398 
fHE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
[December i, i»9i. 
up 80 wi-ll, and tho Pinus exceha oan be considered 
to bo a failure. I believo, however, that a largo pro- 
portion of the Finns excelsa eood was worm-outcu. 
Teak seed was ul«o recoirod Irom the Uouservaior 
of FotOHis, Tegu Oirolo, Burma, and from the Con- 
servator of Forests, Travauoore. 'Ibo seed has beeu 
distributed iu three Provinces. The Burma seed was 
however reported to be ranch weevil-eaten. 
Wo have made this long extract as of spooial 
interest to planters and others who may feel the 
neeessity of planting up portions of their land 
with trees for timber and fuel. ht the higher 
altitudes the best exotics seem to be Acacia tie- 
currens and A, inelanoxylun, with Eucalyptus 
robusta, E, rostrata and E, globulus. Stiii more 
successful generally is the beautiful Qrevillea 
robusta. Cryptomeria japonica seems likely to be 
a success, but the Himalayan cedars and pines 
seem slow of growth, Excellent for firewood are 
the casuarinas and frcnelas, both sending out a 
multitude of branches. The iluk grass noticed by 
Mr. Broun (the dreadful alang-alang of the Malay 
Peninsula and Java) is not prevalent at high 
altitudes. There is nothing more annoying than 
tho roo&ipt of sood, outror imrnaturo, or deprivftd 
of its vitality by long keeping ; and it will 
be observed that the forest department is no more 
exempt from such worries than are private planters. 
Emus cxelsis is the only tree mentioned of which 
we have had no personal experience. On the other 
hand Pinus sinensis promises to be a great ac- 
quisition at high altitudes. Many of the forest 
trees of China and Japan ought to succeed on our 
hills. The connection of natives with the Govern 
ment plantations is scarcely what we should think 
would be satisfactory. They are supposed to cultivate 
tree plants for the Government while cropping the 
ground for themselves. The lion’s share of attention 
is pretty certain to be devoted to the crops 
of grain and vegetables. Forest roads are much 
wanted, and there is an “ outory ” for houses lor 
the olHoors, espeoially those who have families. 
Curiously enough the forest department of Ceylon 
is specially interested in “ the northern arm " for 
the Colombo breakwater I 
The site of the Central depot in Ctlombo appears to be 
still unsettled on account ot the po-sibility of coiistruo- 
tiou ot a Northern arm of the Briakwiittr. Fur this 
reason the Govornmeut Agent of the Western Province 
desires to shift the site toBeira, near the Governmout 
Factory. The only drawback will be want of tp.ee and 
the uistauce irom the Breakwater, an item ol some 
importance as regards ebony, which hitheito could bo 
shipped direotlrom its doput at the root et the Break- 
water. It is time that subrtautisl bnildings be built 
some where, as the timber now lying iu depot is exposed 
to many deietiorating influonoes. 
We are told that 
Two wire shoots, each 1,500 feet long, were purchased 
tor the Cectrul Fiovinoe in ounueotion with the firewood 
supply to the Kaifway, aud set up, cue iu the Nanuoya 
strip tellings and the other iu tho Kotagala reserve 
above Daraweda. As regards the Nanuoya shoot, it 
was mnoh neglected aud tho rollers were ruined owii g 
to want of uil and careless loading. The small wire 
shoot in the Haputale forest is doing guod work. 
The total value ot timber and other forest pro'daoe 
should during the year amount to KS71, 215-05, 
against I{337,120 81 during 1889 and KlC9,dlO-80 in 1880. 
Of these it37i,215 03, the value of produce sold to 
Puhlio Gepiutiuents umouutH to B238,988TU, aud of 
that sold tu the general public to K132,226.03, 
Mr. Broun iu treating of supplies of sleepers for 
the railways states : — 
I am couvinced that before long we shall have a 
conbideranle demand tor palu and kumbuk sleepers. 
