5^4 
TH^ T^^OPiCAL AGRICULTURIST. 
[February 2 , 1891 . 
knowledge of the results of agricultural teaching 
the school, it cannot be doubted that the institution 
has iulfilled the object for which it was founded, and 
that its influence is slowly permeating the classes it 
was intended to reach. Granted that ofBoialdom 
seconds the efforts of agricultural oBBcers (and so far 
it is a matter of congratulation that much valuable 
help has been derived from that Eource) and that 
the rulers of the people persist in their endeavour to 
ameliorate the condition of the native agriculturist 
and the work initiated by Mr. H. W. Green late 
Director of Public Instruction, will be a source of 
much material benefit and happiness to the poor 
cultivators iuOeylon. 
OUR FOREST DEPARTMENT. 
The policy of the department has been to subordi- 
nate all other work as much as possible to the work 
of selecting and demarcating our future forest reserves. 
The buivey Department was busy during last year 
surveying blocks of forest selected by the forest officers. 
In the Western Province, in the neighbourhood of Miri- 
g.masouie three or f ur thousand acres of forest have 
bceu surveye 1 for Railway Forest Reserves and the werk 
is not yei lurnisned. Two large forests of about 3,001) 
acres and 2,000 acres have been surveyed in the 
Kaluiara district. For the Oolombo district two fo'ests 
of about 1,500 and 1,000 acres respectively are being 
“ Settled’' by Mr. Mantell. There are one or two other 
small forests ready for settlement. 
The other' provinces in which reserved forests have 
been selested and are either proclaimed or are in 
process «f settlement are the Central, the 
Southern, the North-Western and Sabaragamuwa. 
The difficulty now is the appointment of a suitable 
Forest Settlement officer; different officers have been 
appointed from time to time but the work done by 
them has been as a rule very unsatisfactory. So far 
Mr. Mantell appears to have bceu the only one who 
understood the duties and took a real interest in them. 
It is the intention of Government, we believe, to apnoint 
some civil servant as permanent Forest Settlement 
officer for the island. A R7,200 man will be appointed 
and he will get RIO per day commuted travelling 
allowance so that the appointment will be a good one. 
But one Forest Settlement Officer will not bo enough. 
He could only “ settle ” 6 to 12 forests a jenr and at 
that rate a generation will pass before the Forest 
Department has its full extent of reserved forests. It 
would be very much better if Government were to 
appoint the different Chief Surveyors as Forest Settle- 
ment officers, each for his own province. They are 
far and away the best public officers outside the Forest 
Department for the work. 
A good deal of timber and firewood was supplied (o 
public departments during lust year. In the Western 
Province however it has been found that the extent of 
forest land and the supplies of limber in private hands 
is 80 great that it is not worth the while of the For- 
est Department to compete with local traders. For the 
next few years the department will only supply public 
departments in the Western Province with timber that 
cannot be obtained from tenders or that may be 
urgently required. This however, applies only to 
locally felled timber. The Central Timber Depot in 
Colombo will be kept up aud will be stocked with 
satinwood, halmilla, milla, palu and other woods 
from other provinces. At present the Central Defot 
is located on the Harbour Works Yard in Galie Buck, 
but the Forest Department is to take over from the 
Colonial Storekeeper in the course of the present year 
th« lind called Beira ” which juts into the lake 
between the Pettah aiicl Fort railway stations. Tliis 
will bo a splendid site for a depol, aud it is proposed to 
improve it by reclamation from the lake and by the 
construction of a railway tiding, timber sheds, saw 
mills, &c. 
During the past year timber depots wer; opened at 
Kfclauiya on the banks of the Kelai.iganga, and Kalu- 
tara on the banks of the Kaluganga aud at AIntgama 
on the banks of the Beulota river. The work of slock- 
ing them will bo oommoucod this year. 
The work of checking the transit of timber on the 
ICel3niganga,the Kaluganga and the Bentota rivers was 
fully organized last year. Two suporiutendents and 
10 river watchers were appointed. The illicit re- 
moval of timber is now almost stopped. 
The felling of ebo._y has, we believe, been restricted 
throughout the i'-land owing to the low price. 
LONDON AND COLOMBO PRICES OF 
CEYLON TEA. 
ihe average prices for our Ceylon tea in the 
London and local markets has been well maintained, 
as may be judged from the following : — 
Ceylon Tea in Mincing Lane. 
Average rate realized 1885 . . . , l/2d 
1/ld* 
llil 
lid 
lid 
The weekly averages for London and Colombo 
sales are in the first two columns as follows, (in the 
third column we add the ruling quotation for Stan- 
dard Fair Pekoe Souchong) 
Reuter’s 
Do 
do 
1883 . . 
Do 
do 
1887 .. 
Do 
do 
1888 , . 
Do 
do 
1889 .. 
Do 
do 
1890 . . 
London 
AND OoLOMno Tea 
Prices. 
Jan. 9th 
d. 
Ill 
„ 16th 
• •• 
Hi 
„ 23rd 
HJ 
„ 30th 
Feb. 6th 
Hi 
• •• 
11 
„ 13th 
10| 
„ 20th 
104 
„ 27th 
lOJ 
Mar. 6th 
10 
„ 13th 
10 
„ 20tU 
10 
„ 27th 
lOi 
Apr. 3rd 
tl04 
„ 10th 
lOi 
10} 
„ 17th 
„ 24 th 
lOi 
May 1st 
10 
„ 8th 
10 
„ 15 th 
• •• 
10§ 
22nd 
ioh 
„ 29th 
104 
June 5th 
• •• 
lOJ 
„ 12th 
lOi 
„ 19tfi 
11 
„ 26th 
10| 
July 3rd 
lOi 
„ 10th 
lOi 
„ 17th 
• •• 
10 
„ 24th 
101 
io| 
„ 31st 
• •• 
Aug. 7th 
lOj 
„ 14th 
lOi 
„ 21st 
lOi 
„ 28th 
• •• 
101 
Sept. 4th 
10| 
„ nih 
11 
„ 18th 
Hi 
„ 25th 
Oct. 2nd 
1/ 
1/ 
„ 9th 
• •• 
/llj 
„ 16th 
Hi 
„ 23rd 
• •• 
111 
„ 30th 
Hi 
Nov, 6th 
111 
„ 13th 
Hf 
„ 20th 
Hi 
„ 27th 
H±- 
Dec. 4th 
Hi 
„ nth 
11 
„ loth 
lOi 
26th 
(Holidays) 
(Colombo.) 
G„ W. & S 
cents 
d. 
. 44 
lOi 
44 
lOi 
43 
10 
43 
9i 
42 
9| 
42 
9i 
41 
9| 
41 
9} 
41 
8i 
41 
9 
42 
9 
42 
9 
42 
9 
42 
8| 
40 
8| 
40 
8j 
39 
84 
39 
42 
8i 
42 
44 
(Holiday*) 
44 
8i 
46 
8| 
46 
9 
46 
9 
46 
9 
43 
8i 
43 
8| 
36 
8| 
36 
8^ 
39 
8§ 
39 
84 
40 
8^ 
40 
8i 
41 
8i 
41 
n 
42 
93 
42 
10 
46 
10 
46 
10 
42 
9i 
42 
42 
9i 
42 
9i 
41 
9j 
41. 
9i 
42 
9 
42 
9 
40 
8| 
40 
8i 
(Holidays) 
