March 1, 1899.] TEE TEOPICAL 
AGRICULTURIST, 
641 
THE CEYLON FOREST DEPARTMENT. 
(ExtracU from Commission's Report.) 
It lias been oetermiDed that the Forest Adminis- 
tration o£ the Island shall be divided into two parts: 
{a) General nnd {h) Provincial. 
The contrcl of the General Administration is 
vested in tie Conservator of Forps's, while the 
management of the Provincial Administration is 
vested in the Government Agents in iheir respec- 
tive Provinces. 
All reserved forests aru intended to be included 
in Ihe General Administration, with the exception 
only of the reserved forests of tlie Wf stern and 
Sab:ir,iganm\va Provinces, which will, for the pre- 
sent at all events, remain nndcr the control of the 
Government Agents of these Provinces. 
For the purposes of the General Administration 
the IsL'.nd has been divided into six sections de- 
nominateil : (1) Northern Circle, ('2) North-Eastern 
Circle, (3) North- Western Circle. (4) Eastern Circle, 
(5) South-Eastern Circle, and (6) Hill Reserves. The 
extent and boundaries of these divisions are shown 
in the accompanying map. It will be seen that their 
boundaries do not coincide in all cases with the 
boundnries of Provinces. 
Each of these divisions has been placed under the 
management of an Assistant Conservator, who is 
directly responsible to the Conservator. 
The remaining tracts of forests laud distributed 
throughout the Provinces constitute the areas to 
come within the " Provincial " Administraiion of the 
Government Agents. In the Western Priivince, iu 
the Prouiico of Sabaragamuwa, and in the Galle 
and Jlatara Districts of the Southern Province tho 
administratioQ of the Government Agents includes 
within its scope the forests already reserved and the 
forests which may have to be reserved. When the 
detached areas iu these three Provinces have been 
surveyed and proclaimed, it is contemplated that the 
areas finally determined as "reserved" will be trans- 
ferred to the Geueral Administration ; th.t is, placed 
under the control and management of the Conservator 
and his staff. In the Provinces it is understood 
that, while the areas as defined by Mr. Fisher are 
accepted as a basis of administration, the boundaries 
may be varied hereafter according to circumstances, 
the Conservator handing over to the Government 
Agents such portions as may be suited for cultiva- 
tion and are not required to bs reserved for climatic 
or other purposes, and the Government Agents on 
their part transferring to the Conservator any por- 
tions of the areas now placed in their charge that 
may subsequently be found to be required as re- 
servatioii". 
The Committee do not view with any particular 
degree of fnvour the creation of village forests, but 
if It be determined to create and to maintain village 
forests they should be under the control of the Gov- 
ernment Agents, should be placed in charge of the 
village headmen, and all pruduce taken therefrom 
should be paid for according to a scale to be fixed by 
the Government Agent, the proceeds being paid over 
to Gansabliawa Funds to be employed, if necessary, 
for the protection of these forests. In the event of 
any improper use being nnideof village forests, su^ h, 
for instance, as chena cultivation, the forests should 
be resumed by the Crown. Iu order that these vilhige 
forests may be protected from encroachment they 
should be surveyed. 
ST.VFF. 
The Committee have considered carefully the ques- 
tion of the staff requisite to carry out these proposals, 
and accept with some additions and mo Jilicatious the 
staff agreed on between Air Fibher and the Govern- 
ment Agents. The staff will bo divided into (a) 
Superior or Controlling, (h) E.xocutivo and protec- 
tive, and ((■) Clerical. A re classification and ro- 
arrangement of salaries on an incremental scale is 
reoomniendi'd for tho Superior Staff. The scheme 
flubmitted is reasonable, and, w hilo cnlcnlatcd to give 
Bftlisfaction to tho officers of the Deparlmeut, ia 
ecQuomical. 
SUPEIUOE STAFF. 
For the Superior or Controlling Staff we recommend — 
R. 
1 Conservator at .. .. 12,000 
1 Assistant Conservator at .. 6,000 to 7,000 
1 D.I. do. . . . . 5,000 to 0,000 
2 D.-). do. .. .. 4,500 to 5.000 
2 Do. do. .. .. 4,000 to 4,000 
1 Do, do. .. .. 3.=jC0 
1 Do. do. . . . . 3,000 
the maximum cost being RoO.SOO, ag.iinst R59,000 now 
provided iu the Estimates of Expenditure. The ex- 
isting staff exceeds in number the staff considered 
by the Committee to be requisite and we advise that 
the three. Foresters, Messrs. Huddlestou, Ferguson, 
and Hansard, hi removed from the Department and, 
if possible, transferred to other employment. -Mr. 
Ferguson's .services, we are disposed to think, could be 
profitably utilized in the Irrigation Department as a 
Superintendent of Village Tanks, and Messrs. Huddles- 
tou and Hansard might be retired with the gratuity to 
which their length of service entitles them. 
When the senior Assistant Consenator, Captain 
A M Walker, retires next year, the Committee re- 
commend that the other Assistant Conservators 
should be advanced a step in the order in which 
they are shown in the Appendix. If this be done, 
there will be a vacancy for a jnni.ir Assistant Con- 
servator, the officer whom Mr. Fisher calls a super- 
numerary, and this should be filled, in our opinion, 
by the appointment of a scien'ificall}' trained man, 
perferably by a man trained in Forestry at Cooper's 
Hill. 
The Committee attach importance to the Assist- 
ant Conservators in Circles and Provinces being 
granted a horse allowance and being required to 
keep a horse. At present the keeping of a horse ia 
left optional with these olBcers, such as keep 
horses being granted the allowance. 
The Committee do not think that the appoint- 
ment of an Office Assistant is at present necessary, 
and recommend that tie post of Superintendent 
of the Central Timber Depot be maintained on its 
present footing. 
For the Executive Staff ^^r. Fisher proposes 
Ringeva and Guards. The Establishment would 
consist of 34 officers. 
SAVING ON KSTIMAXE3. 
The following table shows the estimated total cost 
of the Establishment advocated by the Committee 
as compared with the provision considered to be neces- 
sary at the present time : — 
New Scheme. Estimates of 1898. 
Rs. Es, 
Superior Staff .. 48.500 .. 59,000 
Executive Staff . . 22,500 .. 26.120 
Protective Stuff . , 5,012 .. 6,270 
Clerical Staff" .. 11.08'J ... 11,613 
Peons .. 2,100 .. 2^850 
8'.),!)<J0 105.853 
Add for travelling 
expenses, A'c. . . 27,000 . . 34,315 
116,990 MOOes 
an eventual saving, as compared with the provision in 
the Estimates of 1898, of R2;i,178. In preparing this 
table the Committee have taken the average ra°tes of 
salary payable to officers on incrementnl scales, and 
have excluded all personal allowances of a temporary 
character. 
KAILW'AV surrnKs. 
We find tbnt tho complaint of the Railway Depart- 
ment as to inconvenience and cost of firewood is not 
exaggerated, but we have obtained no evidence of 
the Railway being able to obtain better or cheaper 
supplies elsewhere ; on tho contrary, we find that the 
private p:irties from who-n they have hitherto oh- 
tain-d a p.irt of their wood fuel are unable to 
ai|>p!y for next year a quantity equal to what they 
h-MB hitherto, and we are satisfied that, where the 
Foroit Department to cease to supply, the cost o£ 
