THE CHAULMOOGRA TREE AND RELATED SPECIES. 25 



ing habit of chaulnioogra trees are not known, but the fact that 

 the trees are polygamous may have something to do with this. The 

 flowers are undoubtedly dependent on insects for pollination, and 

 while it is said of the species of Hydnocarpus that male flowers with 

 rudimentary ovaries and female flowers with regular stamens but 

 without pollen occur at the same time with strictly male and female 

 flowers, it must be stated that on the trees of Hydnocarpus anthel- 

 minthica (in Bangkok) and of H. curtisii (in Penang) examined by 

 the writer, only male flowers were found, and in the first species male 

 flowers with a well-developed hirsute style. It may also be that 

 this group of trees does not flower every year and that they are all 

 biennial fruiters. It is well worth while to study these questions, 

 as very little is known of the flowering habits of these trees ; in fact, 

 the female flowers of Tarakatogenos kurzii have never been found. 



The remoteness from civilized centers of the forests where these 

 trees occur, the danger and difficulty encountered in collecting the 

 seeds (which may not be found every year), and also the conditions 

 under which seeds are at present collected would point to the neces- 

 sity of starting plantations of Taraktogenos kurzii, which is known 

 to yield the true chaulmoogra oil, and also of such species of Tarak- 

 togenos, Hydnocarpus, and Asteriastigma as yield oils of similar 

 composition. This would assure a steady supply and a uniform 

 crop and avoid the possibility of having several species confused, 

 as undoubtedly is the case at present in certain localities. It has 

 been stated by an eminent authority that owing to the very encour- 

 aging work carried on in Hawaii and the great success achieved 

 in the treatment of leprosy with chaulmoogra-oil derivatives, the 

 lowest yearly demand will be for 1,000,000 liters of oil. The present 

 output, the conditions under which the seeds are collected, and the un- 

 certain fruiting periods of these species make it certain that the 

 demand will far exceed the output. With this in view, the expe- 

 dition was undertaken by the writer, of whose work this is a prelimi- 

 nary report, for the purpose of securing viable seeds of as many 

 species as possible, and these seeds are now growing in several places. 

 (PL XVI.) 



The following suggestions are offered regarding the requirements 

 for establishing plantations of Taraktogenos kurzii The soil 

 should be of a sandy nature, preferably quartz sand. Perfect drain- 

 age is aecessary, and undulating or hilly land is preferable. The 

 region should have a distinct rainy season with a pronounced dry 

 season in the winter months, but still with considerable humidity. 

 The winter temperature should not fall below 40° F. The fore 

 going repre cut up proximately the climatic and soil conditions of 

 tin-; species i r i it:- native habitat. Oilier species, such us Hydno- 