Kumbuk bridge planks have been proved to last 
ten years, and the objection to palu, viz., that it is 
likely to spilt, lias now been removed, for the Assistant 
CQuiuvator, Nortb-Weilern Brovioce, reports tha*, 
trees which had been girdled in 1889 and felled in 
1890 showed no signs of oracking. Both trees are 
abundant in the foresis aud growu 1 1 a largo six». 
“Large size" inadequately dasoribeH the kumbuk 
trees on the banks ol rivers, especially in tho 
Nsrth.Centfal Province. Tho word “enormous” 
alone can givo an idea ol some such trees, with 
immense oaves in their trunks and calculated by 
Mr. Henry Parker when dislodged by floods as 
striking against the “ Tekkam ” (Giant’s Tank 
anioul) with a weight of five tons. To the Tele- 
graph Department posts have been supplied of 
pandikaoa (Eugenia bracteala) and ranai. Who is 
the enterprising but apparently eccentric engineer 
of the Uva Province who has been giving trouble 
to the Forest Department after the peculiar fashion 
thus detailed ?— 
. In Dvo, where transport of heavy timber is cxcoed- 
'Dgly diflionit owing t.) the hilly coiitiguratiou 
ot the eountry and to the distance of tho forests 
from the centres of utilisaiiou, a good deal of uu- 
Utoessary trouble was caused by the Proviuioal 
Eugineor indenting for large pieoes wLioh he would 
atterwarJs saw up into smaller sizes iu the saw mill 
he had erected in Badullo. It is rather hard that 
the onus ot justifying the existence of this turbine 
should fall to the Forest D.-partmeut. Tho Assistant 
Oonservator reports that one order was for 390 pieces 
12 ft. by 7 iu. by 6 in., whioh bad to be transported 
29 miles over rongh ground, and which were imonded 
to bo sawn up in JJadulla into ball-itioh reepera. On 
another ocousion a representation was made to Quv- 
erument to the effect that to timber could be got 
from the Badulla depot. As u matter of faot tba 
depot was always well stocked, and delay was due 
to the omission, on the part uf the Ptoviuical 
Engineer, to inform the Assistant i Oonservator of 
the order in whioh he would require different pieces 
ot timber. That delay iu construction ol buildiuga is 
uot always due to tho notiou of the Forest Depart- 
meut, is proved iu auothor instance which came 
under my own observation in the low-ouuutry cf 
Uva. Free permits were given to the Puhlio Works 
Department to fell timber for the construction of 
resthoMB at different places between Kosianda aud 
Tauamilwila. Large heaps of round timber can be 
seen lying at d.fletent plaoes along the road, and 
they have been lying there so long tbat they are 
being utterly ruined by expusure and white ants. 
This will be farther alluded to uuder the headiug 
of “ Free Grants of Forest Produce.” " 
About 400 tons pec annum of ebony ate needed 
to supply the market, and it is to be supplied in 
the proportions of 300 tons from the North-Oentral 
Province and 100 from the Northern. We sup. 
posed from this that the forests of tho Eastern 
Proviooe have beea denuded of their onoe rich 
stores ot ebony ? It seems that dead halmilla 
timber, of which there is a largo quantity, is 
usually sold to Indian traders, who bring in 
rice, ana take back cargoes of timber, 
A very important function of the Forest Depart- 
ment le to supply fuel to Government estabiish- 
nisnts, especially the railway. It would be very 
interesting^ and useful, if a list were given of 
trees growing at high and low elevations, native 
and exotio, best suited to bo grown for fuel 
purposes. Pending the publication of such a list 
the principle may be accepted, that Ine harder 
the wood IS and the closet the texture of the 
timber, the better will be its oalorilio properties. 
Iroea suitable for timber when grown to a large 
size make good firewood when coppiced, and 
planters have a right to look to the Forest De. 
purtment for the result of the experience of its 
offloers as to the trees whioh best bear re- 
peated ooppicing and yield, in the shape of 
coppice growth, the highest returns of service- 
able fuel. The 7va, whioh Mr. Btrong told us 
was one of the best trees of those whioh 
