2 
These brief general remarks may serve to explain that thi conditions, under 
which a system of forest conservancy can be applied, are by no means the same 
throughout the Colony. Permanent cultivation may in one part absorb nearly the 
whole of the land, while in another part only the shifting cultivation of such crops as 
tapioca and gamhier is possible, b is without doubt the practice of shifting cultiva- 
tion which has given rise to the belief in the minds of se**e people that part of the 
Colony, and Singapore more par! ularlv, has been den- d*of forest. This however 
is not really the case. There b been no actual dei Jation : for whenever land 
ceases to be cultivated a growth A ^rass, fern and soft woods quickly springs up on 
it. And, if this is not burnt o^er, tne forest soon re-establishes itself. This will be 
the more readily understood, if it n remembered : 
(i) 1 hat the mean annual temperature exceeds 8o°, and that the range of tem- 
perature is from 66° to 93° ; 
(~) that the annual rainfall is about 100 inches well distributed over the year, and 
(3) that the warm atmosphere is saturated with moisture to a high degree. 
But, on the other hand, if the newly abandoned area is burnt over by regularly 
recurring fires, the young tree growth is killed out, the soil rapidly deteriorates under 
continuous exposure and the grass known as lalang ( Imperata cylindrica ) takes 
possession. Once this happens constant fires prevent any improvement in the con- 
dition and the area becomes permanently covered with grass. Another bad effect 
of temporary cultivation is the destruction of the more valuable hard wood forest, 
and its replacement by a young growth of soft woods. This would be disastrous if a 
fair proportion of the virgin forest were not set aside as forest reserves, as has been 
done in Malacca. 
Past History of Forest Conservancy. 
Considerable attention had been paid to the conservation of forest lands in the' 
Straits Settlements prior to 1882, when the late Mr. Cantley, Superintendent of the 
Botanic Gardens, Singapore, was instructed to report on the forests and make recom- 
mendations for their better management. His report, published in 1883, sufficiently 
describes the progress made up to that time in protecting the forest lands at the 
disposal of the Crown, and it is scarcely necessary for the purposes of this paper to 
make further reference to the measures which had previously been taken to secure 
the maintenance of forest areas. They are described as “ 110 sufficient attempts to 
conserve the Government forest lands ” although they were clearly not without 
result, as is shown by the reservation of 37,500 acres, which had already taken place 
in Malacca. 
The recommendations made in 1883 are summarised in paragraph 112 of the re- 
port, and shortly afterwards effect was given to them by the creation of a Department 
and the grant of money to carry them out. 
The Director of the Botanic Gardens, Singapore, was in charge of the Depart- 
ment and he had the services of the Assistant Superintendent at Penang and of a 
second Assistant at Malacca. The establishment was entirely protective and consisted 
of Forest Guards, the seniors of whom in Singapore were styled Lance-Corporals or 
Corporals. 
From 1884 the felling of forests and the clearing of forest lands were prevented 
by the demarcation of reserves in Singapore, Penang and Province Wellesley, and in 
Singapore the planting up of certain areas, chiefly with exotic trees, was undertaken. 
In 1893-94 many plants of the Borneo iron wood — Lilian -Eusideroxylon Sc Ima- 
ger i — were introduced. 
From the rst January, 1895, in accordance with the recommendations of a Re- 
trenchment Committee the forests and their protective establishments were transferred 
from the charge of the Officers of the Botanic Gardens to that of the Collectors of 
Land Revenue. 
The work done and progress made during the years 1884-94 is briefly referred 
to in the reports made by the Gardens Authorities in the year 1894. Forest reserves 
had been selected and demarcated as follows : — 
Singapore ... ... 12,965 Acres. 
Penang and Pulau Jerejak ... 11,226 ,, 
Malacca ... ... 42,000 ,, 
and their protection from encroachment and theft had been assured, while tires were 
of less frequent occurrence. There was no doubt, as is claimed, much perseverance 
in re-afforesting, more particularly in Singapore : but the results in this direction have 
not been commensurate with the expenditure. Many thousands of plants were put 
out, but either the areas planted were not secure from fire or the plantations were not 
I r 
