19 
Part I] Lindsay and Harlow : Lac and Shellac 
individuals will rarely care to undertake the formation of plantations. 
Kusum sown fifteen years ago along nala banks in Raipur are still 
straggling bushes, unfit for lac cultivation. The experiment is, 
however, hardly conclusive as, once sown, the trees received no 
further attention. Kusum wood is hard, with close and twisted grain, 
heavy, tough and strong, and its heart-wood is reddish. The fruit is 
of some commercial importance as it yields a macassar oil. 
Ber .—Ber is the wild (but also cultivated) edible plum tree found 
almost anywhere in India. It is a medium-sized evergreen tree ? 
grows well in poor soils, but much better in good manured soils. Its 
branches have a tendency to droop and are covered with thorns. 
The leaves are oval and about i"—i§ " long; the young foliage 
appears in March-April while the old leaves are dropping. The 
flowering period varies, but in the lac area generally follows the new 
leaves immediately. The fruit ripens in December-January. It has 
been very widely cultivated in the past in gardens and around home¬ 
steads for the sake of its fruit, but in lac-growing districts such as 
Manbhum and the Sonthal Parganas, the conservation for fruit has 
almost entirely given place to the cultivation of lac. If it gets plenty 
of animal manure its growth is vigorous and it gives good crops of 
lac which can be cultivated on a twelve months’ rotation. 
The propagation of Ber from seed is easy, growth in favourable 
localities is rapid and the tree is fit to inoculate with lac in five to 
ten years’ time. It coppices well and according to local traditions 
must be coppiced in early youth as seedling trees will not bear lac. 
There is, however, no scientific confirmation of t>his theory. 
On account of the ease with which this tree can be propagated, 
the good quality of its lac crops and its alternative value as a fruit 
producer, it is very popular as a lac host. It is gradually replacing 
Palas and is the tree to be recommended to anyone desirous of 
raising plantations with the object bf cultivating lac. 
_ Ghont .—This species, which appears to replace Ber in rocky hill 
tracts, is to be found all over India. Usually scattered in mixed 
types of forest, it appears to reach its optimum in a small area in¬ 
cluding the whole of Damoh district (C. P.) and adjoining areas in 
Saugor, Jubbulpore and Narsingpur districts, and in several of the 
Central India States. Here it is practically gregarious. It closely 
resembles Ber in habit, but is straggling in growth and inclined to 
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