494 XXV. HAMAMELIDACEAE 



off if given too much water. The seedling is sensitive to frost, but in its 

 natuj'al home it is usually out of danger after it reaches a height of 3 or 4 ft. 

 At Dehra Dun seedlings in the open were killed in large numbers during the 

 winter. The young plant is not usually considered very sensitive to drought 

 in the Darjeeling hills, but at Dehra Dun seedlings in the open died off in 

 large numbers during the hot weather even when watered, whereas those 

 kept under slight shade survived. 



SiiiVicuLTURAL CHARACTERS. The tree is a shade-bearer, and also gives 

 heavy shade ; it develops best, however, with abundant overhead light, 

 though it requires to be grown in a close crop in order to counteract its 

 tendency to form numerous side branches. Fig. 187 shows a pole grown in 

 a crop sufficiently dense to produce a clean bole. It does not coppice except 

 when young, and it does not produce root-suckers. It is sensitive to frost 

 in youth, but later it is immune in its natural home. In dry situations it is 

 liable to suffer from prolonged drought, but in the Darjeeling hills it is seldom 

 severely tried in this respect. It is very sensitive to fire, and although pole 

 crops are capable of surviving light ground fires they are killed by severe 

 fires. The young plants are sensitive to grazing ; they are readily eaten by 

 cattle and by deer, and plantations accordingly require to be fenced, par- 

 ticularly against the latter. 



Natural REPRODUCTioisr. As already mentioned, the small light winged 

 seeds are carried by wind to a considerable distance from the tree, and seedlings 

 are therefore often found a long way from any seed-bearer. The tendency to 

 regenerate in masses on newly exposed ground on landslips and similar places 

 has already been noted : this is a characteristic of many species with small 

 light seeds, and is due largely to the fact that such seeds are unable to reach 

 the ground when it is covered with a mass of undergrowth or a low thick 

 herbaceous growth of weeds and grass, while the small seedling is unable to 

 effect contact with the mineral soil except where the latter is exposed. Natural 

 seedlings, however, are not confined to landslips, and are found in other places 

 where there is no heavy soil-covering and where the shade is not too dense 

 for their development, for instance along paths, on ridges, and sometimes in 

 the forest itself where conditions are favourable. 



Artificial reproduction. The tree has been extensively grown in 

 plantations in the Darjeeling hills. Seed is sometimes sown broadcast on 

 landslips, but otherwise transplanting from the nursery is the invariable rule. 

 Pure plantations have been found to give better results than plantations 

 where Bucklandia is mixed with Michelia excelsa and oaks. Experience has 

 also shown the unsatisfactory results of wide spacing owing to the tendency 

 of this species to form numerous side branches ; a spacing of not more than 

 6 ft. by G ft. is now considered advisable. 



The usual method adopted in the forest nurseries in the Darjeeling hills 

 is to sow freshly collected seed in nursery beds of fine earth in March or April, 

 the seed being lightly covered with earth. The seedlings are either pricked 

 out 6 in. by 6 in. at the end of the first season and again transplanted 6 in. 

 apart in lines 9 in. apart at the end of the second season, or left for two years 

 in the seed-beds and transplanted into nursery lines 1 ft. apart in the third 

 season. Beds containing seedlings up to two years old are protected by screens 



