454 XXIII. LEGUMINOSAE 



tracts water is also an important agency. Germination takes place early in 

 the rainy season, and the early development of the seedling is greatly favoured 

 on loose soil free from weeds. Thus on alluvial sand or gravel countless numbers 

 of small seedlings may be found in the early part of the rainy season, not only 

 in the open, but also under comparatively dense cover. In the latter case they 

 die rapidly owing mainly to shade and to damping off, and by the end of the 

 season hardly a seedling is to be found. In the open a fair proportion survive 

 provided they are protected from grazing : frequently, however, there is high 

 mortality from drought, particularly if the soil is stiff or shallow and the roots 

 have difficulty in penetrating it. The seed germinates readily with heavy 

 rain, and although germination takes place ordinarily at the commencement 

 of the monsoon it may begin earlier in the season if abnormal falls of rain 

 occur ; when this happens the seedlings almost invariably die off or the 

 germinating seed perishes in the ensuing spell of dry weather. Such mortality 

 is particularly marked in the case of seeds germinating on the surface of the 

 ground. Experiments at Dehra Dun showed that this early germination takes 

 place more readily on ground exposed to the sun than in shady places, owing 

 to the greater warmth in the former case. In alluvial riverain situations the 

 tufts of grass which frequently appear on new ground, provided they are not 

 too dense, act as a useful protection from drought in the early stages. In wet 

 and sodden grass, however, the seedlings damp off. 



The adverse effects of grazing have been alluded to above, under ' the seed- 

 ling ', in the case of a riverain plot in the Siwaliks. A striking example of 

 the benefits of closure to grazing came under my notice in the submontane 

 mixed forests of the Gonda district. United Provinces, along a central fireline 

 which separated a block of forest permanently closed to grazing from an 

 adjoining block open to grazing. The forest on either side of the line was 

 similar, except that on the side closed to grazing khair trees of all sizes filled 

 up every gap, while on the side open to grazing this species was represented 

 by only a few old trees. In one part the grazed forest consisted of a rather 

 open growth of nearly pure hael {Aegle Marmelos), while on the opposite side 

 of the line the forest closed to grazing consisted of a dense crop of kJiair with 

 bael trees scattered through it. Numerous other instances might be quoted 

 of the adverse effects of grazing on the natural reproduction of Acacia CatecJm, 

 but the above will suffice. 



Forest Ranger A. K. Desai ^ remarks on the large quantity of khair 

 reproduction which appeared in gaps formed by the heavy exploitation of 

 trees killed by the abnormal drought of 1899-1900 in the Godhra range of the 

 Panch Mahals, Bombay, this reproduction being stimulated by the admission 

 of light and warmth, and no doubt also by the breaking up of the soil during 

 the extraction of the timber. 



The freedom with which natural reproduction springs up in alluvial 

 riverain tracts is remarkable. The chief factors favouring it in such localities 

 are the new loose soil free from heavy weeds and the abundance of light, while 

 the soil moisture obtained by percolation no doubt also assists the development 

 of the seedlings. As the crops become older and elevated above the river-bed 

 through changes in the course of the river, the conditions for natural repro- 



1 1ml. Forester, xxxiv (1908), p. 15. 



