THE TEAK EEGION 173 



of from ten to fifteen feet, witli a bole of seventy or eighty 

 feet to tte head of branches. Perfect specimens are, 

 however, rare, the majority of such trees as remain having 

 suffered injury in the saphng stage from fire or axe, so 

 as to permanently contort their form. The soft scaly 

 bark, large flabby leaves, and generally straggling and 

 " seedy " habit of growth of the teak, are certainly, I 

 think, disappointing to those accustomed to the trim 

 firm aspect of other hardwood forests, and particularly to 

 such as have had the opportunity of comparing it with 

 the striking appearance of the evergreen Sal forests of 

 the more eastern regions. In the rainy season the teak 

 tree is surmounted by a heavy head of large green leaves, 

 supporting masses of yellowish white flowers; and when 

 in considerable masses it then gives a peculiar and not 

 unpleasant character to the scenery. The large umbrella- 

 like leaves are admirably fitted for the great function of 

 vegetation at that season, in breaking the direct impact 

 of the rain torrent on the soil of the hill slopes, which would 

 otherwise soon end in depriving the rocky skeletons of 

 the hills of their covering of earth and vegetation. But 

 this foliage is very deciduous, and by the month of March 

 Httle of it remains on the tree. Then the yellow brittle 

 fallen leaves in many places strew the ground so thickly 

 as to make silent walking impossible. As a facetious 

 friend once expressed it, in a very unnecessary whisper, 

 when we were trying to creep up to a stag sambar in such 

 a cover — " It was like walking on tin boxes." 



Forests containing any great number of tolerably large 

 teak trees are, however, now extremely few; and, as I 

 have said, the teak has been indiscriminately hacked 

 down for every sort of purpose, for many generations, 

 over nearly the whole area where it is found. Among 

 its numerous other valuable qualities, however, it includes 

 that of rapidly throwing up a head of tall slender poles 

 from the stumps, if they are allowed to remain in the 

 groimd. In five years this coppice wood will attain a 

 height of twenty-five or thirty feet, and a girth of one to 

 two feet. Such poles are invaluable in a country where 

 habitations are in great measure very small, and built 



