121 



" The natural regeneration of Palaquium, as already stated, is 

 very good, but growth is slow and assistance must be given. Our 

 object now is to encourage only the best species, P. oblong i 'folium 

 and P. Gutta. Regular plantations, i.e., planting in cleared areas 

 from seed, is at present impossible in these States, as no seed is 

 available. The method followed by the Forest Department here 

 is to cut lines through the dense undergrowth in the forest 

 reserves, taking up regular areas in turn, and to transplant into 

 these lines young Palaquium seedlings taken from outside the 

 reserve in forests that cannot for various causes be protected, or 

 taken from groups inside the reserve where they are growing too 

 close together. At the present time we have an area of more than 

 1,000 acres so planted in Selangor. 



" In the Trollah reserve in Perak Palaquium seedlings are so 

 numerous in the seedling and pole stage that planting over a 

 considerable area is unnecessary. Here we resort only to im- 

 provement fellings, transplanting young plants into blanks only 

 wherever necessary. The improvement fellings consist in 

 clearing away undergrowth interfering with young Palaquium 

 plants, the operation being repeated yearly or once in several 

 years, as may be necessary. By this means the rate of growth of 

 the young tree is greatly increased. I have found the effect of 

 this process to be very beneficial even in the two years since it 

 was started. By such simple methods as these it is hoped in a 

 few years to have a very considerable area of young Palaquium 

 trees about 40 to the acre. One advantage in this system is the 

 freedom from the attacks of insects to which trees grown in pure 

 plantations are liable. A similar area to that in Selangor exists in 

 Malacca, but the plants are put in closer together and were 

 obtained from Sumatra. Similar plantations exist at Bukit timah 



in Singapore, and at Batu ferringi in Penang, but on a small 

 scale." 



Thus it will be seen that the Government of the Straits Settle- 

 ments and Federated Malay States has taken strong measures to 

 prevent the destruction of the gutta percha forests and to provide 

 for a permanent supply when the reserves and plantations after 

 some years can begin once more to produce a regular yield. 



XXIV.-FUNGI EXOTTCI: VI. 



G Massee. 



Of the ten new fungi here described from material in the 

 Herbarium at Kew, five are Indian species collected by Mr. I. H. 

 Burkill, Reporter on Economic Products to the Government of 

 India ; two, from Christmas Island and from Borneo respectively, 

 collected by Mr. H. N. Ridley, Director, Botanic Gardens, Singa- 

 pore ; one from British Guiana, collected by Mr. A. W. Bartlett, 

 Superintendent, Botanic Gardens, Georgetown ; one from West 

 Africa, collected by Mr. W. H. Johnson, formerly Director of 

 Agriculture, Gold Coast ; and one from New South Wales, col- 

 lected bv Mr. Cheel. 



