16 BULLETIN 1057, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



The first definite information regarding the presence of kalaw trees 

 in the neighborhood was obtained at Maukkadaw. It was reported 

 that the trees grow plentifully but in restricted areas some 20 miles 

 from Maukkadaw, at Chingyon Ohndon, district of Kyongyi, in the 

 Hkaungdan forest. Lack of time prevented the writer from investi- 

 gating these forests on the upward journey. However, seedlings 

 were secured from this region on the return journey to Rangoon. 

 Of these seedlings one reached Hawaii in good condition and is now 

 flourishing. 



On arrival at Mawlaik, the writer called at the forest office and 

 received the following information: 



The presence of Taraktogenos kurzii is known to us only through natives 

 who take out licenses for collecting the seeds, after the rainy season, in three 

 localities. 



These localities are at Maingyaung, some 50 miles from Mawlaik, 

 and at Khoung Kyew and Kyokta on the Khodan (or Khodaun) 

 stream. The writer engaged a dugout canoe and with a cook, a boy, 

 and an interpreter followed the Chindwin in its downward course as 

 far as Chaing (Kyaing), whence the overland journey through dense 

 forests commenced, first to Nansouksouk and thence to Thoung 

 Dwin; the next stop was at Khoung Kyew. This is a small village 

 situated on a bend of the Khodan stream, facing dense forests on 

 the opposite bank. The soil consists largely of quartz sand, save in 

 the flatlands, which are of clay or rather loamy and inundated 

 during the rainy season, which extends from May to October. The 

 river bottom is all sand and not a single rock is encountered any- 

 where. After Thoung Dwin the land is undulating and somewhat 

 hilly, but no high elevation is reached. The forest is very dense and 

 has a forbidding appearance. It is composed of Cephalostachyum 

 pergracile, Ficus spp., Garcinia spp., Terminalia spp., Quercus 

 spp., and various Dipterocarpacese, Euphorbiaceae, Meliacese, and 

 Leguminosse. The undergrowth is formed of ferns, Clerodendron 

 spp., various Acanthacese, etc. 



At Khoung Kyew the headman, or tajee, of the village, several 

 coolies, the interpreter, and the writer started out in search of kalaw 

 trees. Two localities were visited, one by following a narrow creek 

 bed with running water. Here the trees were very tall, some 50 to 

 60 feet. Taraktogenos kurzii covered the steep hillsides, which were 

 pure grayish loamy quartz sand. Some trees were actually growing 

 in the stream bed. The whole area supporting the kalaw trees was 

 very small and was restricted to about 30 or 40 acres. It was a 

 dense tropical and humid forest, though very cool at this time of 

 the year (January, 1921). There were many climbers, such as 

 Thunbergia lauHfolia, while the undershrub was composed, espe- 

 cially along the stream bed, of an acanthaceous species {Phlogacan- 



