Oct.  1,  1895.]  THE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST. 
231 
FOREST  CONSERVANCY  ; 
CONSERVATOR’S  REPORT  FOR  1894. 
SHOULD  THE  FOREST  DEPARTMENT  BE 
ABOLISHED  AND  KACHCHEHI  OFFICIALS 
BE  MADE  FORESTERS  AS  WELL  AS 
POLICEMEN  ? 
Tlie  Forest  DnpcT,rtment  is  umlerstoocl  to  be 
standing  on  its  defence.  “ Retvenchinent  ” as  a 
cry  lias  rung  tlirougli  tlie  island.  R.adical  re- 
forin  and  retrenclinient  based  on  tlie  s'vceping- 
away  of  tlie  iinineniorial  Paddy  Rents,  and  the 
absolute  promise  of  Government,  bad  been  the  i<lea 
in  the  imblic  mind,  as  involving  a corre.sponiling 
cutting-down  and  re-organis.atioii  of  the  Revenue 
service.  But  very  cleverly  has  onr  Executive 
got  a Commi.ssion  to  spre.ad  out  its  Inquiry  over 
the  whole  body  of  Establishments  and  to  furnish 
such  a Report  as  may  afford  an  excuse  for 
ignoring  the  original  purpose  in  view  and  for 
indulging  in  the  very  minimum  of  alteration.  Some 
people  indeed,  thipk  that  the  whole  affair  will  end 
in  the  Colonial  Secretary  doubling  up  a couple 
of  Magistracies  here— the  Judicial  rather  than 
the  Revenue  Service  suffering  !— and  cutting  off 
an  unfortunate  Survey  officer  or  peon  elsewhere. 
We  shall  see. 
But  meantime,  it  has  struck  more  than  one 
would-be  critic, — afraid  to  face  the  real  problem 
of  Retrenchment,— that  a safe  outlet  for  zeal  in 
the  public  interests  would  be  found  in  some  of 
the  outlying  Services  or  Departments  which 
have  neither  revenue  nor  judicial  justification 
for  their  existence.  Among  these,  the  Forest 
Department  was  especially  singled  out  by  a native 
rnoHicial  Member  of  Council,  apparently  with 
the  sympathy  if  not  encouragement  of  the  Exe- 
cutive ; and  this  has  led  to  the  belief  that 
there  would  be  no  objection  in  high  circles  to 
imposing  Forest,  as  well  .as  Police,  duties  on 
the  occupants  of  the  different  Kachcherie.s, 
in  order  to  justify  the  continued  existence 
of  the  latter  on  their  present  scale.  It  is  pecu- 
liarly unfortunate  that,  at  such  a juncture,  the 
Conservator  of  Forests  should  have  to  go  on 
leave  and  that  he  should  furnish — for  the  second 
time — what  he  himself  considers  an  unfinished 
and  inadequate  Report.  Such  as  it  is,  we  give 
extracts  representative  of  the  more  interesting, 
practical  portions  elsewhere.  But  we  would  say 
that  the  very  first  duty  of  Mr.  Broun  on  his 
return  should  be  to  supply  a special  Report  with 
“ the  case  ” for  the  Department  as  a separate  entity 
— summing  up  what  it  h.as  done  in  the  past,  is 
doing  now,  and  may  be  expected  further  to  do 
in  the  interest  of  the  Colony.  This  will  enable 
a projier  judgment  to  be  formed,  and  if  after 
such  is  weighed  in  the  balance,  the  Forest  De- 
partment is  found  wanting,  we  should  be  among 
the  first  to  cry  for  abolition  or  amalgamation. 
[But  let  not  this  >ide  businoss,  divert  the  public 
mind  from  the  real  object  of  Retrenchment,  based 
as  it  was  on  the  Paddy  Rents  abolition.] 
In  thinking  of  the  raiaoit  d’etre  of  a Forest  De- 
p.artment,  we  are  always  reminded  of  the  shrewd 
Scottish  Laird’s  injunction  to  his  son  and  heir: — 
“Keep  stickin’  in  a tree,  Jock,  it  will  aye  be 
glowin’  M'hen  ye’re  sleepin’.”  It  may  be  said 
why  .should  Assistant  Agents  not  .see  to  thi.s. 
