712 XLVI. VERBENACEAE 



Fig. 271 shows seedlings in various stages up to about two months old. 

 During the first year the leaves remain comparatively small except in the case 

 of vigorous seedlings which have grown under favourable conditions ; these 

 develop large leaves which may reach a length of over 1 ft. Fig. 272 shows 

 a vio-orous seedling during the first season. In the Nilambur plantations trans- 

 planted seedlings which are regularly weeded attain an average height of 6 ft. 

 by the end of the first year on soils of good quality, the principal growth 

 taking place not during the rainy season but as soon as it is over. Under 

 less favourable conditions a height of not more than a few inches is attained 

 during the first season. Healthy seedlings produce a stout taproot which may 

 attain a length of 12 in. or more during the first season and 2-3 ft. or more by 

 the end of the second season. Seedlings are leafless during part of the hot season. 



Teak seedlings are decidedly sensitive to drought and to frost, particularly 

 during the first year, when they are frequently Idlled outright. During the 

 second and subsequent years frost does less permanent injury, and plants, if 

 affected, have a better chance of recovery from the base. In the drier parts 

 of the Peninsula drought is a common cause of death among seedlings, and 

 it is of the greatest imx^ortance to secure early germination and vigorous 

 development during the first rainy season, in order to enable the young plants 

 to survive the subsequent dry Aveather. In dry localities the stems of seedlings 

 are frequently Idlled back by drought for some years in succession, while the 

 root-system develops until it attains sufficient vigour to produce a permanent 

 stem. In the first year seedlings do not tolerate injury to the taproot, but 

 in subsequent years it is possible to transplant them Avith a fair chance of 

 success after pruning the root and stem. In nurseries seedlings are often killed 

 through injury to the taproot by insects ; the grub of the rhinoceros beetle 

 [Oryctes I'hinoceros) is one of the worst offenders. 



Young teak jilants have a wonderful power of recovery from damage by 

 fire, and in burnt forests their stems may be killed back for many years in 

 succession, while in the meantime they gradually produce a much thickened 

 root-stock from which a permanent shoot is finally produced when conditions 

 are favourable to its survival. It has been observed in Burma that seedlings 

 lacking in vigour when thus killed back by fire subsequently produce much 

 more vigorous shoots. Young teak plants are not readily browsed by cattle 

 and other animals. 



Teak seedlings are intolerant of shade, and thrive best entirely in the 

 open ; only in dry localities do they benefit in their earher stages by side 

 protection from the direct rays of the sun. They are very sensitive to any 

 suppression by weeds, and it is a well-known fact that wherever weed-growth 

 is to be feared the survival of teak seedlings cannot be ensured without regular 

 weeding. This fact requires no demonstration to those who have had any 

 experience of the cultivation of teak, but Fig. 273 may serve to demonstrate 

 it to those who have not had such experience. This figure shows two parallel 

 lines of teak sowings in the second year ; line A, on the left, has been regularly 

 weeded, with the result that the plants are healthy and vigorous, while line B, 

 on the right, lias been left unweeded, with the result that every seedling has 

 been killed by weeds, although these are by no means heavy. These sowings 

 were carried out at Dehra Dun in 1013. 



