620 XXXIII. RUBIACEAE 



As regards light requirements, the young seedlings probably benefit from 

 shade, j)rovided this does not take the form of low weed-growth, since they 

 are undoubtedly sensitive to drought. That they establish themselves well 

 under moderate shade is certain from the fact that they may be found coming 

 up in sal forest : numerous seedlings were observed thriving on bare alluvial 

 ground under a well-thinned sissoo plantation in the Gorakhpur district, 

 United Provinces, while in the same district seedlings, probably two or three 

 years old, were found in plenty on bare ground under a light cover of Flemingia 

 Chappar. That the admission of light greatly stimulates the establishment 

 of natural reproduction is clear from the fact that in various parts of the sal 

 forests of Oudh, where the canopy has been heavily opened out owing to the 

 death of large numbers of trees during the abnormal drought of 1907 and 

 1908, Adina saplings have appeared in quantity because of the admission of 

 light ; no doubt many of these plants were present before the canopy was 

 opened, but their growth since then has been greatly stimulated. A dense 

 sal crop in the Gonda district was experimentally opened out in January 1911 

 in the form of a regeneration felling for the sal ; the plot was inspected two 

 years later, and found to contain numerous young Adina seedlings which had 

 made their appearance owing to the admission of light. 



Protection from grazing is essential for the successful establishment of 

 natural production, owing to the readiness with which animals browse down 

 the young plants. 



Artificial reproduction. As far as is known success has never been 

 attained by means of direct sowings. Experiments at Dehra Dun, by which 

 seed was sown broadcast on hoed ground, as well as on ridges and in trenches, 

 failed entirely, any seed which did germinate being washed away before the 

 seedhngs could gain a footing. In the United Provinces broadcast sowings 

 on hoed ground have been tried from time to time, but failure has always 

 been recorded. 



Experiments at Dehra Dun have shown that seedhngs can be grown 

 successfully in well-raised beds of fine sifted soil with a considerable proportion 

 of sand, or better still on powdered charcoal, but it is essential that the beds 

 should be covered with screens raised about a foot above them, in order to 

 keep off rain and sun, and that watering should be done with a very fine spray. 

 Seed-boxes, however, have proved more successful than seed-beds, and con- 

 sidering the large number of seedlings obtainable from one box there is little 

 question that raising in boxes is to be recommended in preference to any other 

 method. The following procedure has given good results : 



The seed-box is filled to within about 1 in. from the top with finely sifted 

 earth with a large proportion of sand, the surface is made smooth and watered, 

 and the seeds are sown about April or May on the wet surface and very Hghtly 

 covered with fine earth or sand. The box should be kept under cover, and 

 watering with a very fine spray should be done frequently but sparingly. 

 Germination ordinarily takes place in about three to six weeks. As soon as 

 the seedlings are large enough to handle, that is, in about two to three months, 

 tliey should be pricked out about 2 in. apart in boxes ; the more vigorous 

 ones may even be pricked out about 4 in. apart in nursery-beds. The seedlings 

 will be ready to plant out in the forest early the following rains. Transplanting 



