Oct.  1,  1S9G.] 
SupplemP7it  to  the  “ Tropical  Agricalturieity 
287 
vaiicy,  iiiciva?iiig  i)opulatioii  soon  finds  that  tliore 
aro  no  forosts  to  sup])ly  its  wants,  oi'  that  tliere  is 
no  soil  suitable  for  the  extension  of  cultivation. 
The  latter  may  be  said  already  to  be  the  case  in 
Ceylon,  for  I may  say  with  absolute  correctne.ss, 
that  unless  the  resei  ves  at  over  5,000  feet  eleva- 
tion are  encroached  on,  there  is  no  forest  land  be- 
tween 2,0  )0  and  5,000  feet  left  for  c.i])ital  to  open 
out.  And  whyr'  Because  chena  clearings  liave 
sw, allowed  nj)  all  the  forests  which  w'eie  not  in 
times  past  re((uired  for  immediate  sale.  It  is  not 
tliat  all  the  forest  has  been  cleared  for  coffee,  and 
that  thus  the  enterprise  has  found  its  ow'n  litnits, 
but  large  though  the  extent  of  coffee  e.states  i-, 
the  map  shows  that  immense  areas,  now  only 
covered  with  lantana,  wmuld  be  available  for  fresli 
developmentoftheenterpri.se  had  any  foresight 
or  care  been  shown  in  preventing  forest  destruc- 
tion. It  is  not  a mere  matter  of  opinion,  but  one 
that  is  re])eatedly  confirmed  by  officials  and  olii- 
cial  documents,  that,  owing  to  the  apathy  of 
Government,  various  claims,  such  as  tliose  put 
forward  under  tombu  register  extracts  or  under 
old  .Sannas  : al.so  to  rights  of  paddy  land  appur- 
tenances, to  communal  riglits,  to  proprietary  and 
occupancy  rights  under  Ordinance  No.  12  of  1810 
A'c,  have  l)een  allowed  to  exist  unrecorded  and 
undefined.  Cnder  colour  of  these  claims,  people 
have  been  permitted  uu((nestioned  to  devastate 
va.st  areas  of  the  finest  forest,  not  only  in  the  Cen- 
tral Province,  but  throughout  the  moist  zone.  In 
some  places,  I am  informed,  the  forest  cleared 
has  been  land  that  Europeans  had  applied  for,  and 
which  was  about  to  be  surveyed  for  sale.  Having 
a detailed  survey  of  the  Central  Province  we  can 
estimate  accurately  what  small  areas  of  forests 
are  left  uncleared,  and  what  large  ones  are  only 
covered  with  scrub.  Areas  of  forest  are  still  left 
in  the  moist  zone,  but  when  wo  come  to  select  our 
reserves  for  the  small  local  consumption  of  soft- 
w'oods  and  fuel,  we  shall  find  that  little  is  avail- 
able in  suitable  situations,  those  forests  best 
situated  having  been  sold  or  cleared,  and  that  to 
secure  the  small  quantity  of  fuel  required  for  our 
railway,  artificial  })lantations  have  to  be  made.” 
The  chena  cultivation  question  has  been  tlie  sub- 
fect  of  constant  complaint  and  has  been  dealt 
with  by  almost  every  Governor  .«inco  the  time  of 
Sir  Henry  Ward.  The  (piestion  is  one  of  consider- 
able difficulty.  One  of  the  main  objects  of  the 
Ordinance  wuis  to  introduce  a system  which  has 
been  found  to  work  w'ell  in  similar  circumstances 
in  British  Burmali. 
Tlie  position  of  the  Crown  in  regard  to  fore.sts 
1 is  al.so  explained  by  Mr.  Vincent,  and  it  would  be 
: as  well  to  quote  liis  very  wsdrds  on  this  subject 
“ The  po.sition  of  the  state,”  says  Mr.  Vincent, 
with  regard  to  its  forests  and  w'aste  lands  is  often 
! misunderstood,  and  the  Crowm  is  too  frequently 
' regarded  as  a private  landliolder,  instead  of  as  a 
: trustee  with  a large  and  valuable  public  property 
' which  it  has  to  manage  for  the  general  good,  and 
• to  protect  against  the  innumerable  forms  of  tres- 
; pass  to  winch  state  forest  property  is  everywhere 
: exposed.  Such  has  certainly  been  the  mistaken 
; position  assumed  in  administering  the  forest  law 
of  Ceylon  and  although  the  legislature  may  give 
extensive,  protective  powers,  judicial  decisions 
have  usually  thrown  all  the  advantage  on  to  the 
other  side.  In  endeavouring  to  punish  forest 
offences,  the  courts  have  regarded  the  Crown 
not  as  a trustee  for  the  whole  nation,  but  as  a 
landholder  who.se  endeavours  to  protect  an  unjust 
monopoly  ought  to  be  thwarted  in  every  way. 
