December i, 1883.] 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



401 



Finus insiynis, probably the fastest-growing conifer on 



the Nilgiris. 



Ciipressus tondosu reproduces itself from self-sown 

 seedlings. 



They are all of a dense sturdy habit of growth and 

 appear to be sufficiently hardy for planting on a large scale. 

 It tlius appears that the bhie gum, instead of being 

 a good shelter-tree, requii'es itself to be sheltered. 

 Films insirjuiti, we may &ay, is largely grown around Mel- 

 bourne, but the gi'owth of all the pines and arpcariaa 

 is, so far as we know, much slower than that of 

 the Australian c.uralypts a,i[iA acacias. It is quite true 

 that the eucalypts, though tolerant of long droughts- 

 attain their extreme growth in such moist mountain; 

 regions as those around Ferusbaw and in Gippslaud - 

 but Australia knows nothing of what Ceylon endured 

 in the southwest monsoon period of 1S&2, when, 

 during ninety days, the rainless days did not exceed 

 nine. The great benefit anticipated from growing 

 blue gums lay in the belief that in the tenth year 

 of their age, the trees would yield hard tunber suit- 

 able specially for railway-sleepers. Young trees have 

 been known to giow 20 feet or over in a year, and, 

 although the rate of upward gi'owth slackens when 

 the trees liave to increase laterally as well as per- 

 pendicularly, we have felt justified by the known 

 growth of individual trees to reckon an average in- 

 crement of height equal to 10 feet per annum ; so 

 that, at ten years of age, a blue gum should be 100 

 feet high, and 150 feet in its fifteenth year. The 

 measurements taken by Mr. Deputy Conservator of 

 Forests, D. E. Hutchins, justifies the estimate up to 

 the tenth year, trees having been measured up to 

 115 feet in their tenth year, equal to lOJ inches per 

 anuimi ; but after this period lateral growth evidently 

 makes more demand on the tree, for the tallest tree 

 measured in the plantations gave only 136 feet, and 

 the plantation was stated to be 19 years old. It 

 is quite possible, however, that isolated trees in 

 favourable situations may attain the height mentioned 

 by the late Mr. Mclvor, 150 feet in fifteen years. 

 The annual rate of growth for the case of the ISfifcet 

 high tree is about 7 feet, with 3 inches per annum for 

 girth. A tree a foot lower gave 45 feet girth at 5 feet 

 from the ground, whence the Forester deduced an ideal 

 cyUnder of 151 00, so calculating the cubic contents 

 fri)m 10 feet sections of the stem at 66't;6 feet. The 

 cubic contents of the top and branches being taken 

 at 2-94 feet, we get 6900 feet as the cubic contents 

 of one tree 19 years old. Under the column for 

 remarks we find " Branch-wood 66 lb. per culuc foot, 

 twigs and Ifaves one head load=^ cubic foot.'' An- 

 other remark is to the following effect : — 



Weight of wood of Eucalyptus i/lohdus dry = 44 lb., or 

 with bark 40.1b. 



Loss of weight on driage is 40 per cent., therefore 66 lb. 

 of fresh cut branch-wood = 1 cubic foot. A head-load of 

 fresh twigs and leaves is taken as weighing 20 1b., when dry 

 = ^ a cubic foot. 



As showing the effects of abundance of light and 

 air, we may state that a tree grown on the margin 

 of the plantation containing the tallest tree, th<iugh 

 only 104 feet high, had such a girth at 5 feet from 

 the ground of 64 feet (nearly 3J inches p. a.) the 

 result being that the cubic contents of this grand 

 tree came up to 96-28 feet. It was nearly isolated 

 and had a tapering trunk with many brsnohcs. The tall 

 trees at Fernshaw (the tallest though not the stout- 

 est trees in the world) grow so closely together, that 

 the stems, which resemble the pipes of a "iaut or{;au, 

 ai'e branchless, except close to their tops. The number 

 of trees crowded together tends, no doubt, to induce 

 perpendicular g' owth, each tree pushing up to reacn 

 hir and light. If trees syminitrical m lateral as 

 well as perpendicular growth are wanted, of course 

 space in good proportion must be afforded, the trees 

 thickly planted at fiist, being gradually thinned 



out, as is thinning being deemed preferable to coppicing. 



