'The gross revenue for the year amounted to Rs. 1,53,03,572, and 'the expenditure to Rs. 80,12,518. The surplus amounted to Rs. 72,91,054 as against Rs. 57,68,690, in the year 1888-89."

Under Alterations of Area' it is very properly remarked that true progress as regards area can only be measured by the additions to the Reserved Forests which alone can be regarded as permanent and regularly constituted forest estates. If the recently announced new policy is adopted, this increase should be larger in future years by the transfer to Reserved' of many of the forests now classed as 'Protected' or under other categories. Under the head of Forest Settlements' is given such an important declaration of the Inspector General's views as regards the necessity for abandoning the system of doing forest settlements so much persisted in in some provinces, under which things which could not really be maintained at law are erected into permanent rights,' in favour of strictly legal methods of procedure. In our August number we drew attention to this subject in Rights and Privileges and we are very glad indeed to find that so high an authority as Mr. Ribbentrop holds the same opinions as we there expressed. As we then said it is no more necessary to confer a right if you want to let a cultivator graze his cow in the forest, than it is necessary to burn down a whole house in order to roast a pig, We extract para 5 in full as we feel sure it is worthy of the widest publicity that can be given it, and we confidently look forward with hope that the Local Governments will adopt these views and let us have our settlement work done in legal fashion, by Forest Settlement Officers who understand that they are Civil Courts appointed to judge of law and not to adjudicate wholesale rights wherever they think they can trace a possible hardship. We fully acknowledge that hardships may exist and that privileges and concessions may have to be given, but it is the Government who should give them and not a Forest Settlement Officer, and the Government itself should only act with caution so as to save its successors from the difficul ties which must arise in the future when things which seem so small and insignificant now and so easily given away have become important and valuable easements over the public estate.

"A satisfactory feature in the progress of Forest Administra 'tion is the constantly spreading recognition of the fact, that finality as regards the possession of forest property and the 'settlement of adverse rights is the necessary basis of sound forest management by the State; and that this finality can only be secured by the creation of Forest Reserves.

'Considerable progress has been made in this respect during 'the year under review, both in regard to the settlement of new 'areas and the conversion of Protected Forests into Reserves. In the Madras Presidency, Forest Settlements are considered ' in the light of purely judicial proceedings, and the Forest Settle'ment Officers and Appellate Courts decide on the facts and

'proofs as they are brought before them. This procedure is unquestionably the intention and correct interpretation of the 'forest law, and doubtless yields the most stable and satisfactory ' results.

'In almost all other Provinces in which Forest Settlements ' are still in progress, the proceedings are to a greater or lesser 'degree, leavened, with administrative interference. This is defensible, and to some extent practical, in undeveloped forest countries, such as are found in the hilly parts of Burma, of Upper Assam, and in parts of Bengal, where Forest Settlements mean frequently nothing but the selection of the most suitable tracts for permanent forest reservation; but in cases where the State 'forest property is barely sufficient for the present and future ' requirements of the country, the strict legal settlement of the property and the adverse rights with which it may be burdened, 'is the only possible safeguard against future difficulties for which, 'should such arise, the present administration must be held responsible.

'The facts are not rarely lost sight of that the subsequent 'forest management is, on the one hand, frequently paralysed by the recognition of unproved privileges, and that, on the other, a strictly legal settlement does not preclude the forests being 'worked for the benefit of communities or persons unable to establish a right, but whom, for reasons of general administration 'it is desirable to favour. There are numerous historical prece'dents regarding the danger of the forest capital, necessary for the 'future requirements and the development of a country, being sacrificed and consumed in order to make things smooth for the 'time being.

'In some Provinces, notably the Punjab, there has been an unexplained delay in notifying the results of Forest Settlements, 'which were practically completed several years ago. Such a 'policy of delay and abstention renders the management of the 'forests extremely difficult, and may lead to misunderstandings on the part of the right-holders with respect to future claims. In view of this necessity, the settlement should not be delayed or com'plicated by administrative interference, which is strictly no part of the Settlement Officer's duty."

The next subject of importance which attracts our attention is that of Working Plans and we are glad that a definite opinion is given against the over elaboration of such schemes and that Working Plans of the simplest nature' are recommended. We should have liked, further, to have seen a more definite policy laid down on the subject of Working Plan Divisions' for we believe that such Divisions, only too often held by a quite junior and inexperienced officer, are a mistake, and that it is much better that the Plans for the forest should be made by the officer who knows them best. That officer is usually the Divisional Officer, who, after perhaps many years of experience, knowing

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every part of his charge and its capabilities and requirements intimately, must be more competent to make its Working Plans than an officer who, however good himself, may never have been in that country before and has to spend (or waste) much preliminary time in learning all about it. Instead of having special Working Plans Officers, we would let Divisional Officers do the Plans and give them Assistants to help to carry on the ordinary work. This is being done now in France and was done most successfully in two special areas we lately visited, viz: the cork forests of the Esterel and the splendid forest of Fontainebleau. In both cases it was the Assistant Inspector who made the revised working plans, being given the assistance of a junior to help to perform the ordinary duties of his charge.

Fire-protection. We have always thought that our statistics though perhaps as good as it is easy to make them, only imperfectly show the result of protection, because, if any real comparison is to be made between the results of protection in areas of such wide diversity of character and such wide difference of inflammability, co-efficients would have to be used. The proportion of failures to area attempted in 1889-90 was 10 per cent. It was, as might be expected, highest in Upper Burma, next in Assam, and we are surprised to see, next in the Punjab. We quote the Inspector General's remarks with the further opinion that possibly the results are due to the little interest taken in the work by others than Forest Officers and the idea that if a villager is not allowed to spoil his grazing ground by burning it, he is incurring a considerable hardship.

