NOTE ON SAIN OE SAJ. 11 



Mr. F. Foulkes in " Notes on Timber Trees South Kanara " 



says : 



" Except in rigidly fire-protected areas, very little of the January seed crop survives 

 as the hot weather fires destroy it. Apart from the fact that it is a strong shade-bearer 

 and has large annual seed crops, the exceptional facility with which this tree reproduces 

 itself is due to the July seed crop. 



The rains hegin in the middle of May and culminate in July, consequently there are 

 no fires anywhere then. 



The chief danger the seed runs is from rotting and not heing able to secure a lodg- 

 ment owing to the torrents of water which come down. Cattle must be rigidly excluded 

 from areas under reproduction, and in the plains forests, fires also. 



Seedlings become established in 3 to 5 years. 



This species coppices excellently, but unless cut quite flush with the ground, the 

 shoots are apt to grow horizontally instead of straight up." 



6. Artificial Reproduction. 



Sowing and planting has been tried in all provinces with good re- 

 sults on the whole. There seems to be no difficulty in obtaining a high 

 percentage of germination, and the seedlings may reach a height of 18 

 inches after the first rains. In the Bombay Presidency in order to fill 

 up blanks in coupes, small pits have been dug and the seed sown in them 

 has germinated well. Where transplanting of one-year old seedlings 

 has been tried, many of them have died and white-ants have attacked 

 the roots. In plantations made in Burma deer at once selected the young 

 seedlings in the forests for food, and in Bombay pig did an equal amount 

 of damage. 



7. Notes on Distribution and Extraction in different 

 Provinces. 



(i) Surma. 



Vernacular names'. Taukkyan (Burmese), Dap (Kachin), Mai'hok-hpa 

 (Shan), Thay-hpay-kala (Karen), Taukkran (Arakanese). 



Local distribution. This tree is one of the commonest in the 

 Province and occurs in considerable quantities almost everywhere except 

 in the Northern Shan States, Arakan and the South of Tenasserim 

 where it is scarcer. In Upper Burma it seems to ascend commonly to 

 a much greater height than in Tenasserim, being reported from an 

 elevation of 4,000 feet in the Southern Shan States and 3,000 feet from 



