1 ( 13°)
2 ‘© When seedlings begin to burst through the ground, they have to contend
3 with a‘great number of enomies, such as quail, pigeon, doves, partridge, rats, and
4 squirrels.”
5 - « When the plants are raiscd in a nursery, these pests can be guarded against
6 to a great extent, but when the seed is sown over a large area, as is the case in
7 plantations, it is impossible to keep them off.”
8 “ Quails are the most destructive. If they are killed during the months of
9 June and July in the vicinity of teak plantations, their stomachs will be found full
10 of the cotyledons of teak seedlings.”
11 ‘¢ When the rows have been weeded of grass, these vermin run along the
12 cleared line devouring the plarits as they break through the surface of the ground.”
13 ‘« T have counted as many as 40 cotyledons in the stomach of a small button
14 quail, and they (the quail) often muster in coveys of upwards of 100; so taking
15 these figures, one such covey would destroy 4,000 plants per day.”
16 ‘‘ These vermin as a rule do not prey upon the plants after they are 8 or 10
17 days above ground.”
18 ‘Taking all the ‘* pros and cons’? into consideration regarding the two
19 systems of planting, I am in favor of sowing the seed into the plantation at once,
20 instead of raising seedlings in nurseries and transplanting.”
21 74, It now remains for me to notice the plan-
22 tations established in the Oomrawuttee District under
23 the Deputy Commissioner.
24 Plantations in the Oomrawuttee Dis-
25 trict.
26 75. Out of 1,200 teak seedlings transplanted in Bewapoor in 1870, 1,000 are
27 Reet neers now alive, and these are reported to be in good cun-
28 RD acer areata dition, and* producing new leaves. Their height
29 varies from 3 to 6 feet.
30 I inspected this plantation last Novembor, and was surprised at the generally
31 healthy appearance of the plants. A few of them surpass in height our best speci-
32 mens of the same age in the Mailghit. I observed, however, that it was only on
33 the hanks of the nullah, where the soil was deep and moist, that the teak seemed
34 to thrive. All plants over 50 yards distant from the nullah appeared to have made
35 little or no growth, and I accordingly desired that the plantation should be extended
36 along both banks of the nullah to this width only, and that it should be surrounded
37 by a belt of babool, for which tree most of the adjoining waste land is suited,
38 though not well adapted for teak.
39 76. With this object a teak nursery was started about the end of March, and
40 the seedlings will be transplanted at the commencc-
41 ment of the rainy season. The babool will be sown
42 in the usual manner after the first heavy fall of rain.
43 Teak Nursery.
44 77. Lalso visited several of the babool plantations established in 1869 and
45 ee 1870. They wre as a rule in a flourishing state, and
46 Raboo! Plantations established in 1869 most of the trees arc now over 6 feet in height.
47 and 1870. : é :
48 These plantations will be extended wherever possible
49 before fresh land is taken up in any new locality, and arrangements have been made
50 for this work being commenced during the current year.
51 78. Regarding the treo plantation at Oomra-
52 Tree Plantation, Oomrawuttee. : ating P
53 ea ene ead wuttee the following remarks are extracted from the
54 Deputy Commissioner’s Report :—
55 “In this plantation 45 acres of land were sown with different kinds of seed,
56 viz., babool, neom, tamarind, &c., during the year under report.”