Punjab.-In this Province special measures for the protection of the forest from fire are more nominal than real, consisting 'for the most part in the retention of scattered fire guards whose beats are often of enormous extent. During the year under ' review, the result of fire-protection was more than usually disastrous as regards both the number and the extent of the areas 'burned. Of the specially protected areas nearly 60,000 acres, chiefly in the Hazara and Rawalpindi Divisions, were entered by 'fire, which also passed over more than 38,000 acres of forests, for the protection of which no special measures are taken. It is noticeable, too, that the cost of protection is continually increasing ' notwithstanding that the results are yearly less favourable. The Local Government expressed a willingness to consider special 'measures for the prevention of these fires, which periodically 'devastate the forests in the north-west portion of the Province. There can be little doubt that much remains to be done in the 'shape of fire-protection by fire-lines or otherwise.

On the Grazing question the Inspector General's remarks are interesting and worthy of being quoted. "The question of forest-grazing influences, on the one hand, forest management more intensely in India than in countries situated in temperate zones and, on the other, is of more vital importance to the

'population, who, even where no physical necessity exists for it, are wedded by custom and habits to a system of husbandry greatly 'dependent on large grazing areas. Thus the interests of agriculture and of State forest management appear to clash, especially ' in the drier regions of the Empire where long seasons of drought 'seem to prohibit a more advanced stage of agriculture than that 'which, as an inheritance of centuries, exists at present, but where

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at the same time the existence of forests and their maintenance 'is of special value not for the production of timber, but as a means for the storage of moisture.

The question where and to what extent the administration 'should interfere with a long existing and gradually developed custom, is one of extreme difficulty, surrounded by many and varying side-issues, and dependent on local, climatic, physical and political conditions. It is impossible to lay down a general 'rule regarding the obligations of Government; and the action required and feasible must, in each case, depend on a local analysis of all circumstances.

Experience has shown that such enquiries and subsequent 'action are, as a rule, most backward in those localities where State 'interference is most urgently called for. This is, to a certain 'extent, natural; for in such places drastic measures alone would be 'effective, and interference on the part of the Government would 'find the greatest opposition.

'Nevertheless, however disagreeable it may be to take the 'initiative and the responsibility of decided steps, it cannot be 'denied that the position does not improve by waiting, and that the measures as yet adopted are frequently inadequate to secure a thorough forest protection even of the catchment areas of the 'numerous streams rising in the lower hills and debouching into 'plains blessed with a naturally fruitful soil, which is sterile only on account of the want of a perennial water-supply. It is a wellknown fact that extensive areas exist in India which were once 'fruitful and populated: and with the example of Ascension Island (which was recently quoted in the Indian Agriculturist) before, us, it can hardly be doubted that they would become fruitful once 'more with a thorough afforestation of the lower hills on which they are dependent for their water-supply. At present such areas 'are increasing in extent. An intelligent and comprehensive exam. 'ination of the whole question, district by district, has recently 'been prescribed by the Government of India, and thus, it is hoped 'much additional light will be thrown on this difficult problem of 'administration. Managed on a sound system, the forest reserves 'will afford a much more secure supply of grass available in years of scarcity than would be provided if all grazing lands were 'without exception excluded from the reserved areas. This 'principle has been satisfactorily proved. Open grazing lands fail 'where they are most needed.

'The worst features of forest-grazing in many parts of India 'are the extent to which browsers, more especially goats, are 'admitted, and the wilful firing of forest areas open to grazing.'

There is not very much of importance recorded under Natural Reproduction. We agree fully in Mr. Ribbentrop's remarks on the best way to re-clothe the lower Punjab Hills:

The object in the lower hills should be to cover the soil as 'quickly as possible, and to this end Dodonaea viscosa, owing to the facility with which it reproduces itself both from coppice and seed, is a valuable auxiliary species. Such growth will slowly be 'replaced by more valuable woods in course of time, provided that 'browsing and over-grazing be checked."

But we recommend fencing as the most valuable adjunct in places which it is desired to re-clothe. If grazing cannot be stopped over the whole, instead of fencing the whole, small portions can be fenced temporarily and 'crede experto' the results will usually be good. The statistics of areas under Plantation in the various Provinces do not seem to be very clear, but we notice the important fact that the area of toungya plantation, now practically pure teak forest, in Burma, exteuds now to 30 square miles, the cost of which is almost trifling.

Under Financial Results we note that the net Revenue in square mile of land under the control of the Department is highest in Lower Burma (Rs. 323), next in the N.-W. Provinces and Oudh (Rs. 198) the general average being Rs. 69. In France the net result of the working of the Government Forest comes to about 11 francs per hectare, or roughly Rs. 300 per square mile.

We will conclude by recapitulating the Financial results of the Department which were 153 lakhs Revenue against 80 lakhs expenditure, showing that the net revenue of the Forest Department, 73 lakhs, is by no means an inconsiderable addition to the financial resources of India. Were forest produce not so largely given away free but all taxed lightly as we think it ought to be to pay for cost of production and the maintenence of permanent supply, this amount would be very much greater still.

THE CULTIVATION OF RICE IN ITALY.

We have received Bulletin No. 21 of the Agricultural Department of Madras on the Cultivation of Rice in Italy,' being extracts from an Italian official report translated by Mr. C..J. Peters, Executive Engineer, P. W. Department, S. Arcot.

We are told that the average area under rice in Italy is 498,463 acres, two-thirds of which is in the valley of the Po., and that the average outturn is nearly 40 bushels per acre, though the total production is steadily on the decrease. The following account of the history of rice cultivation is interesting.