bcT.  I,  1895.]  THE  TROPICAL 
In  the  month  of  August,  Mr.  Ferguson  was  placed 
on  special  duty  in  order  to  prepare  a working  plan 
for  the  Haputale  reserved  forest.  This  foi-est  has 
been  much  overworked  by  the  Railway  Extension 
Department,  and  it  is  necessary  that  strict  rules  be 
framed  in  order  to  ensure  that  none  but  badly  grown 
and  suppressed  trees  be  removed  ■ until  the  forest 
shall  have  recovered  fioin  the  effects  of  the  heavy 
fellings  made  in  the  last  few  years. 
Ncvth-M esteni  Province. — Two  sample  plots  have 
been  started  in  the  Puttalam  District : one  for  na 
{Messua  /errea)  in  the  Galkuli  forest,  and  one  chiefly 
for  satin  at  3J  miles  up  the  Kenankali  road. 
FOREST  FIRES. 
The  Assistant  Conservator,  Eastern  Province, 
followed  the  instructions  I gave  him  in  order 
to  preserve  the  grass-surrounded  teak  plant- 
ations. I am  glad  to  say  that  the  result  has  been  a 
total  absence  from  fires  during  the  year.  I hope  tha 
this  success  will  be  continued,  and  that  the  plant 
ations  will  benefit  from  the  protection  afforded. 
The  firing  of  patana  and  grassy  plains  to  pro- 
duce a fresh  crop  of  herbage  still  goes  on  un- 
checked. Where  the  plains  are  surrounded  by 
forest  these  are  gradually  giving  way  before  the 
yearly  fires.  In  the  hills  patana  fires  kill  down 
seedlings  and  impoverish  the  soil.  I should  recom- 
mend that  the  patanas  near  the  railway  line  be 
strictly  protected,  as  the  action  of  fire  on  the  top 
soil  encourages  slips  and  fall  of  boulders  when  the 
rains  begin.  Apart  from  this,  I think  a little  pro- 
tection would  have  very  beneficial  results  in  im- 
proving the  soil,  and  probably  also  the  herbage. 
It  is  absolutely  impossible  for  the  more  tender  herbs 
to  withstand  the  action  of  fires,  and  the  ground  is 
invaded  by  coarse  mana  and  illuk  grass,  whose 
underground  stems  enable  them  to  survive  the  fibre. 
PLANTATIONS. 
M'esfeni  I'looiiice. — The  plantations  at  Mirigama 
• were  cleared  of  undergrowth  and  creepers  at  a 
cost  of  R278'29.  It  was  high  time  to  take  up  this 
work,  for  the  trees — especially  the  lunumidella  and  jak 
— were  suffering  much  from  the  undergrowth  and 
creepei  s.  Domba,  which  a few  years  ago  looked  the 
least  pi  omising  of  all,  is  the  species  which  has  stood 
best.  It  is  doing  well,  and  the  ground  is  already 
covered  with  self-sown  seedlings. 
Centro!  Prooince. — Thirty-eight  acres  were  added  to 
the  existing  plantations  viz.,  at  Galboda  9 acres,  at 
Kotagala  5 acres,  and  at  Conical  Hill  21  acres,  bring- 
ing the  total  area  of  plantations  in  this  Province 
to  529  acres. 
The  9 acres  at  Gahroda  were  added  to  the 
Blackwater  clearing,  and  consisted  of  scrub  and 
patana  land.  The  plants  put  in  were  Euealijplus 
rohmfa,  grevillea,  a few  domba,  and  pepiliya  ( Apo- 
rosa  lafi/oUaJ.  This  piece  is  doing  well,  and 
hardly  a vacancy  is  to  be  seen.  The  cost  of  this 
addition  was  R350,  or  less  than  RIO  per  acre. 
As  a whole  the  Blackwater  field  is  by  far  the 
worst  of  all  the  Galboda  clearings.  The  soil  in 
some  portions  is  so  poor  that  although  there  are  few 
vacancies  the  plants  will  take  a long  time  to  make 
a start.  I was  glad,  however,  to  note  that  the 
plants  of  Acacia  decuirens,  which  were  put  in  as 
supplies,  have  taken  a sudden  start,  and  that  the 
portions  planted  with  Encalyptun  robueta  are  doing 
well.  In  cool  places,  where  domba  and  pepiliya  had 
been  put  in,  they  are  doing  well.  I do  not  think, 
however,  that  much  can  be  expected  from  the  por- 
tions planted  with  Acacia  mclanoxylon.  Grevillea  is 
doing  better,  and  may  make  a start  in  another 
year  or  so.  The  total  expenditure  on  this  field  for  the 
year  was  R723'31.  Dekinda  No.  1 field  is  now  doing 
well.  It  is  planted  with  Eucalyptus  rohusta  andgrev.llea, 
and  the  supplies  put  in  were  chiefly  of  indigenous 
species,  such  as  domba,  pepiliya,  del,  e'.ambe,  &c. 
Dekinda  No.  2 field  is  the  best  of  the  whole  planta- 
tion. It  is  covered  chiefly  with  grevillea,  which  is 
now  forming  leaf  canopy.  The  cost  of  upkeep,  chiefly 
of  No.  1 field,  amounted  for  the  year  to  R851'54, 
23'5G6  supplies  having  been  put  in. 
M apakande  field  has  always  been  a source  of  trouble. 
