EUGENIA 553 



season on sandy alluvium. Fig. 214 shows profuse growth of seedlings at the 

 end of the first season. Sometimes two or three tiers of seedlings of different 

 years may be found under the same seed-bearer, showing to what an extent 

 the young plants will stand shade. Seedlings often occur sporadically in the 

 forest where there are no seed-bearers in the neighbourhood, the seed having 

 been disseminated by the agency of birds. The necessity for soil moisture in 

 the establishment of natural reproduction and the mortality which takes 

 place on dry gromid, even under shade, have already been noted under ' the 

 seedling ' ; indeed, the value of shade appears to lie mainly in its power of 

 preventing desiccation of the soil. 



The exceptional case in which natural seedlings of var. caryopJiyllaefolia 

 establish themselves on dry hilly ground after dying back for some years in 

 succession has abeady been alluded to : possibly this may also be found to 

 be the case with seedlings growing on laterite. 



Artificial reproduction. So far as experiments show, direct sowing is 

 preferable to transplanting, since there is usually a considerable proportion 

 of failure during transplanting, in spite of precautions. Of the forms of direct 

 sowing tried so far, line sowings kept regularly weeded have proved the most 

 successful, but it is essential that the soil should be kept moist, and where 

 irrigation cannot be carried out, shade is necessary. This can be effected by 

 means of narrow cleared and well-hoed lines under the shade of an overwood 

 or cut through low growth, so as to retain shade and at the same time allow 

 of regula^r weeding : side shade is of more importance than overhead shade. 

 The seed should be sown early in the rainy season, as soon as it ripens. 



Sowings of Eugenia Jamholana to fill open grassy or other blanks have 

 been repeatedly tried, but they have almost invariably resulted in failure 

 except along the edge of the surrounding forest, where side shade is obtained 

 from the sun. 



For transplanting purposes the greatest success is obtained by sowing 

 in baskets, two or three seeds in each, and retaining the healthiest seedhng in 

 each basket. The baskets are kept well watered under moderate shade, and 

 are planted out during the second rains. For forest purposes transplanting 

 should usually be done under shade unless the ground is permanently moist. 

 Roadside trees usually require watering in dry weather for the first year or 

 two. Transplanting from nursery beds requires care, as the seedlings do not 

 stand much exposure of or injury to the roots. Natural seedlings in the forest 

 can be transplanted successfully in moist places or under shade. 



SiLVicuLTURAL TREATMENT. In the forest the tree is ordinarily treated 

 as an accessory species and worked along with other species in coppice coupes 

 or in selection fellings. In private forests on alluvial ground along river- 

 banks in parts of Oudh, pure crops of this species are worked very successfully 

 as simple coppice for the production of poles (see Figs. 211 and 215). The 

 rotation is usually a short one, about 10-15 years, or sometimes less, and 

 judging by the density of the crops the yield must be high ; these areas are 

 grazed, but the cattle do not appear to damage the coppice-shoots to any 

 extent. 



Rate of growth. (1) High forest. The following statement gives a 

 summary of available girth measurements in high forest sample plots : 



