592 



XXVIII. MYRTACEAE 



SiLVicui.TUEAL CHARACTERS. The tree stands a fair amount of shade. In 

 the abnormal drought of 1907 and 1908 in the sal forests of Oudh it proved to 

 be decidedh' hardy. It coppices well. It is very subject to damage by browsing, 

 coppice-shoots in particular being greedily eaten by cattle and deer. As 

 already noted, it is very fire-resistant. 



Rate of growth. The following statistics regarding the rate of growth 

 are available from sample plot measurements in sal forest : 



Careya arborea : girth increment in high forest sample plots. 



Ring-countings by Mr. D. A. Thomson in respect of seventeen trees in 

 the Supa fuel reserves, North Kanara, Bombay, gave the following results : ^ 



11 



Coppice-shoots grow fairly rapidly. Measurements in 1911 in two separate 

 coupes, each two years old, in the Tikri forest, Gonda, United Provinces, 

 showed average heights of 11 and 12 ft. as compared with 10 and 7-6 ft. re- 

 spectively for sal in the same coupes. Measurements made in 1886 by Mr. 

 A. F. Broun in two coupes, each eight years old, in the Bullawala coppice, 

 Dehra Dun, gave the following results : 



Careya arborea : growth of coppice, Bidlawala, Dehra Dun, 



]\Ir. H. A. Gass recorded in 1898-9 an average height and girth of 10 ft. 

 and 7 in. respectively, with nine shoots per stool, in a coppice coupe three 

 years old in Kadike block, South Canara, Madras. 



5. PLANC.^HONTA, Bl. 



Plauchonia andamanica, King. 



An evergreen tree of the Andamans, occurring in evergreen or semi- 

 deciduous forests in association with Dipterocarpus spp., Hopea odorata, 

 Mimusops Elengi, Arfocarpus Chaplasha, Pterocarpus dalbergioides, Albizzia 

 Lebbek, Terminalia bialata, Lager stroemia hypoleuca, and other species. The 

 wood is hard , durable, and of good quality, and promises to become an important 

 timber ; the tree deserves study from a silvicultural point of view. 



^ Working Plan for the Supa Fuel Reserves, 1906. 



