formed along the coast, generally of the shape and appearance shown in Fig. 7. The subsoil is indurated clay; and at the edge, where there is a considerable depth of loose sand, the Caldera bush (Pandanus odoratissimus) grows in abundance, and fringes the line of sandhills. There are some lower portions in which the waters of the monsoon have collected, and given to the sand an admixture of mould, which so far fertilizes the soil that millets may be cultivated. I only saw one or two small patches of paddy (Oryza sativa). The prospect of converting this waste tract into cultivated land is very distant, and, for reasons submitted, I think it should be allowed to remain a jungle tract bearing underwood for fuel and beams for housebuilding, and thereby of extensive and important use to the community.

A large town like Madras requires much fuel for daily consumption; the sources of supply cannot be exclusively confined to mountainous or unculturable land. Difficulty is now experienced in supplying the market with timber and firewood, and the scarcity of fuel has long induced the poorer inhabitants to resort to Striharikota, where, in addition to stunted trees, underground roots and stems, running along the loose sand, are pulled up with ease; and according to the statement of the Military Board, at least one half of the fires in Madras are fed from this source. The simple method of carrying the fuel from the jungle to the cargo boats is shown in the accompanying sketch (Plate 6). However convenient this supply of firewood is to the Madras traders as well as the poor residents, the destruction of the shrubs, roots, &c., will become hereafter a serious inconvenience to the public and a source of detriment to the canal, as the isthmus may revert to its desert state, the dry and loose sand be drifted into the canal, and overspread the adjacent country. If an opposite system be pursued, and the growth of trees and shrubs encouraged, the belt of wood will protect the soil from sweeping winds and afford fodder for cattle. It appears to me, therefore, that while conserving Striharikota, it would be important also to commence the systematic planting and reclaiming of the sandy flats or downs which lie along the coast between the canal and the sea. There is no apparent obstacle to this being effected. What has been done by nature at Striharikota indicates the pro

cess by which similar waste tracts may be made productive. An undulating surface must first be formed, and then a few clumps of bushes may be laid down; this is the beginning of a jungle. When a belt of trees or bushes is once established in such a situation, it should be kept undisturbed as long as it will serve the purpose of protecting the trees within, though it may be of no other value. I remember Pulicat fifteen years ago, when the old Dutch station was almost without a tree; but now there are avenues and ornamental shrubs round the fort and on both sides of the backwater.

The kind of trees suitable for planting admits of some doubt, and may perhaps be learned from some of the residents at Ennore and Coromandel. The Casuarina thrives well, and furnishes a useful wood, which, however, does not answer for fuel, as it does not split easily, and yields little wood when pollarded. Besides, it would be better to plant quick-growing woods.

There are numerous and excellent works on planting, such as Loudon's "Arboretum Britannicum;" Brown's "Forester," 1861; Pontey's "Forest Pruner;" Monteath's "Forester's Guide; Mathew on "Arboriculture;" and all the operations connected with it, as the growth of trees for timber, for scenic effect, &c. ; but I know of no work in England, or even in Germany (where the forests are under an organised system of management), affording information on the statistics of wood fuel. I am not aware of any statistical records, although such are not wanting with regard to peat and coal, which constitute the principal fuel of Great Britain, where the raising of trees for firewood does not constitute any part of forestry. As to the area necessary to produce a continual supply of firewood for 700,000 people, we have no available data for the basis of calculation; and as to the number of years necessary for the reproduction of the jungle, it seems to me that although seven years is found to be a sufficient period of rest on the western coast, it is too short for the renewal of hard wood on the eastern coast. The best kinds of wood to rear for fuel are the quickest growers of the country, such as the firs in Scotland, the poplar and willow in England, the beech in Germany, and the various species of cassia, ficus, &c. in India, which grow rapidly, and sow or extend themselves. As a general

rule, indigenous trees will answer better than exotics (Utakamand is an exception); for the native hill trees are much slower in growth than the naturalised Australians. All that is wanted is conservancy, so as to prevent tracts being quite cleared, to hinder persons from injuring the roots, and to arrange for the renewal of trees cut down. One part of this scheme would be to leave a certain number of standard trees per acre, say thirty or forty for shade and for seed, instead of shaving off everything to the root, by which means both the medicinal products as well as the larger fuel will gradually but certainly disappear. If the foregoing suggestions meet with the approval of Government, the measures to be adopted for increasing and extending the growth of tree plantations are next to be considered, and I offer the following remarks upon the subject:—

1. The superintendents of both the N. and S. Canals, the overseers and employés of the D. P. W., who have already commenced planting along the banks of these canals, might set a good example by extending their plantations. The successive rows of trees will be better and better protected, and each stronger than the preceding until they attain the full height. They would, I imagine, be of great value in preserving the bank as well as the water in the canal, whilst the loppings and prunings would probably repay the cost of planting. A considerable revenue has been derived from the culture of trees on the banks and cuttings of the great Ganges Canal. (Col. R. Baird Smith's Report.) Moreover, the embankments would be rendered beautiful and interesting.

2. The collector might also encourage heads of villages to take an interest in planting topes, by holding out the promise of a reduction of land-rent whenever he is shown so many hundred trees in a flourishing state. The remission should depend solely upon the ryots carefully watering (if necessary) and keeping up their topes or avenues. This course has been adopted in Mysore and in some parts of Bengal with considerable success.

3. Of course the officials of the D. P. W. could only be expected to plant close to the canal, and the ryots in the immediate neighbourhood of their villages. Many failures in the plants put down must be expected the first year; but the result, with