188 SYLVICULTURE IN THE TROPICS 



PT. II 



whereas both seeds and very young seedlings are liable 

 to suffer from a variety of dangers from the very outset, 

 transplants brought in from a nursery or from the 

 forest have already survived this most critical period 

 of their existence and give a better prospect of success. 

 Also, although direct sowing may be cheaper in the 

 way of saving some of the expense on nurseries and in 

 the preparation of the ground, some time must elapse 

 before the seed germinates and develops into seedlings 

 of the size which plants from the nursery have at the 

 time of transplanting. The crop, therefore, takes longer 

 to reach a marketable size, and there is thus a corre- 

 sponding loss of revenue. 



When a mixed crop has to be raised, it is much 

 easier to obtain the mixture desired by planting, for 

 even when seeds have been well mixed the heavier 

 ones will have a tendency to sink to the bottom of the 

 bag, and the mixture will thus become uneven. 



In unfavourable soils and localities, particularly in 

 those in which tender seedlings are liable to various 

 causes of injury or to be kept back in their growth, 

 planting is preferable to sowing, and this must be 

 resorted to in moist or wet soils, as well as in those 

 which easily dry up or are poor at the surface, and in 

 all soils that are liable to be overrun with weeds. It 

 will also usually give better results where the rainfall 

 is irregular or limited to a very short period. 



Sowing may give quite favourable results in localities 

 where the soil is neither too dry nor too wet, where the 

 rainfall is evenly distributed, and where there is not 

 much danger from invading weeds. In soil which is 

 rocky and covered with boulders it may even be prefer- 

 able to planting, and it is also advantageous to resort 

 to it for species which have sensitive roots which do 

 not bear transplanting, unless basket plants are used. 

 As planting requires more labour than sowing, the 

 latter may also have to be resorted to where labour is 

 scarce. But on the whole it may be said that planting 

 gives better results than sowing. 



