'consideration, and is not lost sight of. The Board looks on it as 'one of some importance as freeing the hands of Forest-officers 'for more complete control of Government areas and as miti'gating, to some extent, the rise in prices, especially of fuel and grazing, which the great increase of forest revenue betokens. There appear to be only three ways of meeting the needs of the villagers in this respect :

i. From the Government reserves.

ii. From areas, especially set aside as village pastures. iii.

From unreserved waste.

"The first is, perhaps, the best in theory, but it is difficult 'to work in practice and means the reservation of larger areas; 'the last is the simplest and easiest now, but is likely to be the 'most troublesome in the future, when the waste areas have 'disappeared; the second is the one that commends itself most 'to the Board, provided sufficient stress is laid on the necessity 'for the protection of the area from the plough which is practically all that separates it from the third:" the Government quote 'from a recent general order the following important statement of their future policy, a policy which in agreement with the Government of India we are glad to say we approve.

"The Government is now of opinion that the idea of village 'forests must be altogether abandoned. There can be little doubt 'that without constant supervision lands assigned for this purpose 'would be worked unfairly and would be rapidly denuded of all 'tree growth. But effective supervision of a vast number of little 'blocks of forest land dotted over the country would be impos'sible without an increase of forest establishments so large that its cost would be prohibitive. To preserve the forests then, and to 'prevent disputes, discontent, and injustice, it is desirable to have 'the sources of the fuel and fodder supply under Government 'control, and to minimize expenditure on establishments it is 'necessary that the reserves should be in fairly large blocks.

"One important point is that all Government forests will 'eventually be formally settled and reserved under the Act. The only objection to this course is that it involves some 'increased cost, but the advantages of having all rights definitely 'determined or extinguished are so great as to quite outweigh 'the extra expenditure. It is, however, most necessary to correct the idea, which prevails somewhat widely, that as soon as a forest is reserved, cattle and men are to be excluded and it is to be 'worked for the profit of the Government rather than for the 'benefit of the people. It cannot too strongly affirmed that the 'chief object of the reserved forests throughout the greater part of the country is the provision of pasture, small timber, fuel, and 'leaves for manure or litter. They to be worked in order to meet 'the wants of the villagers in those respects and are not to be con⚫verted into close preserves for the growth of large timber. The 'Government cannot lay down any detailed rules for the treat

6

'ment of the reserves This must vary with the character of the 'growth and the circumstances of the locality, but speaking generally the forests in the plains should be worked as fuel and fodder reserves and those on the hills as high forest. Working plans 'should be drawn out for each and those for the fuel and fodder reserves should contain proposals for throwing open certain areas to grazing while keeping other portions closed against all heads, and also for felling the fuel departmentally and cutting and 'storing the grass for sale where such arrangements can be shown 'to be practicable and most conducive to the convenience and interests of the people. It is the duty of the Conservator to 'advise the Collector on these matters of detail, and if there is 'any difference of opinion between these officers, a reference 'should be made to the Revenue Board whose decision will be 'final."

The next point for consideration is the area which should 'be reserved in each district. The Government considers that in 'the first place all good forest land however great the extent, 'should be brought under control. This has already been done in 'most districts. The Collector should next consider the circumstances of each taluk, which will be the unit for purposes of fuel and fodder reserves. If in any case the area already taken 'up is not sufficient to furnish the estimated requirements in 'firewood, leaves and small timber, and to afford grazing for all 'cattle necessary for agricultural or domestic purposes, more land 'should, if possible, be brought under management and the natural 'jungle growth should be supplemented by plantations created for 'the purpose of fuel supply. Such plantations would be especially ' beneficial in districts like Bellary and Anantapur and in taluks 'situated on the coast, for experience has shown that if a large tract of the forest land is carefully enclosed and planted up, a natural growth of grass and shrubs quickly follows the protection 'afforded by excluding cattle and keeping out fire and the plantation thus becomes both a fuel and fodder reserve."

It is worth while to repeat here, again, the words of the Madras Government "the advantages of having all rights definitely ' determined or extinguished are so great as to quite outweigh the extra expenditure," as an admirable definition of the real aim and object of the long and tedious and detailed procedure which the Forest Acts require shall to be gone through before a forest is finally gazetted as Reserved. And it is, probably, because they have so strongly held to this point, that they have taken such extreme care and gone to such pains to ensure the accurate and full observance of each step in the Settlement procedure; and that they have, for the carrying out of that procedure, promulgated the excellent Rules for the conduct of Forest Settlement Officers' which they alone of the Indian Provinces have yet framed and enforced. They have refused to admit that a Forest Settlement Officer is, as we fear he has in some places been consid

ered to be, a judge of equity instead of a judge of civil law; and they have understood that in order to allow a ryot to continue to graze his cow in a forest, it is not necessary to give him a legal easement over that forest, any more than it is necessary to burn down a house in order to roast a sucking pig.

We should rejoice if the views of the Madras Government, their Settlement Rules, and their cautious observance of legal details, could be made universal in Settlement work in this country; and if instead of appointing, as is only too often done, an already over-worked Collector or Deputy Commissioner to do the Settlement on the cheap, the expedient of Special Settlement Officers such as are appointed in Madras, Bombay and Burma could be adopted elsewhere. We are sure that it would be found that the extra expenditure would be amply outweighed not only by the advantage of permanent definition or extinguishing of forest rights, but by the freedom from those harassing disputes about boundaries and cultivation and petty rights which take up the time of Forest Officers which ought to be devoted to more professional work and especially to the improvement and protection of the splendid Government Forest estate which should gradually increase in value and provide every day more and more fully and cheaply for the wants of the population of the country.

