A few years are always added on to this result to allow of a teak 

 seedling to have established itself. 



In the same forest as above 24 stumps and logs were measured 

 and the rings counted. The result worked out to 149 years to attain 

 a girth of 7', and for the purposes of the working plan 150 years was 

 decided upon as the age. 



The above illustrates with what accuracy this little instrument 

 will gauge the rate of growth of trees. Of course in using this instru- 

 ment iron woods must be avoided, or it will snap off. 



It wall be successful in woods considerably harder than teak, but 

 would I fancy be useless in trees such as Chengal, Merbau, Penaga. 

 Belian, etc. However as these trees do not appear to have definite 

 and well marked annual rings we are thrown back here upon a very 

 slow and tedious method, but one which is of course absolutely ac- 

 curate, i.e., to moasure annually as many trees as possible, and to take 

 trees of all sizes. At first sight it would seem that this would mean 

 waiting 100 years or more for results, but this is not the case. Thus 

 taking the divisions into classes as in India above shewn, we will 

 suppose that of the 107 trees I have had measured in the F. M. S« 

 forests. 



100 are in class I 6' to 7' girth 

 100 „ „ ., II 4f „ 6' „ 



100 „ „ .. Ill 3' „ 4^ „ 



107 „ „ „ IV under 3' 



at the time of first measurement. Then it is obviously not necessary 

 to continue measuring a tree in class IV right through all the classes 

 but only until it has reached class III, i.e., suppose that we find that 

 it takes 40 years for a tree to reach 3' in girth, 25 years to pass through 

 closs III, 30 years to pass throuh class II and 35 years to pass from 

 6' to 7', then we will in 40 years know how long it takes the average 

 tree to reach a girth of 7 feet i.e., 130 years. As regards the actual 

 results so far as we have gone. I have before me 3 years of measure- 

 ments of Chengal (Balanocarpus) and Merbau [Afzelia) taken in Bilut 

 Reserve near Raub. 



These big forest trees are measured at 20 from the ground to 

 avoid buttresses. 



The forty Chengal trees shew these results :_— 



Class I Class II Class III Class IV 

 Average increase in f ^» ^> ^ ^5" 75" 



girth in two years. I. 



Average increase in f ^y" 20" 62" 37" 



girth in one year. I 



Theses results if they could be relied upon would be of course dis- 

 couraging as it would take a tree at this rate 97 years to attain a girth 

 of 3 feet, 29 years to pass from 3' to 4£', 62 years to pass from 42*' to 6' 

 and 42 years from 6' to 7', a total of 230 years. 



As a matter of fact measurements cannot be relied upon until 

 after about 10 or 12 years because in dealing with these large timber 

 trees the bark is constantly breaking away owing to expansion by 



