NOTE ON BABUL. > 



cultivated land, and along ravines, and it is also a common road-side 

 tree. 



As a rule, Babul requires the subsoil moisture to be near to the surface, 

 as it is a shallow-rooted species, and it is no uncommon sight in Sind to 

 see crops of Babul dying of drought, owing to the river having changed 

 its course, thus depriving the trees of the moisture to which they had 

 been accustomed. The tree is, however, satisfied with a very moderate 

 rainfall, and can of course dispense with rainfall altogether if subject 

 to annual inundation. Babul prefers very low elevations and rarely 

 grows above 2,000 ft. above sea-level. 



(6) SHAPE AND DEVELOPMENT. 



Babul is a small to moderate-sized tree with a large spreading crown 

 and a comparatively short bole. Its dark brown bark is much fissured, 

 its leaves are bipinnate, and its flowers, which appear in the rains in 

 axillary globose heads, are yellow and fragrant. A distinctive feature 

 of the tree is its straight, white, sharply pointed spines which are often 

 half an inch long and sometimes even longer. It is, generally speaking, 

 a shallow-rooted tree and, as such, subject to danger from wind-fall. 

 Although reliable figures are not available, Babul may be said to be a 

 fast growing tree, at any rate during the first twenty years or so of its 

 life. The Divisional Forest Officer, Hyderabad, Sind, states that in less 

 than 5 years the tree, under favourable conditions of soil and moisture, 

 attains a girth of 1 J' at breast-height, while its average girth at 35 years 

 is about 4'. It attains its highest development in Sind, where trees 

 often reach a height of between 50 and 60 feet, with a clear bole of 20 to 

 25 feet, in favourable localities, and where girths of from 8 to 10 feet 

 are not uncommon. Berar and some of the Deccan divisions also 

 contain well-developed Babul, but the height-growth is on an average 

 considerably less than that in Sind ; while in Madras the growth is much 

 poorer, the height being rarely over 30 feet, and usually considerably 

 less. The above remarks apply to localities suited to the tree ; in un- 

 suitable localities such, for instance, as stony shallow dry soils, the 

 development is very poor, the tree having a stunted appearance and 

 being of very slow growth. 



It may here be stated, on information kindly supplied by the Forest 

 Botanist, that the three following varieties of Babul are commonly 

 recognized : 



(1) Telia or Godi. Bark blackish brown, slightly cracked, spines 



short, pod distinctly constricted between the seeds. 



(2) Kauria or Vedi. Bark grey brown, deeply cracked, spines 



long, pod very little constricted between the seeds. 



