266 
THE TROPIOKL AOR1CIIS1.TUR18T. 
[October i, 1890. 
“ Lady Gordon ” is often not available, and we re- 
gret to find it stated : — 
Getting timber by rail from Matale is almost pro- 
hibitive, the rates being 33 per cent, more than the 
steamer rates, and we never use the railway unless 
we are absolutely driven to it. 
We should think this was a oaso for special 
rates, and if rates at which timber can be cheaply 
conveyed from the great north-central and northern 
forests cannot be arranged for a northern exten- 
sion, such as is now under consideration, that fact 
will be “a heavy blow and great discouragement” 
to the enterprise. As matters stand, the Forest 
Department is compelled to resort to private sailing 
vessels for lower rates of transport.— Not only the 
tea planters with the demand for their tea fac- 
tories, but all fuel-consuming establishments in 
Colombo and the general public who have year 
after year to pay high prices for firewood used for 
domestic purposes, are interested in the question of 
fuel supply. We need, therefore, make no apology 
lor anotner long extract : — 
The supply of fuel to the Government Railway 
remained throughout the year in charge of Mr. 
W. t£. Olark. As a rule there have been no complaints 
about the quality of the wood supplied, but on one 
occasion a large amount was rejected by the Railway 
Department among the deliveries at Veyangoda. 
Most of it, however, was accepted at reduced rates. 
During the year 19,964^ cubio yards was supplied 
from Crown forests at a cost to Government of 
R22,666‘21, and 68,321j cubic yards from private 
forests at a cost of R79,553, or a total of 78,285| cubic 
yards at a cost of R102,213‘53, exclusive of cost of 
establishment and other expenses. The revenue 
obtained from this firewood amounted to R118,180'70, 
which sum covers costs of establishment and sundries, 
and leaves a margin to expend on the re-afiorestatiou 
of the Crown forests set apart for the railway supply. 
As seen from the above figures, the amount 
supplied from private forests is about three times 
as great as that from Crown forests. There is 
no doubt, however, that the supply available from 
private sources is diminishing rapidly and the 
time will come when the bulk of the supply 
must be drawn from Crown forests. The cause of 
this is due partly to the denudation of private forests 
without corresponding re-afforestation, and partly to 
the indirect results of the establishment of a Forest 
Department. There is no doubt now that much of 
the so-called private wood of a few years back really 
came from Crown forests. For instance, the supplies 
delivered at Kalutara came almost entirely from the 
Crown waturanas on the Kaluganga and its affluents, 
but since these forests have been more closely watched, 
it has become exceedingly difficult to get tenders tor 
the supply of private wood to be delivered at Kalutara. 
It is the intention of Government to increase 
gradually the proportion of fuel yielded by Crown 
forests until, if possible, the entire supply comes 
from that source. Obviously this cannot be done at 
once, for until we know what amount of Crown forest 
there is available, risk would be run in over-working 
our forests on the mere supposition that the supply 
is sufficient. A survey is now being made of the 
Crown forests bordering on the railway, commencing 
near Mirigama, and the surveyors are working gradually 
eastward. 
Later on it will be necessary to make fuel planta- 
tions on the upper section of the Railway above 
Kadugannawa, as it would be too costly to transport 
firewood up the incline from the lowcountry forests. 
The rates per cubic yard at which firewood was 
supplied to the Railway during 1889 were as follows 
Class I. Class II. Class 111. 
R. c. R. c. R. c. 
Upper Section .. 1 65 .. 1 .50 .. 1 37J 
Lower Section .. 1 50 .. 1 37i .. 1 25 
It is considered that so long as first class firewood 
remaiDS below R2 pec onbio yacd) firewood can com- 
pete successfully with coal. This rate, however, 
takes no account of wear and tear in the boiler tubes, 
which is far greater with coal than with wood. 
The other Public Departments in Colombo supplied 
with firewood were the Convict Establishment, the 
Harbour Works, the Government Factory, the Master 
Attendant, and the Government Printer. The amount 
sold was R17,844, In Uva RG1’70 was realised by the 
sale of charcoal to the Public Works Department. 
Foil Supply to the Public. — In the towns of Jafina 
and Trincomalee, the fuel for the residents is supplied 
from Crown forests. In Jaffna the wood is brought 
to depot, and retailed to purchasers. The rate at the 
beginning of the year was R4 per ton of dry firewood, 
but this was subsequently raised to R5; The quantity 
sold amounted to 2,187 l-7th tons, realising R10,103. In 
Trincomalee a system of licenses was introduced which 
leaves the establishment free for supervision. During 
the year R380 was realised on this account, a license 
fee of RlO being levied on each single bullock cart. 
Besides the above R66'40 was recovered for royalty on 
332 tons, at 20 cents per ton. At Galle the firewood 
for the town supply comes almost entirely from Crown 
forests, but the Crown derives no revenue from the 
removal of firewod. 
A wasteful system prevails in the Galle district of 
allowing the villagers to sell, after the harvest is 
over, the fence sticks out by them from Crown forests. 
As fence sticks will last at least three years, if this 
practice were stopped, as undoubtedly should be the 
case, a large saving of straight and valuable saplings 
would be effected. 
In Uva 148J cubic yards of firewood were sold for 
R290’60. A royalty of R35'05 was paid for 701 
bushels of charcoal, and the Assistant Conservator 
sold for R19675, 583 bushels prepared by the De- 
partment, 
On receipt of a valuable memorandum prepared by 
Mr. Broun, the Assistant Conservator tried some 
Indian methods of charcoal burning, and eventually 
devised an improved kiln, which not only gives as 
large an outturn, but requires less care in con- 
struction and in supervision after tiring. 
As regards the supply of firewood to tea estates 
rules have been drawn up and passed during the 
year, which prescribe the conditions under which 
estates can lease tracts of Crown forest for the purpose. 
The notice of charcoal and improved methods 
of preparing it suggests the question, which, we 
suppose, must have been well considered, of the 
use of this substance in the locomotive furnaces, 
in which case it would seem that the carriage 
up the Kadugannawa incline of so light a sub- 
stance ought not to be costly? Then again if, 
Indian coal of a fair average quality continues 
to come in at moderate rates when compared 
with the cost of the black diamonds from Cardiff 
the proportion to coal of wood fuel at E2 per cubic 
yard may cease to apply. Of course the quality 
of coal as well as its price have to be taken info 
consideration, and we suppose that coal of an 
inferior quality for calorific purposes will be 
damaging to boiler tubes in proportion to the 
degree of inferiority ? Col. Clarke does not touch 
on petroleum waste, the use of which, if it could 
be cheaply supplied from the fire regions of the 
Caspian, or other sources, Indian perhaps included, 
would considerably affect the demand for firewood 
by tea planters, as well as by the railway and 
foundries and factories generally. 
The royalty and share systems of dealing 
with forest produce are noticed, and here, as in 
India, North Borneo and other places, it is felt that 
the public have a right to some share in the value 
of minor products removed from the forests, jun- 
gles and patanas, or the grass lands which corres- 
pond to the latter. On this subject the report 
states : — 
A great deal remains to be done by the Forest 
Department in bringing to market the minor prodace 
