22 Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal. (January, 1915. 
water-supply should naturally be the part farthest from the 
roots, viz. the top; and hence it is that the leaves are shed 
from the top downwards. Moreover the topmost leaves, being 
more exposed to the action of the wind than the lower portion, 
attain their maximum excreta-contents earlier than the lower 
leaves, and so are the earlier ones to be shed. 
A considerable amount of variation occurs as regards the 
time of shedding and the time intervening between the shed- 
ding of the old leaves and the growth of the new ones. In 
some trees the new leaves come out simultaneously with the 
t 
e.g. Crataeva religiosa. I cannot adequately deal with the many 
details concerning all these in this short paper, but shall say a 
few words about the Odina group, which consists of the follow- 
(1) Odina Wodier. (6) Spondias mangifera. 
(2) Crataeva religiosa. (7) Adansonia digitata. 
(3) Eriodendron anfractuosum. (8) Gyrocarpus Jacquini. 
(4) Bombax malabaricum. 9) Plumeria acutifolia. 
(5) Erythrina indica. (10) Manihot Glaziovii. 
For instance, Adansonia digitata is a native of the African 
savanna. It stores up water in its huge trunk and safely tides 
over the rigours of the hot season in a leafless condition. 
Bombax malabaricum is a native of the deciduous forests of 
the Western Ghats. 
Most of the trees of the Odina group possess the following 
characteristics. They possess either a soft wood or fleshy 
already mentioned, this group of trees flowers while 
the trees are in a leafless condition. Schimper thinks that the 
