400 YH? TAbPltJAL AOmeULTUmST. [December i, iSgi. 
thflv show, 
That therfl has been a eonsiderable rise in revenue 
Tinder all Tlndget heads, the rise tinder I. heiiiR due 
to the payment of larRo ontstandinRs duo bv the 
Hapntala Railway Extension, to ontstandinRs due for 
sleepers to the Western Province, to the sale of 2iiH 
tons ebony in the Central depht to increased Railway 
fuel supply, and to a large increase in the sale from 
depdts in all Provinces, this increase being most 
marhod in the North-Western Province and in TIva. 
Against Rr)10,044 rcvenna, the expenditure ef the 
densrin'ent in IROO was 
R,121.517’12. of which R309,.TO2-6'> was for Conser- 
vancy and Works and RU2,014'47 for Establishnient. 
To obtain the large revenue for timber a large 
outlay tvas also required, and this as well as out- 
standings due bv the Department, chiefly on account 
of timber supplied to the Hapntale Kauway Exten- 
sion. account for the increased expenditure under 
heading 1. “Produce sold from depats.' The ex- 
tension of areas under plantations in the Central 
Province. North-Western Province, and Province of 
TIva nocessitatorl an increase under the head “De- 
marcations and Improvement, " while Forest Settle- 
ments, chiefly in Sabaraganuiwa, also cansod an 
increase of expenditure under the same head. 
In dealing with the details of eetablicbmtnt, Mr. 
Bronn states 
As regards salaries, T again hog to draw attention 
to my remarks under the heading “ Protection and 
Improvement. ’ What the Dopartmont wants is a good 
staff of efficient Rangers, assisted hy Forest Watchers, 
who would he under their imtiiediatn supervision, 
instead of hcadmoii who are in no way respmisililo 
to them, and who can plead vai'inus excuses for not 
attending to forest work. Tlio ohjcct to he iiinicd at 
is not to fill lip the next vacancies in the superior 
staff, hut to devote the sum ’, to the increase of the 
suliordimitn staff and to the improyoment of the pros- 
pects of a crop of ofttcors who live an^ arduous life 
without at present any prospect of getting a rise in 
their meagre widaries. On tlie money at present ex- 
pended on esttthliahinent docent, if not brilliant, proa- 
nects would be assnred, not only to the superior stuff, 
hilt to the u'holo of the subordinate establishment. 
It is not hetwren the P. W. P. slone end the 
forest department that rcgrrtrhlo friction’^ exists. 
The Biihordinstion of the forest rflioora to the 
Government Agents and their Aseistanla, naturally 
orongh 'e-dg to trouble where one or both of the 
rflaoers brought into contact ore not prepared to 
sacr’tice personal feeling and otliciaJ dignity to the 
good of the scrv’OB and the interest of Government. 
It is in he hoped that the relations ol the respective 
officers in the Norlhesn Province are move amioable 
than they seem to have been in 18'JO, judging from 
the following stafement : — 
This year the Dcpartiiient has been worked on 
the lines adopted at ii durbar of Gnic-viimcut Agents 
held in Colombo in October, IHSlT. The system of 
working through Government Agents and Assistant 
Government Agents tins worked that a good 
deal of friction has been cansod in others. 
Tliero is no doubt fairly well in somo Pro- 
vinces, hut there is no doubt that tlie system, to 
work woll. imiHt depend on the good will of the Go- 
vernment .\gont towards tho Drpai-tinent, and tliat 
if he docs not support the Assistuiit Conseivator, or 
does not allow him to give orders to his aiibordinatos 
direct tho work will become disorganised and will 
eventually come to n standstill. This has been tho 
case notably in the Northern Pnivinco. where tho 
want of co-operation between the Govornmci.t Agent 
and the Asaistant Conservator has brought the work- 
ing of the Department practically to a standstill A 
Departmental (lode, which will set forth the lehitions 
hotween the Department and the BeTciuie Otlieors, 
id imicli needed. , - . 
We qnotn the concluding pftragr:;pba of tnia 
inlorrstinp; and FUgeeativn report; — 
Steam Saw Mill. — This saw miil, which 
Viod boon ordered from Messrs. Rainsoine tfe Sima 
through tho Crown Agents, (lid not roach lu? during 
ths year. Tho money therefore which had been kepi 
to defray Its cost lapsed at the end of tho year, and a 
sum which it waa intended to devote thia year to the 
fomiation of an elo'^hant estahlishment will have to 
cover the expendittire on the steam saw. 
