ESSAY ON FUEL PLANTATIONS. 93 



root and grow. Far otherwise is it with the palmyra which 

 grows often in the sandiest and most unprofitable looking 

 ground. The seeds when moistened by the rains, drive their 

 tap-roots deep into the soil, otherwise they could not pos- 

 sibly survive through the trying hot weather which follows. 

 The tap-root is, therefore, a provision of nature, to enable 

 the young plant to get into a region of moisture sufficient to 

 enable it to pull through one dry season. The lateral roots 

 are the ones that mainly supply the plant with food. 



Pull up a young tamarind 4? feet high, ifc often has a tap-root 

 2 feet long ! It is better to plant such seeds in situ ; they do 

 not bear transplanting well, or any docking of the tap-root. 



You may have the required elevation, soil, and aspect, 

 and yet fail in making your Fuel Plantation thrive, if you 

 neglect paying attention to the amount of rainfall. 



As an instance of this, I may cite the case of a few plants 

 of Acacia Dealbata and Eucalyptus Globulus that were 

 planted by Mr. Breeks in a sholah in the Khoondahs, 

 beyond a place called Bhangy Tappal. 



They could not have been planted in a better situation 

 as far as appearances went, but when I visited them in 1879, 

 I never saw anything more miserable than the growth 

 they had made. The Acacias were only 3 feet high, and the 

 E. Globulus only 7 feet ! The excessive rainfall of this region, 

 where over 300 inches fall during the monsoon, had been too 

 much for them. I have only said a few words about the 

 enemies that fuel-producing trees have. These may be 

 classed as insect, animal, and vegetable. 



In the earlier stages, insects may be accounted the most 

 troublesome. Legions of ants devour some kinds of seed, 

 when it is collected and put out to dry, and other legions 

 carry it off, and bury it in their burrows the moment it is 

 sown. If you put it away carelessly when you have col- 

 lected it, you will discover to your cost that an army of 

 weevils are in possession, and by drilling it full of holes, 

 have rendered it worthless. All seeds should be kept in 



