Sessional_Paper_1902 — Page 786

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but these will be far more than made good this year as arrangements are made for bringing up the numbers either by planting or sowing seeds to about that of the previous year's work which was 54,000.

42. The planting of lands suitable for trees either in regard to their growth or facilities for protec- tion is almost completed in the Island except in catch-water areas of reservoirs, and those are being attended to this year. Afterwards planting generally will be only needed to replace losses by fires or other mischief. Statistics are given in Appendix B.

43. In connection with the completion of the main features of tree planting in Hongkong, it will be useful and interesting to mention here that since the establishment of an Afforestation Department the whole of my plans have been carried out under my direct guidance and control by Chinese and without European assistance, except once a year when either the Assistant Superintendent or a Police Constable was employed to count tree pits to check the contractors' numbers, and also when the Assistant Superintendent has carried on the plans during, mostly, rather brief intervals when I have been absent on leave. The work has not been done without constant care, but it speaks well for the Chinese staff, who, if the leading members had the same educational advantages and technical training as Europeans, would be still more valuable.

Thanks are due to the Police Department for again rendering great assistance in extinguishing grass-fires; the stations at Shaukiwan, Stanley, Aberdeen, Pokfulam and West Point (No. 7) having done a great deal of work with the aid of hired coolies paid by this Department, as usual.

44. Thinning of Plantations.-There was also a little diminished activity in this work. The number of trees cut out was 32,274, which sold for $728.15, a decrease of $96.30 compared with 1900. The items and particulars are provided in Appendix D.

45. Fires.-There was a considerable increase in the number of fires and trees destroyed by them, 12,174 trees having been killed and there were 41 fires. Little Hongkong district has a very bad reputation in this respect, as have also Mount Davis and Mount Kellet, the two latter owing their misfortunes most probably chiefly to the people who frequent the graves there.

46. Experience points out the necessity of still further widening fire barriers as trees increase in size, especially when they are on steep declivities. Probably 50 feet will be a necessary width in some places.

About 32 miles of fire barriers were cleared and miles of new ones made. Appendix E contains statistics of grass-fires.

47. Protective Service. Only 310 trees were reported as having been stolen, but there is evidence ⚫ that the forest guards have been very slack and I have no doubt they have neglected to report in many

cases as tree cutters seem to have been pretty active.

The guards had 55 cases, but of these there was the very unusual number of 19 aquittals; the number of convictions averaged about 7 only for each man for the whole year.

There is only one forest guard who has as much as one year's service, it is therefore not surprising that with so many changes their work is far from what is desired.

FORESTRY IN THE NEW TERRITORY.

48. Tree Planting. As mentioned in my Report for 1899 soon after the New Territory was taken over I made arrangements and operations were commenced in October for planting about 80,000 trees. Four new Police Stations were first to have about 20,000 trees planted in their neighbourhoods and then a beginning was to be made with planting about 60,000 in a broad band on each side of the new road which had been commenced and was to run from Kowloon to Taipo. I hoped that in time the roadside planting would be extended, year by year, to Taipo, a distance of 17 miles. The number of trees actually planted was 81,154 and they consisted chiefly of Pines, Camphors, Eucalyptus and Tristaneas. A considerable number of pine and camphor tree seeds were sown in situ, the failures-there are always some-have now been re-sown or re-planted.

In addition to these a supplementary plan was carried out of sowing seeds of Pinus Massoniana broadcast on each side of the road between the 3rd and 6th mile stones and they have given most satisfactory results. A rough measurement of the land sown and estimate of seedlings gives an addition to the 81,000 named above of about 22,000 which were not alluded to in the Report for 1900, making a total for the first year's work in the New Territory of about 103,000 trees.

49. Broadcast sowing, if the land on which the seeds are sown and the time of sowing is well chosen, produces as good plantations as the more expensive plans of sowing in situ or of planting trees. The total costs of planting in the New Territory amount to about $54 per acre, whereas the costs of broadcast sowing are only about $5 per acre. Each method has to be adopted according to circum- stances, but in future broadcast sowing should receive special attention and planting should be reduced to narrow limits. This conclusion is the result of careful experiments and observations which I have made for some years past.

50. During the past year the working plan sketched in 1899 has been extended by 11,800 trees being planted around Police Stations, two of them new ones, and 125,565 continuing the new road, the