Occasional Notes, 301 
Some months afterwards, on inspection, the two compartments pre- 
sented very different appearances. The one that had no lime was very 
little altered ; the clay in it was slightly improved by the action of the 
weather on it, and a few blades of sour-grass had sprung up here and 
there, but so few they might have been easily counted. The portion 
which had had the lime showed a thick vigorous growth of vegetation 
of young plants, some almost small trees, two and three feet high. On 
pulling up a handful of these, they brought up with them a large bunch 
of fibrous roots, about a foot in diameter, on shaking which there fell 
off a quantity of loose mould. On examining further I found that the 
whole mass of soil, down to the bottom, had been changed from a stiff 
yellow clay to a loose black garden mould. 
Suggestions for a new Forest-law. — The present 
number of Timehri contains much on the subject of 
forest conservancy ; but the subject being one of extreme 
importance to the colony, and it being desirable to put 
in accessible form all attainable information on the sub- 
ject, before any new and important changes are made in 
the present forest-law, no apology is needed for the 
insertion of further notes. The following clauses 
for a new forest-law are suggested by Mr. Willi AM 
Walker, formerly Government Secretary, and on three 
occasions Lieutenant Governor, of the colony, whose 
great knowledge of, and abiding interest in, British 
Guiana must lend great weight to his suggestions. Mr. 
Walker writes : — 
" There shall be established an office to be called the Crown-lands 
Department ; the head of which shall be the Crown Surveyor for the 
time being, assisted by such number of assistant surveyors and clerks 
as the Governor and Court of Policy may from time to time de- 
termine. 
For the purposes of this ordinance, the several commissaries of taxa- 
tion shall be conservators of forests within their respective districts. 
PP 
