CEDRUS DEODARA. 413 



in others to 12,000 feet. It also forms forests in the basin of the 

 main tributaries of the Indus ; in these forests it covers large areas 

 either unmixed or associated with Pinus cxcelsa and Picea Smithiana ; 

 less commonly with Abies Webbiana and with Oaks. 



In their native forests young Deodars bear a good deal of shade ; 

 the terminal shoots like the extremities of the branches are soft and 

 drooping, but will pierce with great vigour through thickets of other 

 trees, and it is not a rare occurrence to see the proportion of Deodars 

 in an Oak forest increase by self-sown seedlings which come up under 

 the shelter of the Oaks and make their way through its foliage. 

 When isolated, young trees are branched to the ground, and have the 

 pyramidal outline as seen in Great Britain ; old isolated trees have 

 flat tabular tops in a very marked manner, and attain large girths. 

 The data available show clearly that the rate of growth of the Deodar 

 is much influenced by the greater or less moisture of the climate : 

 thus, in the forest at the head waters of the Bhagi'rati river in a dry 

 climate, the tree requires upwards of two hundred years to attain a 

 girth of six feet, whereas in the Jaunsar forest on the outer hills with 

 a heavy rainfall, seventy years suffice to attain this size. As compared 

 with other Abietineae the Deodar has a great power of reproduction, 

 and its branches often show a tendency to form straight leading 

 shoots. In many places the trees near villages are lopped of their 

 branches to a considerable height ; the naked stems reclothe themselves 

 with side branches in a short time. Trees are often found with the 

 main trunk, instead of growing up straight, divided' into numerous 

 branches, each forming a separate leader ; this division sometimes takes 

 place near the ground, sometimes at a height of ten feet or more ; 

 these leaders form well-shaped tops, so that at a distance the forest 

 has a deceptive appearance ; the trees appear tall and well-formed, but 

 on approach they are found to be worthless for timber. The heart- 

 wood is light brown, fragrant, compact, even-grained, does not readily 

 warp or split, and is exceedingly durable, so much so that in the 

 climate of Cashmir and the Punjab it is almost imperishable by the 

 ordinary agents of Nature except fire.* 



The Deodar Cedar was introduced into Great Britain in 1831 

 by the Hon. W. Leslie Melville; one of the first seedlings raised was 

 planted in the garden of the Horticultural Society of London at 

 Chiswick. For some time afterwards it was quite scarce, young plants 

 in the London nurseries being sold at two guineas each. In 1841, the 

 authorities at the head of the Board of Works fearing an insufficient 

 supply of oak-timber in future years for the purposes of the Navy, and 

 believing that the Deodar was as hardy, strong and durable as the Oak 

 with the advantage of growing much more rapidly, obtained from the 

 Directors of the East India Company a large supply of seeds which 

 were distributed among the Royal Forests and the principal nurseries of 

 Great Britain. This supply was supplemented a few years afterwards by 

 a still larger one from the Company's experimental garden at Saharnnpore, 



* Brandis, Forest Flora of North-west India, pp. 519 521. Some remarkable instances of 

 the durability of Deodar timber are given in page 88. 



