600 XXIX. LYTHRACEAE 



Natural reproduction. Under natural conditions the seeds lie on the 

 ground during part of the hot season and often become washed into heaps 

 during the early showers. Germination takes place early in the rainy season. 

 The factors influencing natural reproduction require further study, but exj)eri- 

 ments carried out so far indicate that bare loose soil is favourable, and that 

 weed-growth is most unfavourable. For the establishment of natural repro- 

 duction a considerable amount of light is required. The sensitiveness of young 

 seedlings to drought has been alluded to. The prevalence of natural repro- 

 duction round the edges of swamps and along the sides of watercourses is 

 probably due mainly to the fact that the seeds are washed together in quantity 

 on the bare ground, and the seedlings develop well under the conditions of 

 light and soil moisture which they enjoy. Good natural reproduction is 

 reported to have appeared in the Yetkanzin forest, Toungoo, Burma, in an 

 area where bamboos had flowered, which had been fire-protected for many 

 years and then burnt after the flowering of the bamboos.^ 



Artificial reproduction. Owing to the lightness of the seed and the 

 small size of the young seedlings, direct sowings are less suitable than trans- 

 planting from the nursery. Broadcast sowings on cleared and hoed ground 

 at Dehra Dun have, however, proved successful on an experimental scale. 

 A fair amount of planting has been done within recent years in Assam, notably 

 in Lakhimpur. Direct sowings in lines 6 ft. apart were carried out between 

 1876-7 and 1882-3 iji the Nambor forest, Sibsagar, Assam, the Lagerstroemia 

 being mixed with Mesuaferrea. In 1 903 the area was found to be very densely 

 stocked with young poles of both species, in which the Lagerstroemia greatly 

 outnumbered the Mesiia.'^ Transplanting after pruning the roots has been 

 tried without success in Sibsagar. 



Mr. R. Bourne informs me that in Malabar he obtained the best results 

 in germination by sowing the seeds in flat beds divided into squares surrounded 

 by small mud walls, so that when the beds were flooded the water stood in 

 them for some time. 



Rate of growth. Th(?re are few reliable statistics showing the rate of 

 growth. The following heights of young plants are recorded in diflerent 

 plantations in the Jokai reserve, Lakhimpur, Assam : ^ 



Age Average height. 



(exchisive of time in nurserj 

 Year of planting 



1 year 



2 years . 



3 years . 



) ft. 



6 



i 



10 

 9 



A few trees planted at Kuch Behar in 1873-4 liad attained in 1881 

 a maximum girtli of 2 ft. 4 in. with a height of 16 ft. The locality was reported 

 to De unsuitable, the trees having developed a low shrubby growth.^ 



The Rangoon plains forests working plan ^ gives an estimate of the rate 

 of growth based on ring-countings, the results being as follows : 



' Burma Forest Report, 1914-15, 



- Working Plan for the Nambor Reserved Forest, Sibsagar, A. R. Dicks, 1905. 



' Forest Report, 1913-14. > W. R. F. in Ind. Forester, vii (1881-2), ]\ 41. 



'' Working Plan for the Plains Forests, Rangoon Division, Burma, J. J. Rorie, 1905. 



