CASSIA 371 



owing to the destruction of the radicle by birds and insects, or to its drying 

 up if exposed to the sun. 



4. Many seedlings perish in heavy weed-growth owing to damping ofE 

 during the rains. 



Artificial reproduction. The seed germinates tardily, that kept for 

 a year germinating more readily than fresh seed. Certain methods of hastening 

 the germination of hard leguminous seeds have been suggested in the intro- 

 duction to this order, and these may prove effective. The seed should be 

 sown in seed-beds in drills about 10 in. apart in March or April, and regularly 

 watered ; germination ordinarily takes place early in the rains, though some 

 of the seed may lie dormant until the second year, germinating at different 

 times from March onwards. Transplanting requires some care, but it can be 

 carried out satisfactorily while the plants are still comparatively small during 

 the first rains : basket planting is the most satisfactory method, the seedlings 

 being transferred to the baskets in the first rains and planted out in the second 

 rains. It is doubtful if direct sowings can be relied on for forest purposes 

 unless this species is mixed with other species, owing to its uncertain germina- 

 tion : nevertheless, plants which do come up from direct sowings and are 

 kept regularly weeded have been found to develop better than transplants. 



SiLVicuLTURAL TREATMENT. The ouly Satisfactory treatment for this 

 species appears to be coppice, since natural reproduction by seed cannot be 

 depended on over definite areas ; the tree is not of sufficient value to raise 

 in regular plantations except as an accessory species in mixture with other 

 trees. 



Rate of growth. The following records of periodical girth measurements 

 in sample plots in the United Provinces show that the growth of trees (as 

 distinct from coppice-shoots) is moderate only : 



Cassia Fistula : rate of growth in high forest sample plots, United Provinces. 



These plots were laid out primarily for the measurement of sal, and it is 

 probable that the Cassia trees were dominated or even suppressed, so that 

 the rate of growth exhibited here is probably slower than would be obtained 

 under more favourable conditions. 



Gamble's specimens gave about 9 rings per inch of radius, equivalent to 

 a mean annual girth increment of 0-7 in. A cross -section 2 ft. 8 in. in girth 

 in the silvicultural museum at Dehra Dun had 55 rings ; this represents 

 a mean annual girth increment of 0-58 in. 



The rate of growth of coppice-shoots is fairly rapid while it lasts, but in 

 a small-sized tree of this kind the growth slows down early. Measurements 

 of coppice-shoots one year old in Bhandara, Central Provinces, in 1912-13, 

 showed an average height of 6 ft. 1 in. as against 7 ft. 1 in. for teak. Measure- 

 ments' recorded by Mr. A. F. Broun in 1886 in a coppice coupe nine years old 



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