696 XLV. ACANTHACEAE 



and of firs from establishing themselve^s. Mere uprooting of the shrub has 

 given satisfactory results, but the cost amounted to over Rs. 6 per acre. Also 

 since there are often tree seedlings among the Strobilanthes these stand in 

 dano-er of being uprooted during the process. Advantage was therefore taken 

 of the gregarious flowering of 1906 to ascertain if the cutting of the flowering 

 or fruiting stems would have any effect. The flowers began to appear in the 

 first week of July, the seed ripened from the middle of September to the 

 middle of October, and the plants died by the first week in November. The 

 cutting of the flowering shoots was commenced in the middle of July, but this 

 was found to be ineffectual, as new flowering shoots were produced, and 

 cutting had to be repeated two or three times. It was found eventuall}^ that 

 the best time to cut the stems was immediately before the seed ripened, that 

 is, in September. An experimental plot was kept under observation for six 

 years subsequently, and during this time no Strobilanthes seedlings appeared, 

 while numerous oak seedlings succeeded in establishing themselves. Many 

 oak seedlings were found to date from the time when the Strobilanthes was 

 eradicated, but many on the other hand were older, which indicates that the 

 oak seedlings were able to persist in spite of the dense covering of Strobilanthes, 

 though they were assisted greatly by its removal. 



Outside this plot the Strobilanthes was observed to commence germina- 

 tion in the first week of September of the year following the seeding, and 

 within a year or two the ground was again carpeted with seedlings. The 

 plant is a favourite fodder of sheep, goats, and buffaloes, and it was suggested 

 that the admission of grazing before the fruit ripened would have the same 

 effect as cutting ; the owners of the animals, however, refused to allow them 

 to graze, on the ground that the unripe fruits are injurious, although after 

 the seed ripened they ate the fruits readily without harm. There can be little 

 doubt that even without artificial measures for eradicating Strobilanthes, 

 natural reproduction of tree species benefits greatly each time the plant 

 dies na.turally, for it takes two or three years at least for the new generation 

 to reach a size large enough to be troublesome. 



Mr. B. B. Osmaston ^ mentions that in the case of S. pectinatus, T. And., 

 a large shrubby species in the Darjeeling hills, an experiment made during the 

 gregarious flowering of 1902 showed that it could be eradicated successfully if 

 cut in the month of June, when it had commenced to flower ; in this it differs 

 from S. WaUichii. 



Mr. J. S. Gamble 2 has described the measures taken in the eradication 

 of Strobilanthes in the Nilgiris, and the following passage may be quoted : 



' So dense is the thicket of Strobilanthes in the undergrowth of the forests, 

 that under ordinary natural circumstances it is really only at the time of the 

 periodical flowerings that the tree seedlings get a chance of a start. There 

 are usually thousands to be found under the thicket, but until the Strobilanthes 

 dies, or is cut awaj^ they simply remain stunted, waiting until the removal 

 of the cover gives them a chance, and then they usually take advantage of it 

 and come on quickly. It has, consequently, on the Nilgiris been lately found 

 useful to assist in disengaging the seedlings by clearing away the growth of 

 Strobilanthes. In the forests round Ootacamund and Coonoor, where there is 

 a large demand by the poorer classes of natives for small fuel, and where the 



^ lud. Forester, xxx (1904), p. 195. - Ibid., xiv (1888), p. 154. 



