64 THIRD REPORT ON FOREST OPERATIONS 



first liable to undergo fermenting changes ; it is to these changes 

 that the decay is traced, and it is therefore of the utmost im- 

 portance that the tree should be felled at those seasons when it 

 contains the smallest portion of sap ; in the case of trees (teak) 

 whose leaves are deciduous, this is indicated by the nakedness of 

 the tree, and in evergreens by the ripening and falling of the 

 fruit. The proportion of heart to sap wood varies* in different trees, 

 according to the age at which they have been felled, and the soil 

 upon which they have grown ; for instance, the teak tree in Mala- 

 bar differs from teak in Anamalai. In mature trees there is no 

 sapwood, and it is one of the main objects of Conservancy that 

 these only should be cut. There is another point in connection 

 with the period of felling which ought to be noticed. It is a 

 wide-spread opinion that trees should be felled during the wane 

 of the moon. This planetary influence is open to doubt,, but 

 the opinion prevails wherever there are large forests ; the wood- 

 cutters of South America act upon it, and the natives of this 

 country believe that the timber is much more likely to decay if 

 cut when the moon is in "crescente." 



(2.) Hinging or Girdling. — The custom of ringing the tree 

 before felling has been advocated, on the ground that the sea- 

 soning is thereby expedited, and also more thoroughly effected. 

 This is doubtful, at least in oil-containing trees (as teak), but the 

 practice appears to be contra-indicated for other reasons ; when 

 a tree has been ringed, the woodcutters object to cut it down, 

 on account of its increased hardness ; this objection might be 

 waived, were it not for another and more serious one which has 

 been adduced. It is believed to be a fact by some, that trees 

 felled after girdling have the heart-shake increased. It is 

 difficult to explain this if it be actually the case. 



(3.) Splitting. — It is of the utmost importance that timber, in 

 the process of seasoning, should be protected from heat, and par- 

 ticularly from the hot winds. The external fibres of the wood, 

 being first exposed, contract ; and as there is no corresponding 

 shrinking of these fibres in the centre, cracks and splits are the 



* As to the varying quality of cedar-wood, see Hooker and Thomson's 

 Flora Indica, p. 30. 



