552 



XXVIII. MYRTACEAE 



Eugenia Jambolana : development of seedlings, Dehra Dun. 



Height and other particulars at end of season. 



Condition under which grown. 



^ 1st season. 2nd season. 3rd season. 



(1) ^fursery plants watered and Maximum Oft. 4 J in. 

 weeded 



(2) Irrigated sowings, full sun- Maximum ft. CJin. Oft. 4 in. -4 ft, 1 in. Maximum 8 ft. in. 

 light, weeded (dense mass of strong 



thick-stemmed plants) 



(3) Irrigated sowings, full sun- Maximum ft. 6 in. ft. 3 in.-l ft. 3 in. Oft. 8 in. -3 ft. 1 in. (con- 

 light, unweeded dition somewhat poor) 



(4) Unirrigated sowings, full sun- Maximum Oft. 10|in. ft. 7 in. -3 ft. 8 in. 

 light, weeded , (vigorous, the larger 



suppressing the 

 smaller) 



(5) Unirrigated sowings, full sun- Maximum ft. 6 in. ft. 6-| in.-O ft. 10 in. 

 light, unweeded 



(6) Unirrigated sowings, in par- Maximum Oft. 4|in. Maximum 2 ft. 3 in, 

 tial shade, weeded 



(7) Unirrigated sowings, in par- Maximum ft. 5 in. Maximum 2 ft, in. 

 tial shade, weeded 



(8) Transplants, in partial shade Maximum ft. 3 in. Maximum 1 ft. 6 in. ft. 11 in. -2 ft. 7 in, 



Nos, 2 to 5 demonstrate the great value of weeding. Fig. 213 shows 

 Nos. 2 and 3 during the second season ; the effect of weeding, as shown on 

 the left of the staff, is very marked in comparison with the unweeded plot on 

 the right of it. 



SiLVicuLTURAL CHARACTERS. Eugenia Jambolana is a shade-bearer, 

 particularly in youth ; dense masses of young plants may be found coming 

 up under moderate shade near streams and in other moist places, while seed- 

 lings and saplings are often found under shade in sal forest and other types of 

 forest. Although somewhat frost-tender in j^'outh, it is hardier later, and in 

 the abnormal frost of 1905 in northern India it was not much affected. In the 

 abnormal drought of 1907 and 1908 in Oudh it proved to be hardy in the 

 sal forests, but along streams and in swamps it suffered when the water dried 

 up. It is not readily browsed by cattle. 



The tree possesses remarkable coppicing power, shoots being produced 

 in large quantities, chiefly round the periphery of the cut surface of the stool ; 

 large stumps as well as small ones produce shoots as a rule. Figs. 209, 211, 

 and 215 show the appearance of pure coppice on rich alluvial land, subject to 

 inundation in the rainy season, along the banks of streams in the Gorakhpur 

 district. United Provinces. At an age of four years, with a height of 15 ft., 

 there are often more than thirty shoots on one stump, more than half of them 

 being usually dominant. The soil requirements of the tree have akeady been 

 alluded to ; they are somewhat contradictory, though the differences appear 

 in some cases to coincide with well-marked botanical varieties. 



Natural reproduction. The fruits fall in quantity under and around 

 the parent trees early in the rainy season ; the seeds are washed into heaps 

 by the rain, germination quickly taking place on moist ground and in pools 

 of mud. Each fruit may produce from one to four or even five seedlings 

 clustered together, and the seedlings often appear in dense masses : this is 

 particularly the case on alluvial ground, where as many as 100 seedhngs about 

 (i in. high to the square foot have been counted after the end of the rainy 



