PKRIODICAL LITF.RATURK 185 



UTILIZATIOX. MAKKKT. AND TKCIlXoLoC.V 



'I"lic article is the result of three years' cxperi- 



Tlmhcr I'loatUu] eiice by Axel S. Sabroe in the Siamese teak 



in forests in the employ of the East Asiatic Co., 



SiiUii and Japan Ltd., of Copenhagen, and of an additional four 



months in Japan. He re])orts that the methods 



in both countries are adapted to the local conditions to such a degree 



that they difTcr widely from each other and from Swedish rafting. 



In Siam the writer was in charge of log driving in the creeks and of a 



station at Sawankalokc. 



Rafting in Siam 



In Siam the forests of teak (Tcctona grandis) are found in the four 

 old Laos States: Chiengmai, Lampang, Prae, and Nan. They are 

 mostly deciduous and the teak is in mixtures with other trees, not form- 

 ing pure stands. It occurs on the lower slopes of the low (1,000-1,200 

 m. above the sea) laterite mountains where the soil is moist during the 

 rainy season. In the dry season, however, the soil becomes so dry 

 that even the roots of the dead trees burn out, leaving holes in the 

 earth. 



The greatest part of the teak forests of Siam are divided for ex- 

 ploitation between five firms — four English and one Danish. A French 

 firm is working near the northern boundary in the tributaries of Me 

 Kong, but the many big waterfalls of this river make log driving so 

 difficult that their output is not important. Some Siamese teak is 

 driven down to Moulmein in Burma from the western mountains. 



Girdling the standing trees is necessary to prepare teakwood for 

 rafting, as it will not float green or when freshly cut. This is done 

 by cutting about 10 cm. deep through the bark and sapwood. The dead 

 trees are then left standing for at least two years, and many of them 

 ten to twelve years, before felling. This long period is caused by the 

 Forest Department requiring the trees to be girdled during four or five 

 years of the concession in order to render its control effective. Trees 

 over G feet 4J/2 inches in girth at breast-height may be girdled, provided 

 there is at least one seed tree or three young plants within a distance of 

 ]'20 feet. All girdling operations are inspected by English officers of 

 the Forest Department assisted by native clerks. Artificial silviculture, 

 as in Jawa, is practically unknown because the concessionnaires are 

 uncertain as to the future (renewal'of concession), and labor is a big 

 handicap. The cuttings show good results in good soil, as the young 



