October i, 1890.] TH£ TROPICAL AQRSCULtUmST. 263 
destroyed, nothing remaining in some instaoces of large 
forest reserves but a clump or two of trees surrounded 
by miles upon miles of laiitana or scrub. 
In view of the reckless devastation thus noticed it 
is certainly time that the wealth which the colony 
possecses in its remaining forests of standing 
timber should be duly protected. What follows is 
very interesting and important in its bearing on 
timber and fuel supplies in the future : — 
Katural Reproduction.— On this important subject 
Mr. Broun confirms the opinion that I ventured to give 
in my Administration Report for 1887, that natural re- 
production is not unfavourable in this Island. Mr. 
Broun further says that “ it has hitherto not been 
sufficiently studied. It is, nevertheless, one of the most 
important items of forestry ; for, with an abundant 
reproduction, fellings can be made with the knowledge 
that the place of the trees felled is at once taken by 
others, and without the necessity for filling up the gaps 
by artificial methods. As, however, seedlings of diffe- 
rent species do not spring equally readily under the 
same conditions, it is essential to ascertain what are the 
conditions most favourable to the natural regeneration 
of certain species, and how these conditions can be 
promoted by forest operations.” 
It appears, for instance, that the swamp mendora 
(Vatica Roxiurghiana) seeds abundantly at the time 
when the flOorof the forest is several feet under water. 
The seeds are thus distributed in a fairly even layer 
over the surface where the leaf-canopy is complete, but 
where the fellings have been made with too heavy a 
hand, and the soil imprudently bared, the local rush of 
water carries away all seeds and no reproduction takes 
place. 
Satin seedlings, on the other hand, are hardly ever 
seen in dense forest, but appear in chenas and in well 
lit localities on dry, sandy soil under the low_ shelter. 
Palu, milla and margosa require similar conditions, and 
in order to encourage reproduction fairly heavy fellings 
should be made not far from the seed bearers. Hal- 
milla also requires light and a well-drained soil. If the 
latter is liable to floods all the better for this species. 
A gap caused by the removal of one or two trees is in 
favourable localities sufficient to cause numbers of hal- 
milla seedlings to spring up and struggle towards the 
light. For this reason halmilla is one of our valuable 
specie.s which reproduces itself most easily without 
much help from man. Pehimbia reproduces itself very 
much like halmilla. The forests between Passara and 
Nakkalla in Uva are full of seedlings of this timber. 
Na seedlings and saplings abound in some of the 
dense forests of the Southern Province and in parts of 
the Pasduu-korale. Ebony reproduces itself fitfully. 
What circumstances are requisite for its reproduction 
are not yet known. This tree requires careful study. 
Data are much wanted for a great number of im- 
portant species, and 1 trust that all Forest officers 
will study and make a careful record of the most 
favourable conditions to the natural regeneration of 
the more valuable timbers. 
The Assistant Conservators, Central Province and 
Eastern Province report that the year was a poor seed 
year for trees of valuable species, as compared with 
1887, which was good ; but the Assistant Conservator, 
Northern Province, says that the reproduction of satin 
and palu has been satisfactory. The Forester, Nuwara 
Eliya, brings to notice that natural reproduction in 
his district is good on slopes not exposed ro the south- 
west monsoon, eg., Kandapolla and Maturata. Heen 
uillu IS absent, and liyan, sapu, kina, mihiriya, and 
damba reproduce themselves well. 
ArtH'icial Reproduction. — It is a popular belief 
that the Forest Department should occupy itself 
chiefly in planting trees. Although plantations have 
certainly to bo made where a quick return has to be 
obtained, or where other moans of reproduction are 
not available, the Forest Department must depend 
for its continuous supply of timber more on the natural 
reproduction of the forests assisted by operations pro- 
perly conducted than on plantations which cost much 
time and money, and require much supervision. In 
fact BO costly are they that very good reason must 
be showu for their necessity before they are undertaken. 