Why  not  indeed  ? But  unfortunately,  where  is 
the  district  revenue  officer  wdio  has  given  him- 
self the  trouble  even  to  establish  a model 
Kachcheri  garden  with  products  familiar  to  the 
people  in  order  to  show  what  proper  cultivation 
means,  and  the  results?  If  P'orestry  and  ar- 
boreal plantations  are  to  be  attempted  at  all, 
it  is  quite  clear  that  they  must  have  skilled 
29 
direction  and  supervi.sion.  The  work  must  be 
well  done,  or  it  had  far  better  be  left  alone 
altogether.  We  do  not  know  that  practical 
l)lanters  sjieak  very  highly  of  some  of  the  efforts 
of  the  Department  towarils  e.stablishing  planta- 
tions in  the  hill  districts,  and  it  is  possible,  that 
after  these  are  once  started,  there  would  be  eco- 
nomy in  giving  out  their  upkeep — weeding,  supt 
plying,  Ac.— on  contr.act  to  the  nearest  estate  supe; 
rintendent  who  might  be  inclined  to  Lake  up  the 
charge.  Experienced  supervision  would  still  be 
required  ; but  a contract,  if  feasilde,  should  save 
the  moving  about,  or  eng.aging,  of  a special  force 
of  forest  coolies. 
We  must,  however,  look  more  closely  at  the 
Report  before  us,  and  the  first  broad  fact  that 
comes  out  is  that  although  there  was  an  increase 
of  income  last  year — timber  .and  other  produce 
sold — from  R36 1,000  in  1893  to  nearly  R.381,000 
in  1894  ; yet  the  deficit  on  the  working  of  the 
Department  wdiich  was  close  on  R.39,000  for  1893, 
w'as  no  less  than  R72,000  for  last  year.  The 
large.st  portion  of  this  deficit  l»s  accrued  in  the 
M^estern  and  Central  provinces  ; while  the  Eastern, 
Northern,  North-Western  and  Uva  provinces  show 
a surplus.  But  it  seems  the  Eastern  has  done 
less  well  with  its  timber  trade  than  in  pre- 
vious years  owing  to  the  re-establishment  of  the 
Indian  import  duties  ; while  the  falling-off  in 
the  North-Central  province  is  due  to  the  low 
price  obtained  for  ebony.  Then  again  in  the 
Central,  a good  deal  of  timber  delivered  in  De- 
cember could  not  be  paid  for  or  credited  till 
1895.  Nevertheless,  explanation  is  required,  and 
not  afforded,  so  far  as  we  can  see,  in  justifi- 
cation of  the  high  amount  of  chai’ges  in  the 
Western  and  some  other  provinces.  It  will  be 
necessary  to  show  how  far  the  Colony  can  count 
on  an  .adeipiate  return  for  this  comp.aratively 
heavy  and  eontinnous  outl.ay,  in  the  future.  If  such 
return  is  not  assured,  most  cert.ainly  there  is  need 
for  the  she.ars  of  economy  to  be  effectually  ap- 
plied. That  the  Conservator’s  office  should  make 
an  increased  appropriation  in  1894,  up  to  wellnigh 
10  per  cent  of  the  total  outlay,  seems  also  to  re- 
quire examination. 
To  turn  to  some  of  the  actual  M'ork  done,  we 
are  told  of  a total  area  of  reserved  forests  equal 
to  52,000  acres  with  162,000  acres  taken  up  to 
be  reserved,  waiting  for  final  proclamation,  and 
72,000  acres  of  fresh  areas  gazetted  for  settle- 
ment hast  year.  A good  deal  of  work  has  been 
in  demarcating  forest  boundaries,  in  surveys 
and  “ working  plans,”  which  latter  term  applies 
to  sample  plots  with  pl.anted  trees  in  which 
measurements  for  .annmal  increment  .are  registered 
— teak  in  the  North-Central  province  showing 
one  of  the  best  results.  We  pass  over  dep.art- 
mental  det.ails,  with  prosecutions  .and  the  control 
of  chena  cultivation,  to  draw  attention  to  the 
Conserv.ator’s  rem.arks  (reproduced)  as  to  Forest 
fires.  The  seed  crop  a))pears  to  have  been  bad 
hast  year,  .all  except  of  the  satinwoorl  tree.  We 
direct  attention  to  the  notes  on  the  progress 
of  the  different  plantations  as  perhaps  the  part 
of  Mr.  Broun’s  Report  that  is  of  most  general 
interest,  especially  to  our  planting  readers.  We 
.should  like  to  have  some  ciiticism  of  these  from 
neighbouring  planters.  We  do  not  quote  for 
the  Ea‘'tern  or  North-Western  jirovinces,  although 
good  work  seems  to  be  done  in  both.  In  the 
natural  forests,  a good  deal  of  creejier  and 
undergrowth  cutting  as  well  as  the  regula- 
tion of  felling  occupy  attention.  Nothing 
seems  to  come  amiss  to  the  Forest  ofticei'  and 
roads  and  buildings  appear  in  his  list  of  work, 
while  we  are  told  that  the  Batticaloa  sawmill 
