84 SYLVICULTURE IX THE TROPICS 



VT. I 



The more open the leaf-canopy and the more scattered 

 the trees the greater will 1 >e the impetus of the flames, 

 which gradually but surely kill them out, and finally 

 reduce the area to savannahs or steppes. The so-called 

 "Patanas" of Ceylon are an example of this. In the 

 low country there is still an open savannah-forest, which 

 is aptly called the " Park-country," but higher up, on 

 the slopes where the surface soil is made friable by the 

 fires and soon washed away by the monsoon rains, the 

 trees have been killed off more rapidly, the herds of 

 cattle helping in the destruction, and in loosening the 

 soil ; and what is left only bears a very coarse grass, or 

 coarse sedges, which are only capable of affording fodder 

 to cattle while still young and tender. Thus fires con- 

 tinue and the tree growth is confined almost entirely to 

 the thick-barked Carey a arbor ea (Fig. 14). 



When a fire enters a forest it kills many young seed- 

 lings outright. Among the stronger ones, with well- 

 developed taproots and capability of giving out coppice 

 shoots, the damage may be limited to killing them down 

 to the ground ; saplings and poles are often so injured 

 that they lose their straightness and vigour of growth. 

 Among the trees the Conifers are those which suffer 

 most damage from fires, which are intensified by the 

 resin exuding from wounds, while among others those 

 provided with thick outer bark are the most immune ; 

 nevertheless, fires give rise to unsoundness wherever the 

 scorching fire has been so intense that it has killed the 

 cambium. Existing unsoundness will be intensified, and 

 fire will often penetrate into hollows in the stems and 

 branches, sometimes smouldering for months together, 

 and finally bringing the tree down, when the scattering 

 of the burning embers may easily cause another fire to 

 pass through the forest. Finally, flowers or fruit are 

 destroyed in large quantities, and the shrivelling up of 

 the leaves causes a temporary cessation of growth and 

 consequent diminution in the production of wood, or an 

 uneven development of the timber. 



For some years past there has been a good deal of 



