INTRODUCTION. Xlll 



on generic distinction the following may be given. When describing 

 the woods of the different species of Olive, one kind was met with which 

 presented a structure entirely dissimilar from the rest. This was our 

 No. E 379 which was sent, accompanied by leaf specimens, from the 

 higher forests of Sikkim. Wishing to ascertain the name, Dr. Brandis 

 took the specimens to the Calcutta Herbarium, and after careful examina- 

 tion pronounced them to belouir to a species of (Mmtntkus, a genus 

 closely allied to Olea, and it is as Osmanthus, nov. sp., that the 

 wood is described at p. 257. A few days ago, in the forest near 

 Darjeeling, the writer found trees of the well known Osmanthus fragram, 

 and on examining the wood, found that it agreed in structure with 

 No. E. 379, having the pretty network of anastomosing bands of pores, 

 and not the more regular and uniform arrangement presented by Olea. 

 So that the correctness of Dr. Brandis' determination is borne out 

 by the structure of the wood at any rate. 



The examination of specimens to determine the rate of growth was 

 chiefly made by Mr. Smythies, assisted at one time by Dr. Warth ; and, 

 in writing the account of rate of growth, reference has been made to all 

 the information published, or otherwise obtainable, on the subject. For 

 the principal woods some data have been procured which will doubtless 

 be very valuable ; while even the record of the countings made on our 

 email specimens is, though not absolutely reliable, at any rate useful as 

 a commencement. Whenever possible, countings were made on the log, 

 on the whole diameter of the section, but time and leisure were not 

 always available for this during the work in Calcutta, so that many of 

 the results given are merely calculated from an inspection of such pieces 

 as were available, and are necessarily, therefore, not completely reliable. 

 This explanation is necessary, in order that it may be well understood, 

 that our record is not always a record of the results of a series of care- 

 fully conducted experiments and examinations, but in many cases is only 

 given as a beginning and as being the best information available. 



The discussion of the rate of growth of teak was based on a memo- 

 randum which was published by Dr. Brandis on the subject and circu- 

 lated ; that of siil was chiefly drawn up by Mr. Smythies, and ap- 

 peared first in Vol. IV, page 324, of the Indian Forester ; the rest were 

 drawn up by the writer. Information regarding the rate of growth of 

 our forest trees is one of the greatest of our desiderata, as such informa- 

 tion is essential to the determination of the rotation of forests and the 

 construction of working plans, so that no possible opportunity should be 

 lust of collecting inlbrmatiou 011 the subject. 



