MANAGEMENT OF TEAK FORESTS. 



forest. 



Sal seeds germi 

 Date at once. 



yield. 



the seed has a small chance, and very little is gained by 

 Shutting of Teak shutting up teak forests so far as the germination of seed is 

 concerned and the increase of young plants. It is not so 

 with other trees, for instance, the Sal seed germinates in the 

 air sometimes, and its vitality is small this is why Sal 

 trees are gregarious, and when fires are kept out, they 

 spring up in thousands, whereas in walking through a Teak 

 forest for a whole day, you will hardly see hundreds of 

 Teak saplings. 



Amount of annual Having ascertained what amount of ripe timber your 

 forest is likely to yield and the market demand, you must 

 cut accordingly. Let us assume that your demand is fifty 

 thousand cubic feet annually, and that your forest is capable 

 of supplying that amount for thirty years. It becomes 

 evident that you must plant to supply the deficiency. It is 

 but of little use scattering seed here and there in the hopes 

 of its growing, the cost, it is true, is not much, but then 

 the returns are almost nil. There is one way in which seed 

 may be made use of, (though even that is doubtful, as rats 

 have a very keen scent, and are apt to dig up the seed ;) 

 when it is impossible, on account of the area or unhealthi- 

 ness of the locality to form a regular plantation, then the 

 following system can be tried. The seeds in May may be 

 soaked for twenty-four hours in warm water, then buried in 

 sand in a heap, and left to germinate. 



When the shoot appears, the men proceed to the selected 

 spot, having previously made holes with crow-bars at six 

 feet intervals the holes to be six inches deep, and enlarged 

 at the top by working the crow-bar about, one man fills in 

 the holes to within an inch of the top, the next man places 

 a germinated seed in the hole, the third man covers it up. 

 In this manner a small party of men may, in a season be- 

 tween June and August, plant up an area of some ninety 

 acres. Four men should hole an acre with one thousand holes 

 and four men plant it. It is probable that on account of the 

 number of trees already occupying the ground, that not 

 more than five hundred seeds could be put in, should there be 



Scattering seed 

 no use. 



Sowing seed. 