Up to the present time the areas planted have 
been small. They are as follows : — 
Eastern Province. — Teak chenas. 
North-Western Province. — Teak plantation, Puttalam. 
Central Province. — (a) Blue gum and Cruptomerid 
,;fl^)o?iic«,Nuwara Eliya ; {!>) Plantation in strip felling, 
Nanu-oya. 
Western Province. — (a) Old teak garden, Hanwella 
{!>) Jak chenas, Mirigama. 
Province of Uva. — (a) Patana plantation, Badulla., 
Details of areas, cost, &c., are given in table 
(Anpendix D). 
The teak chenas of the Eastern Province were 
started in 1876, and have been added to at regular 
intervals up to the present time. The system followed 
has been to hand over forest land for chena culti- 
vation to Moormen, on condition that after three tO' 
five years they shonld give back the land planted 
up with teak, for which purpose seed is supplied to 
them. Such chenas are to be found at Tumpalan- 
cholai, Divilana, Palukanawa, and in the Samantarai 
and Koralai pattus. 
Mr. Broun, who has inspected these chenas, reports 
that they are not generally in a flourishing condition, 
the trees being flat topped, stunted, and far from 
vigorous. Some have been injured by fire, others by 
the bursting of a bund, and one large area has 
remained bare for want of sufficient seed, while in 
mo.st oases illuk grass springs up as soon as the land 
is handed over by the cultivator. The earlier chenaa 
are in better order than the more recent. To obtain 
these indifferent results, fine stretches of high tum- 
palai ( Vatica ohscurd) forest have been sacrificed. 
Mr. Broun is of opinion that these chenas should be 
discontinued unless the cultivator is prepared to be 
contented with a forest of a class a good deal inferior 
to that which he has hitherto received, and I fully 
concur, as tumpalai is likely to turn out a useful 
timber for public works. In any case, conditions of soil 
and drainage should be more carefully studied, companion) 
species of quick growth and light foliage introduced with 
the teak, while the neglect of the conditions imposed 
upon the cultivator should bar him from any future 
grant. Every chena cultivator should be required to 
keep up a small nursery to repair blanks. The tota 
area of the teak chenas in the Eastern Province is 
639 acres, or nearly one square mile, and the total 
expenditure, so far as can be ascertained R353‘53. 
The cryptomeria and blue gum plantation at Nuwara 
Eliya is situated behind the Assistant Agent’s hons 0 o 
It was started in 1888, and covers about twelve acres, 
over which all low jungle had been cleared with tho 
exception of saplings of the more valuable indigenous 
kinds. The plantation is on the whole successfuL 
A record of the growth should be kept year by year. 
The plantation in the strip fellings in Nanuoya forest 
has already been mentioned. The planting, com- 
menced in 1889, has not been very successful, about 
50 per cent of failures having been reported. The 
old teak garden near the resthouse at garden near 
the resthouse at Hanwella is some three acres in 
extent. It was originally opened by the Dutch, 
but about eight or ten years ago all the trees were 
felled and sold for R1,000, a very small sum com- 
pared with their real value. What now remains is 
coppice growth from the stools, which had not been 
trimmed for that purpose ; and the plantation is now 
stocked with a crop of coppice poles of seedy appear- 
ance, such as might be expected from the aga of the 
parent trees and the bad shape of the stools, Tha 
poles will probably never grow into trees of fine dimen- 
sions. 
The jak chenas at Mirigama have been already men- 
tioned (see paragraph 24) in connection with proposals 
for fuel reserves. They have been planted in two 
separate blocks, one on Hatigankanda, forty acres in 
extent, and seven to ten years old ; the other on 
Fonarrhuakanda, thirty acres in extent, and eight years 
old. The former block is planted with jak mixed with 
domba and wild almond; but of the three kinds jak is 
by far the fastest grower, outrunning completely the 
others. There are one or two patches of pare domba 
which do not s^em to thrive at alh Tha average 
