396 XXIII. LEGUMINOSAE 



In the riverain areas the young plants appear to resist suppression better 

 than Acacia arahica, and are often found making their way through a fairly 

 dense growth of grass where the latter species fails to establish itself. 



Artificial reproduction. Various experiments carried out at Dehra 

 Dun have shown that transplanting cannot be relied upon, but that direct 

 sowings are successful if the seedlings are kept free from weeds and the soil is 

 periodically loosened. Transplanting was tried both in the first and in the 

 second rainy season, with entire as well as with pruned roots and stem, but 

 failure resulted in each case. 



In the dry parts of the Punjab plains, attempts have repeatedly been 

 made to raise plantations by direct sowing without irrigation, but failure has 

 resulted in every case, since the plants, just as in the case of natural seedlings, 

 are unable to resist the drought. On the other hand, sowings artificially 

 irrigated have proved quite successful, as in the case of the portion of the 

 Changa Manga plantation known as the ' Jand extension ', formed about the 

 year 1885, and now a flourishing plantation of Prosopis several hundred acres 

 in extent (see Fig. 152). 



In Sind the tree has been successfully raised by sowings in conjunction 

 with cereal crops on irrigated land. It has also been raised successfully by 

 sowings on land which is subject to occasional floods but is too dry to support 

 Acacia arahica permanently : these sowings require to be watered thoroughly 

 during the first year, after which occasional watering is usually sufficient until 

 the plants are established. Sowings of Prosopis in conjunction with field crops 

 are carried out as a rule on the higher land above the reach of river floods, 

 the lower land being devoted to the raising of the more valuable Acacia arahica. 

 On these higher lands the system usually followed is to saw strips of Prosopis 

 4 ft. wide, with intervening strips 20 ft. wide sown with field crops. Irrigation 

 is carried out by means of Persian wheels. Cultivation along with irrigation 

 continues for two years ; during the third year there is no cultivation of field 

 crops, but irrigation is continued under agreement with the cultivator. After 

 the third year the seedlings require no attention, but have to be protected 

 against browsing animals. The field crops are the irrigated klmrij crops sown 

 in June together with the tree seeds and reaped in November ; the crops 

 commonly cultivated are the two millets hajri {Pennisetum typhoideum) and 

 jowari {Sorghum vulgare), and sometimes sesamum, chillies, or other crops. 

 The crops are irrigated from June to October. The field crops are assessed to 

 revenue, and the cultivation is carried out under a regular agreement by which 

 the cultivator is bound to protect the young plants from browsing and other 

 injury during the three years in which they are under his care. 



An experiment, which appears to have been successful, in planting up 

 saline land with Prosopis spicigera and Acacia arahica, is described under the 

 latter (p. 440). 



SiLVicuLTURAL TREATMENT. It will be apparent from what has been 

 said above that seedling reproduction is not obtainable in the plains of Sind 

 and the Punjab except in riverain areas subject to occasional floods : hence 

 throughout the higher tracts any system involving the retention of seed- 

 bearers is out of the question. 



In the Punjab the system in operation is simple coppice, and the rotation 