Cubic feet. 

 The average cubic contents of 16 trees were ... 28726 



5 ,. ... 40764 



20 „ ... 34S36 



Aggregate .. 104-326 

 Mean average... 34-775 

 for blue gum trees 19 years old. 



Acacia 'inelanoxylon (the black wotlle, blackwood, 

 and also, curidusly enough, the lightwood of Australia 

 which is spared for its valuable timber when every 

 other tree is ringed and burnt) does not grow so rapidly 

 as! the bluii gum, the tallest tree measured in a plant- 

 ation 25 years old being 117 feet in height. But it 

 had a girth at 5 feet ot 60 inches, the result bein" 

 that the cubic contents reached 13569 feet, a quantity 

 of much superio"- timber far in excess of any of the gum- 

 trees. Of 13 trees measured on the 25-year old plant- 

 ation, the averages were 42-076 inches girth, 90766 

 feet height — cubic contents of trees 55-966 feet. A 

 remark is made to the effect that 



A cubic foot of freshly-cut old branch-wood of Acacia 

 melanoxyldn with bark weighs 48 lb. 



A head-load ot twigs and leaves is taken as equal to 4 a 

 cubic foot. 



Ihe acacias, however, does not seem to receive 

 justice when grown with gums, which speedily overtop 

 them. 



Of trees 10 years old, grown under such circumstances, 

 the highest was 58 feet, the greatest girth 18 inches' 

 and the greatest cubic contents 5 872 feet ; the aver- 

 ages of 10 trees being 13-9 inches girth, 47-1 height. 

 and 2-9816 fact cubic contents. The individual incre- 

 ment of the trees is indicated at -266 cubic feet 

 per annum. The specific gravity of these trees is 

 thus shown : — 



Specijic gravity of Acacia Milaiioxyloii, 



"S 3 Remarks. 



P U 



54-4 Middle Section. 



59-2 Section from base of tree 



43-9 Top Section. 



This is a tree divided into three sections, each of which was 

 carefully Weighed ; in the top section the proportion of bark 

 is much larger, and the specific gravity consequently less 

 than in the others ; and in the second section it is less than 

 in that taken from the base. Weight of dry heart-wood 

 (Gamble) is only 36 lb. For the factor ot the Norwood 

 trees the weight ot the green wood is taken as 50 lb. per 

 cubic foot. 



Of 508 ten-year-old Euca'yitus ijlobulus trees meas- 

 ured, the averages were : — Oirth 23-301 inches; height 

 84-860 feet ; cubic contents 10-410 feet. Experiments 

 showed that the weight of a cubic foot of freshly 

 cut Eucalyijtus (/lobulns is 72 feet. One cubic foot 

 of young Acacia melanoxylon, wood green, and with 

 bark, weighs on an aver.ige 47 lb. 



Mr. Hutchins' Report embodies, at the commence- 

 ment, a siimmai-y of notes by General Morgan, one 

 of the oldest residents in the great South of India 

 Sanitarium, regarding the first introduction of Aus- 

 tralian trees to the Ootacamund plateau. The sum- 

 mary is as follows : — 



Some trees of Eucalyjitns ylohvlus were planted as early 

 as 1843 by General (then Captain) Cotton at Gayton-park 

 and ■\Voodcot in Ootacamund. The first plauting on a large 

 scale was done by General Morgan in IcitS. lu 1S57. Blue- 

 gum plants were sold at the Government gardens at the 

 rate of 12 annas each. The fii-st Government Blue-gum 

 plantation was made in 1362 under the orders of .Sir William 

 Deuison, then C4ovemor ot Madras. There was a larga Blue- 



