ACACIA 431 



observations recorded by numerous forest officers, appears to be the case in 

 Sind, Berar, the Bombay Deccan, and many parts of southern India, for 

 although stumps up to about 6 or 7 in. in diameter frequently produce coppice - 

 shoots, these in the majority of cases do not develop, remaining small and 

 bushy or dying off altogether. Larger stumps cannot be relied on to produce 

 coppice-shoots, and in general coppice as a regular means of reproduction is 

 held to be out of the question. 



Certain important exceptions have, however, been recorded, notably 

 from Guntur in the Madras Presidency, where the babul has been regularly 

 worked under the coppice system for some years. Mr. P. M. Lushington, 

 after inspecting one of the babul tracts in Guntur, wrote : ' Hitherto I have 

 believed that the coppice resulting from babul was practically unproductive. 

 ... A glance at this area was sufficient to show me that my opinion was un- 

 sustainable. Here we have a well established working series in which coppice 

 reproduction is the main feature. The working is fully justified by results, 

 for I saw established coppice seven years old which, though it did not cover 

 the whole area, was well on its way to establishing a fairly thick forest.' Other 

 recorded observations indicate that in certain parts of Madras, at all events, 

 coppice reproduction can be relied on to a fair extent provided the trees felled 

 are not of large size. 



The precise reason why babul coppices in some localities and not in others 

 has not yet been satisfactorily explained. That flooding, provided it is not 

 of excessive duration or intensity, is a possible factor is indicated from the 

 observations of Mr. J. S. Scot, who notes that all the best coppice areas in 

 Guntur are those which are under water for some period each year.^ There 

 must, however, be other factors at work, otherwise the babul in Sind would 

 coppice freely. 



Pollarding. The babul usually pollards well, and is freely lopped for 

 thorn fences and fodder. 



Susceptibility to injuries, (i) Storms. Trees on inundated ground which has 

 become soft are lia,ble to be uprooted on an extensive scale ; this is particularly 

 the case in Sind. Where the fungus Fom,es Pappianus is prevalent trees 

 are frequently uprooted owing to decay in the roots, or the stems or large 

 branches may be snapped in two owing to the brittleness of the affected wood. 



(ii) Frost and drought. The tree is frost-tender, but is drought-resistant 

 so long as the subsoil moisture holds out. The mortality among trees in Sind 

 after the land ceases to be regularly inundated has already been referred to. 

 In Sind damage by frost is less severe on inundated lands than on lands which 

 have passed beyond the stage of annual flooding. 



(iii) Fire. The babul is not a fire-resistant species, and is often killed 

 outright where much inflammable grass is present. 



(iv) Animals. Among grazing animals goats and camels are the most 

 destructive, and sheep and buffaloes are also harmful. Cattle are the least 

 harmful, and may even be beneficial, if admitted in small numbers, in keeping 

 down grass and weeds and thus reducing the cover for rats and hares and the 

 amount of inflammable material. Damage to young plants by deer, antelopes, 

 hares, and rats has already been referred to. 



^ Ind. Forester, xxxviii (1912), p. 396. 