However,  I am  glad  to  say  that  the  plants  are  now 
doing  well.  Fifty  acres  were  ro-jolanted  ou  this 
AGRICULTURIST. 
field.  About  135,000  plants  were  put  out  during  the 
year,  consisting  of  grevillea,  take  karavu,  sapu,  wild 
cinnamon,  etaniba,  pepiliya,  domba,  milla,  wa, 
pehimbiya,  and  katuboda.  The  teak  below  the  cooly 
lines  is  doing  very  well,  but  some  had  been  put  on 
clayey  spurs,  and  does  not  show  much  progress. 
Most  of  the  Lusuarinas  have  been  killed  outb}'  white 
ants.  The  cost  for  the  year  was  R3,839-55.  Penhros 
fieldis,  on  the  whole,  doing  fairly  well,  that  is  to  say,  cer- 
tain portions  show  good  grow  th,  while  others  make  poor 
progress.  The  failure  in  many  parts  is  due  entirely 
to  outside  circumstances.  For  instance,  some  thou- 
sands  of  jak  plants  which  were  doing  welt  have  been 
destroyed  by  hares  and  pigs.  Casuarina,  which  had 
attained  a height  of  10  to  15  ft.,  was  killed  by  white 
ants  as  in  the  other  clearings  and  white  grub  attached 
a number  of  Eucalyptus  rohusta.  The  supplies  now 
put  in  will,  I hope,  do  well.  Experience  now  shows 
that  the  best  supplies  are  those  of  indigenous  species, 
such  as  katuboda  [Cullenia  excelsa),  pepiliya  {Aporosa 
latifolia),  del  {Artocarpus  nohilis),  damba  {Euyenia 
operculata  et  cet  sp),  suriyamara  Albizzia  (odoratissima) 
liyan  {llonialiuni  zei/laniciun),  mihriya  {Dichopsis, 
sp.),  and  other  treas  growing  in  the  belts  of  forest 
clo.se  by.  I myie'f  made  some  experiments  with 
some  of  these  species,  the  seeds  of  which  I 
dibbled  mostly  into  poor  soil,  and  the  results  have, 
I hear,  been  satisfactory.  The  total  numberof  plants 
put  out  during  the  year  was  34,029,  and  the 
expenditure  011  this  field  was  Rl,163'97. 
The  total  expenditure  during  the  year  on  Galboda 
plantations  was  thus  R6,577’97,  or  R17'44  per  acre. 
Since  the  beginning  the  total  expenditure  has  been 
R39,414'8l,  or  Rl04'55  per  acre.  If  the  revenue 
obtained  from  the  plantation  be  deducted,  the  total 
expenditure  amounts  to  R35,476'26,  or  R94T0  per  acre. 
Five  acres  were  added  to  the  plantation  in  the 
Kotagala  reserve  at  a cost  of  R228'20,  thus  bring- 
ing the  total  area  to  10  acres,  which  have  cost 
altogether  R455,  or  R45'50  per  acre.  The  Assistant 
Conservator  reports  the  plantations  as  doing 
well.  The  whole  clearing  was  planted  with 
Eucalyptus  rohusta.  Twenty-four  acres  of  strip 
clearings  were  added  to  the  Nauu-oya  planta- 
tions during  the  year,  thus  bringing  the  total 
to  106  acres.  The  clearings  planted  in  1889, 
1890,  and  1891  are  not  doing  well,  as  most  of  the 
Eucalyptus  ylohulus  are  attacked  with  canker. 
Happily  in  the  older  plantations  a larger  number  of 
standards  were  left.  These  are  now  spreading  their 
crowns  and  fillicg  the  vacant  spaces.  Eucalyptus 
rohusta  is  doing  w'ell  in  the  more  recent  plantations, 
and  seems  to  be  the  tree  best  suited  for  the  plan- 
tations, for  Acacia  decurrens,  which  would  otherwise 
do  well,  gets  eaten  down  by  sambur.  The  planta- 
tions of  the  year  at  Conical  Hill  are  doing  well,  but 
they  also  suffer  from  being  browsed  by  deer.  The 
plantations  made  near  Scrubs  estate  and  near  the 
kachcheri  are  doing  well.  On  the  latter  plantation, 
however,  a portion  of  Cryptomeria  trees  are  coming 
up  only  very  slowly.  They  are  somewhat  exposed. 
The  plantations  near  the  nursery  on  Gallwey’s  land 
are  doing  very  well.  A wire  was  taken  through 
the  plantation  by  the  Telegraph  Department, 
and  some  trees  hacked  about,  when  it  would  have 
been  practically  quite  as  easy  to  have  avoided  the 
plantation  altogether.  On  Christie’s  land  the 
Eucalyptxis  rohusta  are  doing  well,  but  the  Acacia 
decurrens  have  most  of  them  been  broken  by  cattle. 
The  tables  given  in  appendices  B,  C,  and  D show 
the  rate  of  growth  in  the  different  plantations  of 
the  Central  Province. 
The  total  cost  up  to  date  for  the  529  acres  of 
plantations  in  this  Province  has  been  R49,330’55,  or 
R93'25  fer  acre,  or,  after  deducting  revenue  obtained 
from  them,  R31,630,  or  R59'79  per  acre. 
Province  of  Eva. 
No  money  was  spent  on  the  Judges'  Hill  planta- 
tion, which  can  now  be  considered  to  the  established. 
At  Elladaluwa  no  money  was  spent  on  the  13- 
acre  block  planted  in  1889.  It  was  found  necessary 
to  replant  the  w'hole  of  the  25-acre  block  planted 
in  1892,  on  account  of  the  constant  damage  done 
by  cattle.  Several  watchers  were  appointed  in 
succession,  but  had  to  be  dismissed  on  account  o£ 
