'46 COLONIAL REPORTS MISCELLANEOUS. 



(d 1 .) The Odoinn or Iroko (CMorophora excelsa). 



(e 1 .) The Baku (Mhinixoi>x J)j(ir-c). 



(/ 1 .) The Kaku (species of Lophira). 



(g 1 .) The Kokoti (Pynaertia ealaensis). 



(A 1 .) The N'yankon (Heritiera ntilis). 



(i.) The silk rubl>er tree (F nntintiia elastica}. 



(j 1 .} The rubber vines, Landolphia ou-an'ensif; and L. 

 Thompson i /. 



(& 1 .) The gum copal trees (species of Cyanothyrsus). 



(I 1 .) Tlie oil-bean tree (Pentad ethra macrophylla). 



(w 1 .) Awama (Ricinodendron africanus}. 



(n 1 .) Trees the wood of which is used for making- shingles, 

 such as the Off ram (Terminalia scutifera} and the 

 Emril, another species of Terminalia; 



and, finally, any other species of plant that furnishes valuable or 

 durable timber or other produce of economic value. 



It will .generally be found that a large proportion of the above- 

 mentioned plants are to be met with in one and the same forest, 

 so that its reservation will afford protection at the same time to 

 a great many of the species that it is desirable to conserve. 



When selecting- areas for reservation, information regarding 

 the sylvicultural peculiarities of the more important species 

 should be carefully collected and recorded. 



The time of flowering and seeding, whether annual or occurring 

 at intervals of several years, the time the fruit remains on the 

 tree, before it falls (in some species the fruit remains on the tree 

 for two or three years), should be noted, as well as:- 



(i.) The kind of soil that suits each species best. 



(ii.) In hilly country the aspect, i.e., the slope of the ground, 

 whether north, south, east, or west, on which the 

 species thrives. 



(iii.) The relation of the more important species to the other 

 plants in the forest ; whether they are being domi- 

 nated or likely to be suppressed by others, and the 

 state of their natural regeneration. 



(iv.) "\Vhether the species is a light-deniander or can stand 

 dense shade. 



(v.) Whether it is evergreen or becomes defoliated at 

 periodical intervals, and so on. 



The observations indicated above will take years to carry out 

 thoroughly, but they should never, on account of their import- 

 ance, be lost sight of, and every endeavour should be made to 

 keep continuous records from year to year on these points. 



When selecting forests for reservation, it will be found that 

 comparatively few tracts are covered with so-called primeval or 

 virgin forest; the majority of forests on the Gold Coast and in 

 Ashanti consist of secondary irregular growth that has sprung 

 up on areas previously cleared for farms by the natives. In 

 places, such forests have, since they re-occupied the abandoned 

 farms, been left untouched for such a long time that a sufficient 

 interval has elapsed for the trees composing them to have grown 

 into large trees of very nearly as good growth as the original 



