8 KOTJ; ON BIJA SAL OK VENGU1. 



In the Begur Forests Working-Plan, North Malabar, Madras, 13 

 trees gave the following results : 



Average age at 6 inches diameter . . 35*6 years. 



} , 12 ,, . , 68'8 



18 . . 106-1 



24 . 141-5 



In the Chedleth Range forests in the same district 1UO trees gave the 

 following results : 



Average age at 6 inches diameter . . 327 years. 



12 . 62-5 



18 . . 92-4 



24 . . 124-2 



F. Foulkes says in " Notes on Timber Trees in South Kauara "-. 

 " Yields only a moderate seed crop and apparently does not yield an 

 annually equal crop. Does not germinate well. Reproduction is 

 moderate therefore : one reason being that the seeds, being very light, 

 are easily blown away by the monsoon winds and washed away by the 

 monsoon rains before they have time to anchor themselves, and the fruit 

 falling in the fire season, and the membranous wing becoming dry and 

 inflammable, renders the seed very liable to damage by fire. Seeds retain 

 their vitality for a long time." 



6. Artificial Reproduction. 



Sowings have been made in several parts of Bombay and Madras 

 with fairly successful results. The hard bony covering of the seed often 

 prevents germination during the first rains, and it may be hastened by 

 cutting it sufficiently to expose the seed. The seedlings are only about 

 6 inches high after the first year's growth and must be protected from 

 fire for a number of years depending on the soil covering. A tree planted 

 in Chaibassa was 20 feet high and 10 inches in girth after ten years. 

 Sowings in the forest are much damaged by deer, and sowing in pits 

 is usually more successful than broadcast sowing. From Vizagapatam 

 a note is sent of the seeds having been steeped in camphor water, after 

 removing the husk, for 12 hours and then sown in a flower pot, 

 germination on the fifth day being the general result. In Central 

 Coimbatore a plantation was made some thirty years ago, and now contains 

 about 200 trees in excellent condition up to nearly 7 feet in girth. 



