DIOSPYROS 653 



Fresh seed should be sown in the seed-beds about July, the seeds being placed 

 about 4 in. apart in drills 9 in. apart. The soil should be well worked up before 

 sowing, and subsequently prevented from caking, and the beds should be shaded 

 and well watered in dry weather. The seedlings usually appear in two to 

 three weeks after sowing. Transplanting may be done either in the first or 

 in the second rainy season ; dry situations exposed to the sun should be avoided, 

 the seedlings being planted if possible under moderate shade, preferably from 

 the side. Watering maj^ be necessary for a time after transj^lanting. If the 

 trees are grown for their fruit, wide spacing, say 20 ft. by 20 ft. or even more, 

 is necessary owing to the spreading nature of the crowns. 



Rate of growth. The rate of growth is moderate. A cross-section in 

 the silvicultural museum at Dehra Dun had 70 rings for a girth of 3 ft. 3 in., 

 or a mean annual girth increment of 0-56 in. Brandis gives 7-8 rings per 

 inch of radius, representing a mean annual girth increment of 0-78-0-9 in. 



3. Diospyros Kiirzii, Hiern. Andaman marble-wood or zebra-wood. 

 Vern. Pecha-da, And. ; Kala lakri, Hind, (in Andamans) ; Thitkya, Burm. (in 

 Andamans). 



An evergreen tree with thin smooth grey bark, ordinarily attaining 

 a height of 40 to 50 ft. with a clear bole of 15 to 20 ft. and a girth up to 5 ft. ; 

 occasionally it reaches larger dimensions. The wood, which is known on the 

 London market, is a valuable and very handsome variegated ebony with 

 alternating streaks of black and grey ; the out-turn of variegated wood from 

 the log is, however, comparatively small. 



The tree is found throughout the Andamans, and occurs also in the Nicobars 

 and Coco Islands. It is found scattered in semi-deciduous and evergreen 

 forests, usually on low-lying and undulating ground, along with padauk {Ptero- 

 carpus dalbergioides) and its associates. Its silviculture has not been studied 

 in detail. 



4. Diospyros biirmanica, Kurz. Vern. Te, Burm. 



A small to moderate-sized deciduous tree with rigid branches. Bark 

 rough, blackish. This tree is common in Burma in indaing forest of a dry 

 type, usually on laterite, along with Dipterocarpus tubercidatus, Shorea oblusa, 

 Pentacme suavis, Buchanania latifolia, and other trees characteristic of this 

 type of forest, and also in the dry open mixed forests of the dry zone of Burma. 

 The flowers appear in March- April, and the fruits ripen in December-January ; 

 they are 1-1-5 in. in diameter, sweet and edible when ripe. The tree produces 

 root-suckers freely, and often springs up gregariously on abandoned cultiva- 

 tion by means of suckers from roots left in the ground (see Fig. 245). 



5. Diospyros Ebenum, Koenig. Ebony. Vern. Karunkdli, Tam. ; Tuki, 

 7iaUuti, Tel. ; Kaluwara, Cingli. 



A large evergreen tree with a dense crown and thick dark coriaceous 

 leaves. Bark dark grey, rather rough, with longitudinal cracks. Mr. A. F. 

 Broun ^ says that in Ceylon it attains a girth up to 14 ft. ; in India it is of com- 

 paratively small size. The heartwood furnishes the true ebony of commerce, 

 a jet-black, very hard, close-grained wood, used for turnery, carving, piano- 

 keys, and fine ornamental work of various kinds. The tree is of great com- 

 mercial importance in Ceylon, whence the wood is regularly exported to 



1 Ind. Forester, xxv (1899), p. 275. 



