132 Report on the Caoutchouc Tree of Assam. [Feb. 



III. — Report on the Caoutchouc Tree of Assam made at the request of 

 Captain Jenkins, Agent to the Governor General. By William 

 Griffith, Assistant Surgeon on deputation with the Bhotan Mission. 



[Communicated by the Government.] 

 Agreeable to your instructions I proceeded to Ferozepoor, and 

 thence, accompanied by Lieut. Vetch and Mr. Brownlow, to the 

 forests in which the tree yielding the caoutchouc is found. 



The forests alluded to, form what is evidently the Tardi, and they 

 probably extend almost without intermission, from the western to the 

 eastern extremity of the valley, at least on its northern boundary. 



The breadth of the forest tracts is variable ; in the parts we traversed 

 it was computed to be between 7 and 8 miles. The forests are of a 

 decidedly tropical character ; exceptions, however, to this occur towards 

 the basis of the hills, near which some trees indicative of a temperate 

 climate are found, such as horse and Spanish chesnuts, an alder, 

 Hovenia dulcis. No particularly fine timber trees occurred with the 

 exception of a solitary chaum tree, the Artocarpus chaplasha of Dr. 

 Roxburgh. The caoutchouc tree itself occurs very generally as a 

 solitary tree*, occasionally however two or three may be found grouped 

 together. In size they are far superior to all the other trees, and espe- 

 cially in the extent of surface covered by their branches. They cer- 

 tainly deserve to be ranked amongst the largest known trees, being pro- 

 bably inferior in size to the banian only, which may be said to be ca- 

 pable of indefinite extension ; such is the size indeed of the caoutchouc 

 tree, that it may be distinguished from a distance of several miles by 

 its dense, immense, and lofty crown. The dimensions of one of the 

 largest were as follows : circumference of main trunk 74 feet ; ditto 

 of main trunk and the supports 120 feet ; ditto of area covered by 

 the branches, 610 feet; estimated height 100 feet. The trees appear 

 to be, so far at least as I have had opportunities of judging, confined to 

 the Tardi, the drier parts of which they seem to affect, and tjiey be- 

 come more abundant towards the foot of the hills. They are said, 

 however, to occur about some of the villages in this direction ; if so, they 

 have probably been planted there, at any rate it is quite certain that on 

 the southern side of the valley, along which considerable spaces occur 

 totally devoid of forests, they are comparatively uncommon. 



In the tracts of forests traversed by us and which I have said was 

 estimated to be between 7 and 8 miles in length, 80 trees were seen : 

 of these by far the greater number were of large size. 



• This tree is known to the Assamese by the name Borgach, to the Khasiyas 

 by that of Ka-gi-ri. 



