Sessional_Paper_1908 — Page 607

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FORESTRY,

A commencement was made during the year with a scheme for taking over the large forestry operations previously done by contract. This has been necessitated by the increasing difficulty of getting the work efficiently done by contractors. As a result it has frequently resulted that the short planting season was occupied by vain efforts to get the work through, the plantations were poor and irregular and the year's forestry programme spoiled.

The forestry year (1906/7) under review was a transition year, the part of the forestry programme carried out by contractors largely failed while that done by the department was most satisfactory. The programine included the continuation of the belt on the north of the harbour from the South Tunnel Face near Kowloon Tsai as far as the Rifle Butts (9 B 1-20), the extension of the catchment plantings at Tytam and Pokfulam reservoir catchments (4 G 10, 11, 15-21 and 7A 1-5). As the crop of pine seedlings grown by contract at Little Hong- kong failed, nearly the whole of the above area was sown with pine seeds in pits, 8.000 of the pine seedlings saved being planted by the department on the bare sandy parts of the Kowloon Tsai plantations, while the remainder were used by the contractor for planting at Tytan and Kowloon. Repairing of the failures of last season was carried out by foresters at Cheung Sha Wan, Pokfulam, and Aberdeen.

Details of planting will be found in Tables III-VI,

Resumption of existing Plantations.—In anticipation of the extension of the barbour belt towards Lyeemun in 1908-9 the villagers of Ngau Chi Wan and Kak Hang were given gratuities representing their respective interests in the existing pine plantations on and near Hammer Hill, which would be encompassed by the extension of Government planting.

All plantations in the catchment of the new Kowloon Reservoir were resumed for the same reason and the villagers of Shek Li Pui treated similarly.

East Point Nursery.-This is, as stated in my last report, the first pine tree nursery made by the department. In previous years seedlings have been raised by contract an i sold to the Government at about $9.50 per 1,000. The site chosen was a flat marshy pices of ground at the south of Victoria School, East Point, and the billside adjoining. The flat ground was drained, the hillside terraced and the whole laid out in about 500 numbered rectangular beds with service paths between. The whole was dug over and sown before Feb-

ruary.

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Nga In Tau Nursery.—The second pine tree nursery it is necessary to have two, as they are sown alternately each being in use for two seasons was formed at the above village near Diamond Hill. As this is the neighbourhood of the planting authorized for 1907-9 a large inatshed was erected for the accommodation of the staff of diggers and planters who would be engaged on the work as well as for the nursery staff. The land had to be rented from the villagers but the expenditure on rent was amply compensated by the saving of labour in digging and levelling,

Demarcation.-Correct forestry maps have now been prepared on the 8" survey sheets for the part of the authorized best from Lai Chi Kok to Customs Pass, viz., No. 9 Forest, Blocks A & B and the planting sections marked on the ground and on the maps. These blocks contain together 786 acres and are divided into 74 sections averaging about 10 acres each. The section numbers are plainly painted in white on the rocks at the boundaries of

the sections thus and have already proved of value in enabling foresters and forest

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guards to give an accurate reference to the localities r ferred to in their reports.

In Hongkong accurate maps being unobtainable for the purpose of forestry demarcation recourse has been had to photography. The blocks and planting sections in part of Tytam and Pokfulam Forests are now shown on 2 series of photographs, r., 4 (Tytam) C1-5, G 1-30, H 1-16, I 1-9; 7 (l'okfulam) A 1-5, B6-8; the marking of these on the ground is not yet completed.