The  real  object  of  the  state  is  to  administer  its 
ational  trust  to  the  best  possible  advantage,  to 
nrm  State  Porest  Domains  for  the  permanent 
public  benefit,  protecting  the  public  property 
against  indiviilual  tresjiass.  IVe  wish  to  form 
reserves  of  timber  and  fuel,  at  the  same  time 
protecting  the  property  of  the  nation  and  improv- 
ing it.  The  Legi.slatiire  has,  not  only  in  the 
Timber  Ordinance,  but  in  almost  every  other  law, 
])ut  large  powers  into  tlie  hands  of  the  Executive 
(iovernment,  wliich  it  is  trusted  to  exerci.'^e  with 
due  discretion.  The  state  has  a powerful  mo- 
no))oly,  which,  if  not  carefully  administered  and 
protected,  may,  as  lias  already  to  a great  extent 
happened  in  Ceylon,  be  gradually  broken  up  and 
infringed  on,  .so  as  to  be  of  comparatively  small 
value.  General  public  interests  then  suffer  to 
buietit  only  a few  indi vidual.'^,  who  take  advan- 
tage of  the  incomplete  state  of  the  law,  and  the 
ill-delined  rights  which  it  confers.  The  forest 
question  can  onlj'  receive  proper  treatment  when 
regarded  from  the  standpoint  of  a large  national 
property,  handed  to  us  by  the  past  generation, 
and  which  we  are  also  bound  to  maintain  in  un- 
impaired productiveness  for  the  benefit  of  the 
present  and  future  generations.”  To  give  effect 
to  this  view  was  the  laresent  ordinance  specially 
designed. 
{To  he  continued.) 
THE  FRUIT  TREE. 
Fruit  plants  may  be  said  to  be  composed  of 
four  principal  parts : roots,  stem,  leaves  and 
flowers.  Plants  originate  from  seeds,  which 
germinate  when  put  into  the  ground,  under 
the  influence  of  air,  heat  and  moisture,  giving 
rise  to  two  organs : one  of  tliese,  the  root, 
has  an  inclination  to  avoid  the  light  and  bury 
itself  in  the  .soil,  while  the  other,  the  stem,  on 
the  contrary,  seeks  the  light  and  grows  above  the 
surface  of  the  ground. 
The  tap  root  which  is  formed  by  the  germi- 
nation of  the  seed,  grows  in  most  cases  verti- 
cally into  the  soil ; it  carries  numerous  branches, 
which  after  lenghtening,  become  thick  and  woody 
in  the  second  year  and  spread  themselves  in  the  soil 
laterally  as  well  as  vertically.  On  these  branches 
will  be  found  the  minute  root — hairs  which  have 
the  powers  of  absorbing  the  nourishing  matter 
in  the  soil. 
The  important  functions  of  the  roots  being 
recognised,  it  is  evident  that  in  the  cultivation 
of  fruit  trees,  we  must  be  careful  to  favour  their 
development,  and  this  is  done  by  preparing  for 
them  a very  free  and  well  fertilized  soil.  Generally 
the  growth  cf  the  roots  is  in  proportion  to  that  of 
the  stem.  We  may  conclude  from  this,  that  the 
more  numerous  are  the  roots,  the  more  branches  the 
stem  will  carry,  and  viceversa. 
The  stem  is  the  support  of  the  leaves  and  all 
other  aerial  organs  of  the  plant,  it  is  so  to 
speak  a communicating  channel,  through  which  the 
substances  absorbed  by  the  roots  reach  the  leaves, 
and  the  organic  food  elaborated  by  the  leavea 
is  distributed  through  the  entire  system  of  the 
plant. — At  a certain  height  the  stem  will  produce 
