B'ORAGK ORASSKS AND FOREST 
RESERVES. 
H E point dieouBsed bet ween 
Sir Arthur Gordon and Mr* 
John Ferguson on the re* 
cent OGoasion of the latter’s 
roading his paper before the 
Royal Colonial Institute, as 
to the retention of forest 
reaerves in our higher ranges, is of interest in more 
than one respect. Substantially, perhaps, both 
those gentlemen were in real accord in their views, 
though these appeared to differ. Both desire that 
the Orests of our mountains whioh still are crowned 
with forests should retain their pristine glory of 
wood, but Mr John Ferguson believee that these 
might yet be utilized, and made to beoome a 
souroe of oonslderable revenue. The idea of the 
latter gentleman is that, while retaining the forest 
trees as eonduoing towards an equable distribution 
of rainfall, the undergrowth might bo cleared 
away and superior grasses cultivated whioh would 
beoome extremely valuable for pasturing live stoek. 
Now many experiments have been tried to im- 
prove the grasses growing in this country, but 
hitherto it can soaroely bo said that anyone of 
these have been attended with suooeas. Cer- 
tainly in every instance under our own obser- 
vation grasses introduced and sown with 
this object have rapidly and fatally dete- 
riorated. Even with all the oaro and attention 
that can be and has been devoted to such email 
areas as garden lawns, that deterioration hae 
soon become manifest ; and it seems to be hopeless 
to expect to induce imported grasses to retain 
their valuable oharaeteristios when exposod to the 
fieroo heat of the tropical sun of this island. But 
Mr. John Ferguson’s proposition seems to us to 
open out a vista of some ohanoe at least of 
snoeese. No one can have passed through the 
dense forests of our lower and most and districts 
without coming aoross oonsiderable areas of 
Bueculent grass growing beneath the shade of the 
giant trees. Of this all cattle eat freely. We do 
not know by what name this grass may he 
istinguiahed, but it seemed to ua to partake 
dote of the obaraeter of a olovei than of grass 
properly so-called. But at all events it is certain 
that it is a valuable fodder growth *, and perhaps, 
wore attention fully directed to the subject, ^ U 
might be possible to beoome so acquainted with 
its full oharaoteristics and with its needs as regards 
soil and shelter to enable it to bo widely propagated 
throughout our hill forests when the undergrowth 
has been removed therefrom. We shonld welcome 
any suggestion that can bo offered upon this subjeot. 
The question, as it seems to us, is as to whether 
it would be better to extend past experiments 
made with imported grasses, or to study more 
closely the natare and habitat of snoh as are seen 
to flourish in oertain protected sitnations of the 
obaraotor we have desotibed. So fat as we our- 
selves reoolleot, the short rich grass we have 
mentioned flouiishes on a very poor soil; It is 
more dependent, we suspect, upon moisture and 
shade than upon richness of soil ; but such con- 
ditions would be readily obtainable in the foreeta 
which yet crown onr hilltops. The only douBt 
upon our minds is as to whether the sloping land 
whioh prevails in these situations would permit 
of moisture being retained snifioient for the nu- 
triment of this grass. But, on the other band, 
if drainage is more rapid, so is the rainfall 
constant and regular. It would bo very desirable 
if the undergrowth were cleared in snoh forests 
to try the growth of a finer desoription of grass 
than they at present yield and which we sasMOt 
to have but little value as a fodder grass. The 
close short herbage of the forests 
country would fully supply snoh a want oould it 
be induced to grow in our highex altitudes, and 
the attention of our foresters might profitably be 
civen to some experimenting with it in the direoUon 
named From opinions offered by the late Director 
q hwaites of Peradeniya and from experiments tried 
on the Nilgiris by the Madras Government Botanist 
Dr Lawson, it seems oertain that several of our 
indigenous hill grasses can be largely improved in 
fodder quality by being converted into hay. There 
would be the additional advantage in this prooees. 
that the utilization of forest-grown grasses in this 
mode would obviate the objootiona which forest 
officers might offer to cattle grazing amongst the 
forest trees. 
PREHISTORIC CORN. 
A dispatoh from Burden, Khan., says:— A. J. 
Mercer, liviug near this city, has a patch of corn 
which is the rarest over grown. The patch is small, 
bat the grain is a hind that has never been seen in 
this country before. Last spring Mr. Mercer npencid 
an ancient mound on hi8_ farm, and in it found a lot 
of corn, along with certain prehistorio relies, showing 
that the corn had been put in (here years a^go. Tbei« 
