has not 
been a good year for seedlings excepting in the case 
of satin, luuumidella and hora. 
NriRTii-CENTii.vi, Pkovince. — The year has been a 
good one for seedlings, but a great part of tho blossom 
this year was partially a failure, having been damaged 
bv heavy rains. 
Province or Uva. — Owing to the uiiasiiaL wet wea- 
ther tho seed and seedling crops were only partially 
aacces&tnl. 
Then as regards the "plantations" formed by 
the Dapartnient, everything connected with 
"rubber" i.s of interest; — 
Westeen PnoviNTE. — During the year 75 acres of 
land were surveyed opposite the rubber plantation 
at Midellana for the purpose of extension. Care was 
taken to select laiid well above the high water mark 
left by last year's exceptional floods. Tiie laud was 
clep.rcd of forest and the firewood sold ou the spot, 
but unfoi'cunatelv, owing to an uufavourable seed 
crop, both at Henaratgoda Government Gardens as 
well as at the Forest Department plantations at 
Edaiigoda in Sabaragamnwa, sufficient seed was not 
procurable to plant up the land opened. A small 
nursery was made with all the available seed, but it 
cannot be denied that by this circumstance a whole 
sea,son has been lost, and the wovk will have to ba 
done over again in 1898. The great difficulty of ob- 
taining seed will for some time prevent our extending 
rubber on any large scale, even assuming that suit- 
able laud is available, but in this last particular it is 
very doubtful that any large connected area can be 
found in Western Province. 
The Midellana plantation of rubber has been care- 
fully looked after, and some of the vacancies supplied. 
It is too early yet to report as to the prospects of 
this plantation, which has already had to contend 
against many drawbacks. 
Province of Sab.aragamuwa.— No further addition 
was made to the rubber plantations at Edangoda or 
at Yattipowa during th? year. The crop of seed fiom 
there (and the majority came from E-iang .da) 
amounted to 11,5.10 seeds, and was sout to tha Wes- 
tern Province for the plantation at Mideil i,nH, in 
the Piiiiduu Korale, This crop was very mtach bt-'ow 
the Assistant ("'onservator's estim.j.te, and ihe defi- 
ciency was due to the loss of much seed through 
gales of wind that destroy the young fruit. Obviously 
no seed was available for sale. If the public are to 
ba supplied with rubber seed the existing planta- 
tions will have to be added to, but it is difficult to 
find any large block of suitable soil. No tapping 
of the rubber trees at Edangoda was attempted iu 
1897, the oldeat plantation being only eight years old. 
As to other plantations here are the reports; — 
The jakwojd plantation at the Model Farm at 
Ka'ntara hos been k-'pt cleaved and frso f)om weeds. 
Th.? jak plants are already from G to S t'jet high and 
look healthy and regul-^r, giving n promise of future 
sm-cess. A tow lunumidrMla plants were put i;i, aud 
at long distances apirt, by the sidss of roads and 
drains. They arc progressing, but their giuwth is slew. 
Tne 3i-acro not selected for calamander and planted 
with ingasaman for ehade has not proved a auoces* 
