EUCALYPTUS 563 



5. Assam. E. Globulus thrives at Shillong, showing ra})id growth and 

 attaining very fair dimensions. 



6. Burma. Eucalypts have been tried from time to time in various parts 

 of Burma. At Maymyo (elevation 3,500 ft.) planting was commenced about 

 the year 1893 ; the species which has proved- most successful there is E. 

 rostrata, though E. amygdalina and E. maculata var. citriodora have also 

 done well, and E. resinifera fairly well. These species are likely to do well on 

 the Shan States plateau should plantations be required there. There is a fine 

 avenue in the Maymyo bazaar consisting chiefly of E. rostrata. E. Globulus 

 has proved a failure at Maymyo, but has succeeded in the hills of the Ruby 

 Mines district. The species which has done best at low elevations is E. vimi- 

 nalis, which has proved hardy. E. cornuta was reported in 1911-12 to be 

 growing well in a rubber plantation at Kwanhla in the Amherst township. 



7. Andamans. Seventeen species were tried in the Andamans in 1914, 

 but after the first year the only species showing any promise were E. resinifera, 

 E. robusta, E. rostrata, and E. tereticorriis. Two species, namely E. botryoides 

 and E. robusta, were tried in mangrove swamps, but were unable to stand the 

 salt water. 



SiLVicuLTURAL CHARACTERS. Eucalypts, as a rule, are intolerant of 

 shade, though many species tend to branch low if grown in isolated positions, 

 and in early youth seedlings endure a little shade for a time. Many species 

 coppice well, but the blue gum {E. Globulus) is probably the most vigorous of 

 all the better known species in this respect. The root-system is usually of 

 a spreading type, the roots penetrating for a considerable distance in search 

 of moisture ; superficial spreading roots are common. Eucalypts are generally 

 speaking wind-firm, but many species are liable to become bent, gnarled, and 

 stunted in exposed situations. Species tried at the higher elevations in the 

 Himalaya have been found very liable to snow-break. Fire does little damage 

 to older trees with thick persistent bark, but young trees and those with thin 

 or deciduous bark suffer severely : those whose bark exfoliates in long dry 

 strips, like E. Globulus, suffer much damage, the fire ascending up the loose 

 bark into the crowns. Most species have good power of recovery from damage 

 by fire. Injured trees produce shoots with primordial leaves, and a blue gum 

 plantation which has recently been burnt presents a silvery-blue appearance, 

 owing to the production of these shoots. The most aromatic eucalypts are 

 not readily browsed by cattle ; two species particularly susceptible to this 

 form of damage are E. corynocalyx, whose leaves have a sweetish taste, and 

 E. Gunnii, whose leaves are not strongly aromatic. Plantations of young 

 trees near Dehra Dun have suffered much through rubbing by deer, the 

 aromatic bark attracting these animals ; where deer are prevalent, fencing 

 may therefore be necessary. In the Changa Manga plantation in the Lahore 

 district, seedlings are browsed down by nilgai in the winter, and when the 

 plants are out of reach of browsing these animals gnaw the bark. 



The requirements of the various species as regards soil and climate vary 

 considerably. Some details are given under the individual species described 

 below, but so far as Indian conditions go our knowledge is confined to a com- 

 paratively small number of species which have been tried in different localities. 

 Much experimental work remains to be done in discovering species suitable 



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