Elephant Ehtaslishment. — One young elephant 
was purchased in tho Eastern Province. It was 
intended to buy three more dnrincr 1^91, but for the 
reasons stated above this has had to he put off. 
Destruction of Game.— No stop has as yet been 
put to the indiscriminate destruction of pame. The 
Assistant Conservator. TTva, records a case where 
several deei* were slain solely for their hides, end 
the carcases left to rot by the roadside. The chief 
Offenders are ^loomien traders, who pjo into Provinces 
where they can have possibly no vijrht of hunting, 
and kill game and cause it to be killed in largo 
quantities hy villagers. They are not affected by 
close seasons, and it is sometimes very difficult to 
obtain convictions, for certain Madstrates will not 
tnke skins, however fresh, as evidence against the 
Offenders. Strict rules are required to protect ele* 
phants against so-called “sportsmen,” who go into a 
herd and do not satisfy tliemselves w’ith the bulls, 
hut shoot cows and calves. None hut rogues should 
be shot at. and there should he kept in each Kaoh- 
cheri a list giving T>aj'ticulars of the heat of any rogue 
elephant in the district, and it should he made penal 
to fire at any other elephant except in self-defence, 
on a public road, or when it destroys crops or other 
property. 
HKUuAuniM OK Forest Trees and Collection of 
Ceylon Timbers, -'Phis has heen hn-qclv added to 
during tlie year hoth hy Colonel Clarke and myself, 
and I havo to thank Messrs. Alexander and Amiitage 
for considoraldo contributions. Tho collection of 
Ceylon tiuibors has also been much increased, tho 
Assifttant Consorvatovs of tho (’entral Province and of 
the North-Western Province, and the Snporintendont 
of tho liallway Fuel Supply lieing tlie chief contrilni- 
tors. Duplicate t-poclnicns havo boon sent to the 
Director of Ptiblio Works and to certain firms in 
Colombo. 
OiRDLINO OF P.tLU TllKKS PliEVTOUS TO FeLLINO. 
report on tho subject has been received, 
ulr. Fyers reports that towards the end of the vear 
he had felled twenty palu trees out of forty which 
ho had girdled iaJd^^H and tliat the results are most 
satisfactory, the logs having hardly cracked at all. 
As cracking has hitherto boon the great obstacle against 
a more iinivorsal use of this valuable timber, it is to 
be hoped that in future all pain trees will be girdled 
at least one yenr before felling. This will prohaldy 
do with away the objection which the Railway Depart- 
ment has of using pahi sleepers. 
Com.KCTioN OF Furrr and Honey by ViiiLAOEHs, 
tYU. Some action is urgently required to moderate the 
damage done hy vilhigors and others in the collection 
of certain kinds of fruits and honey. The most strik’ 
mg instance wliicli I have come'across was the col- 
lection otimlai fruit in 1 ho Nortliern Province. The 
trees of this most valuable species, are so hacked to 
pieces or torn and broken that the broken and cut 
branches form, m many places, real hedges alongthe 
5ides of the roads. The rcRult is that an enormous pro- 
portion of the palai trees in the Northern Province have 
been unsound from their infancy. There is no reason 
why, It the collection of the fruit must be allowed, 
this peTflifltont vandalism lie for ever winked at. 
Ihero i.s no diffienUy in collecting the fruit with- 
out injuring the trees, and there is no necessitv 
why people not iianaMy residing in the island should 
. to do all this damage. I have noticod 
similar dam.'igo hi Rercliva forest of tlie MataraDisIrict, 
wtiero the villagers collect tho fruit of the herelivn. 
{ un. As regards tlie coileetion of honoy. it is no rare 
t nng to see a ireo felled merely for the hoiieycomh 
wnicn It bears. 1 know that, nt proHeiit, until a proper 
establishnient is not up, ft is difticult to chock all this 
aamage, hut tho Government Agents can do a great deal 
towards atoppinghtliyuBing their influonce and warning 
yuiagirs that reckless waste will bo severely dealt with. 
Mr, Hroun will aeo that Govfrnment in the Ordi- 
nance just passed ban provided remedies against 
the wnoten shooting ol elephants and the reokless 
