MANAGEMENT OF TEAK FORESTS. 13 



ful hands. I have heard of all the strong trees being taken 

 out to let the weakly ones come on, it need scarcely be 

 observed that such a course of action is sufficient to ruin 



anv timber plantation. In a Forest Report, of the Pegu e Planting Teak 



J , , . , . m , . rows not suitable. 



Forests, 1856, it is recommended to plant Teak in rows irom 



eight to fifteen feet apart, and two to three feet in the rows. 



The reasons given are that the rows being fifteen feet apart The Nellumbore 



-,,.,., -, ,1 plantation gives 



plants have ample room to extend their foliage, also any other the Denial to this, 

 system does not permit trees of a naturally stronger consti- 

 tution than the rest to develop themselves freely on account 

 of their being surrounded on all sides by other trees. 



Now, I most certainly cannot agree in this opinion, for to 

 draw up trees and escape pruning is the end and aim of 

 our planting, to obtain marketable timber, planting close 

 must be the rule. It is not argued that if crooked timber Wastes in forests 

 is required that plants fifteen feet apart in the rows would be 

 a mistake, certainly not, for it may safely be assumed that 

 more than half the timber grown in this fashion would be 

 curved. The waste in the forests from the curved state of 

 the stems of natural grown Teak is enormous, and this 

 waste we wish to avoid. The writer also falls into another 

 mistake he writes, page 52, "The general opinion in India 

 is against planted Teak." Now this was written in 1856 

 when the Conelly Teak Plantations at Nellumbore had been Planting the rule 

 in existence since 1843 or thirteen years. The fact is that " 

 in later years Forest officers could not obtain money for 

 planting. In 1860 I recommended to Government that 

 every Forest officer should be passed through Nellumbore Officers to study 

 that he might learn practical planting on a large scale, and 

 I believe three or four Forest officers were sent to Nellum- 

 bore. With regard to planting and forestry in India, it 

 may here be remarked that the European Forester has European 

 much to unlearn. Mr. Ferguson found a system already suitedtolndia. 

 adopted and succeeding admirably, so he had nothing to 

 do, but follow in the footsteps of his predecessor so far as 

 planting went. 



The pruning, of course, was his own idea, and he found 



