418 XXIII. LEGU^IINOSAE 



(3) Coppice. Measurements in coppice coupes in the Karwar fuel reserves, 

 West Kanara forest division, Bombay, gave the following results from the 

 average curve after plotting : ^ 



Measurements in 1912-13 of coppice-shoots one year old in the Bhandara 

 forest division, Central Provinces, showed an average height of 6 ft. 8 in. 

 for Xylia as against 7 ft. 1 in. for teak. Measurements by Mr. H. Gass in 

 1898-9 in coppice coupes in Kadike block. South Canara district, Madras, 

 gave the following results : ^ 



Xylia xylocarpa : coppice measurements, South Canara. 



3. ACACIA, WiUd. 



This important genus contains over twenty Indian species as well as some 

 introduced species, the three most important of the latter being the Australian 

 trees A. decurrens, A. dealbata, and A. Melanoxylon. The Indian acacias are 

 essentially xerophilous, occupying for the most part the dry and arid regions 

 where the forests are often of the natiire of open thorny scrub : some of the 

 species assume the spreading flat umbrella-like crowns characteristic of open 

 xerophilous woodland in the tropics, for example A. planifrons, A. Latronum, 

 and A. leucophloea. The Indian tree species are essentially light-demanding, 

 regenerating on open ground and being intolerant of suppression. Some 

 species reproduce most freely on recent riverain alluvium, notably Acacia 

 Catechu and A. arabica ; A. Farnesiana, an introduced species, also runs wild 

 gregariously in river-beds. Some species have indehiscent or tardily dehiscent 

 pods, e.g. A. arabica, A. modesta, A. Senegal; others have dehiscent pods, 

 e.g. A. Catechu, A. Latronum. The seeds of acacias as a rule retain their 

 vitality for a considerable time. Germination is epigeous in all the species 

 examined. 



Some species coppice well, for instance A. Catechu, A. modesta, A. leuco- 

 phloea, A. dealbata, A. decurrens ; others coppice with less freedom, and in 

 some localities hardly at all, for example A. arabica and A. Melanoxylon. 



Root-suckers are probably produced on occasion by most if not all species ; 

 even A. arabica, which does not ordinarily produce suckers, does so occa- 

 sionally, while A. Catechu does so sometimes when the roots are exposed. 



^ Working Plan for the Karwar Fuel Reserves, West Kanara Division, Bombay, 

 D. A. Thomson, 1904. 



2 Inspection note, 1899. 