Much good might have been done and much trouble and expense avoided, if, at the outset the true position of Forest Settlement Officers had been carefully laid down and the Rules for their Procedure framed and put in force; for the distinction between 'rights' and 'privileges' is by no means always fully understood and the terms are often mixed up. As an example, we may note certain Working Plans in the North Western Provinces which speak of the privileges conceded by Government order as ' rights' forgetful of the fact that no rights have been recognized or admitted in the areas they refer to. Let us try to be more precise, and to separate in our minds as they are separated in law, the rights' which are admitted under settlement as legally existing and inseparable from the estate and the privileges' which the Acts do not recognize but which the Government consider necessary as a matter of general good policy in the management of the country.

A VALUABLE MAHOGANY TREE.

A Mahogany tree recently felled in Honduras has been found to give three logs which fetched a price of £2,200 in Europe. The usual diameter of Mahogany varies from 1 to 7 feet and its usual height is 90 ft. while it is not uncommon to find specimens which give 60 ft. as the height to the first branch. Honduras Mahogany is sent to the Europe market in logs of 12 to 14 ft. long and 2 to 4 ft. square. The wood weighs 35 to 53 lbs. per cubic foot and its hardness is 0.61 to 0.69 The Government Engineers in Honduras value the Mahogany trees in the Colony which are fit for felling at forty million pounds (Révue des Eaux et Forêts.).

TIMBER AND PRODUCE SALES IN BENGAL.

We see in the Calcutta Gazette notices of the proposed sale by tender of 3,000 large Sal trees in the Saranda, Porahat and Kolhan forests of Singbhum. The trees are all said to be of large size, girthing from 6 to 10 feet and tenders are called for up to noon on the 1st September. If we mistake not, this is the first attempt at a systematic utilization of the fine Singbhum timber lately made easily exportable by the opening of the Bengal Nagpur Railway which passes through the forest. At the same time tenders are invited for the sale of minor produce: 'Sabai' or 'Babur' grass, which ought to find purchasers among the Bengal paper manufacturers; myrobolams; tussar silk, the chief article of the local trade of Singbhum; lac; and the flowers of the Mohwa. We hope these calls for tender will stimulate the demand for minor forest products, and assist in rendering better known the capabilities of our forests to yield, not merely timber, but many other articles of great commercial interest and value.

STINGLESS BEES.

We have been asked by Mr. R. C. Wroughton of the Bombay Forest Department, well known not only for his energy and activity as a Forester but for his keen interest in Entomology and especially in the Indian Ants, and their habits and classification, to lay before our readers the accompanying letter from Professor J. O. Westwood, F. R. S., the President of the Entomological Society of London, and Hope Professor of Zoology at Oxford, asking for information regarding specimens of the Meliponæ or small stingless bees which are found in some parts of India and, we believe, especially in the hills. The specimens and notes should be sent to Mr. Wroughton at Poona and he will undertake their transmission to Professor Westwood. We hope that some of our readers may be able to assist Mr. Wroughton and Professor Westwood and we should be glad if when sending the information asked for, they would tell our readers in the pages of the 'Forester' something about the homes and habits of the stingless bees and whether they are capable of being domesticated.

DEAR SIR,

At the suggestion of our friend Colonel Swinhoe, I take the liberty, as a stranger, of addressing you in the hope that you may be able to give me some information on the subject of the small stingless honey bees (Melipona) of which, I believe, there are several Indian species. I am very much interested in the economy of this little insect, especially the distinction of the three different sets of inhabitants, males, queens and workers, and still more so as to shape and construction of the nests, combs and cells. For information on these points and for

specimens of the nests and combs or portions thereof or careful drawings of the same, I should be extremely obliged. Does each species build a different kind of nest? Is the honey stored in separate reservoirs or only in the comb cells? In what situations are the nests built? I suppose they are never hived. An information on these and kindred questions connected with economy of the aculeate Hymenoptera, will be thankfully received by Yours very truly,

J. O. WESTWOOD,

M. A., President Entomological Society, London.

IV. OFFICIAL PAPERS AND REVIEWS.

DURABILITY OF RAILWAY SLEEPERS.

We have received the usual statement shewing the renewals of wooden sleepers on State Railways. It is well known that experiments are in progress on many of the Indian Railways to test the durability of sleepers. The results of some of these experiments up to the end of 1889, will prove of general interest. On the Rajputana-Malwa Railway, 2,054 deodar sleepers were laid down in 1876, and at the end of 1889, only 131 had been removed thus shewing that the life of a deodar sleeper on this Railway is at least 13 years; although the average durability cannot be ascertained until the last sleeper has been removed, we already know that it will exceed 13 years.

Similarly, out of 689 teak sleepers, 110 were removed at the age of 12 years; and out of a lot of 6.318 pine, 4,112 had gone at various intervals, giving an average age of 10 years. The celebrated Hardwickia has lost 431 sleepers out of a total of 902, at an average age of 12 years. On the North-Western Railway, out of 600 deodar sleepers laid down in 1877, only 21 had to be removed up to the end of 1889; and of 275 creosoted pine, 31 had been removed in the same time. In another experiment on the same Railway, between Lahore and Karachi, 1,016 deodar and 382 creosoted pine sleepers, laid down in 1877, were still in use 12 years afterwards. This result, possibly due to the dry climate, is even more favourable than the one first quoted.

On the Eastern Bengal Railway, 1,973 sal sleepers were laid down in 1877. During 13 years, 514 had been removed at an average age of 9 years. Creosoted pine during a similar period, had lost 1,755 out of a total of 1,923, the average age so far hav ing been 8 years. On this railway, experiments are being carried on with ironwood also, but they are of too recent an inception to furnish any tangible result.