13 
CROWN LANDS. 
The following' plants were set out in the new forest at 
Niol 
Heritiera littoralis (Bois de table) ... ... 1087 
Chrysobolanus icaco (Coco plum) ... ... 1322 
Casuarina equisetifolia (Cedar) ... ... 374 
Tecoma leucoxylon (Calice du Pape) ... 1031 
Nephelliuni lappacemn (Rambutan)... ... 22 
Spondias dulcis of improved type . 136 
Dileuia indica ... ... ... ... ... 91 
Parkia roxburghii . 320 
Stevensonia grandifolia . 125 
Verschaffeltia splendida ... ... ... 37 
Mauritius mangoes ... ... ... ... 108 
Eleis guiniensi^ ... ... ... ... 45 
Gliiicidia maculata ... ... ... ... 597 
Robusta coffee ... ... ... ... 715 
Hymenea verrucosa (Gum copal) ... ... 425 
Oranges (Seychelles) ... ... ... ... 43 
Terminalia chebula ... ... ... ... 39 
Cola nitida var. rubra... ... ... ... 209 
Calophyllum inophyllum (Takamaka) ... 116 
Ceylon coconuts . ... ... 19 
Peach (Persica vulgaris) ... ... ... 9 
The plantation in the new forest will be slowly extended 
for some time to come. Only empty spaces will be replanted and 
newly introduced specimens of exceptional importance required 
for seeding or planting will be set out. The labour force 
which consists of 5 men and 1 apprentice is just sufficient to 
maintain the existing plantations in order and take care as 
far as possible of 2000 acres of forest land. Some difficulty 
was experienced in reafforesting the open patches of ground 
formerly occupied by cassava plantations. The process of 
repeatedly burning the land and piling up mounds on which 
cassava is grown by small planters went far to render sterile 
part of the estates which were acquired by Government in 
1910. As the barren areas were those which it was important 
to reafforest at first without delay, much time and trouble 
were taken to plant successfully a certain number of hardy 
trees either indigenous or got from elsewhere. 
These mounds of earth invariably made for cassava plant¬ 
ing on sloping ground in this Colony, are the principal c tuse 
of the erosion of the land, as heavy downpours of rain bring 
down all such loosened earth to the bottom of the valleys and 
to the sea. This land gradually becomes impoverished and 
finally contains traces only of the necessary food elements. 
Such as it is, it is soon invaded by bracken fern (Gleichenix 
dichotoma) which spreads very quickly and prevents the seeds 
of forest trees from germinating and growing with the result 
that mountain forest zones are turned into dry savannah dis¬ 
tricts which lack a necessary supply of water. If it is not 
difficult to destroy these ferns and prevent their regrowth, 
unfortunately a dense mass of rootstocks, sometimes 3 or 4 
feet deep severely handicap the holing and planting of this 
worn out soil. There are many other plots requiring to be 
reafforested hut they can only be gradually taken in hand by 
the small number of labourers available. In the parts already 
planted with trees these rootstocks apparently reappear after 
heavy rainfalls and the work of uprooting them must begin 
again. 
A proof of the rapidity with which these noxious ferns 
invade the land to the almost complete exclusion of other 
plants was had this year when Government decided to acquire 
Morne Blanc estate. The estate less than 6 years ago was in 
good order without any trace of this fern visible in the vanilla 
plantation. After only 6 years of neglectful cultivation this 
fern, which started invading only at first a few square yards, 
now occupies the whole of the estate with the exception of a 
few plots certainly much smaller than the occupied areas. It 
will continue to cover the estate in question which is so sparsely 
wooded m the lower parts so favourable are the conditions for 
its growth. 
