CH. II 



CLIMATE 35 



is still somewhat open with deciduous trees, thorny in 

 places. It is mostly savannah-forest. The moist zone 

 is one of the most important forest zones. The trees, 

 composed largely of dry-season leaf-shedders, grow fairly 

 close together, and can form good forest. It is the 

 " monsoon-forest." Lastly, in the wet zone the trees, 

 largely composed of evergreens, often buttressed, grow 

 tall and close together. Lianas and epiphytes attain 

 their greatest development in this zone, and palms and 

 tree-ferns are also more abundant than in other zones. 

 These forests are called " rain-forests." 



Before closing this chapter it is necessary to add 

 that the failure of the monsoon rains may gravely affect 

 the character of the forest. In two articles in the 

 Indian Forester, Mr. R. S. Pearson x describes the 

 damage done by the drought of 1899-1900 to the forests 

 in the Panch Mahal forests of the Bombay Presidency. 

 It appears that the trees most quickly affected were 

 those with superficial roots, while those with taproots 

 resisted the drought better. Among those most affected 

 were Teak, Garuga pinnata, Anogeissus latifolia, 

 Bassia latifolia, and Terminalia tomentosa, while the 

 most immune were Dalbergia latifolia, Tamarindus 

 indica, Schleichera trijuga, etc. As the trees affected 

 gradually died down from the tops of the crowns and 

 took two or three years to die down to the ground, 

 those which were felled soon after their crowns were 

 affected gave vigorous coppice shoots two large trees 

 excepted while fellings made in the second year gave 

 also fair coppice, but those made in the third year gave 

 weaker shoots. The extent of the damage done may be 

 gauged when it is stated that of Teak alone, which made 

 up about 40 per cent of the forest, 2,782,700 over 9 in. 

 girth and 1,415,500 under that girth were cut out from 

 an area of 152,949 acres, that is, over 27'4 Teak trees 

 per acre (68 - 5 trees per hectare). 



1 Indian Forester, vol. xxix. No. 7, and vol. xxxi. No. 12. 



