PLANTATION RUBBER ESTDUSTRV OF THE EAST. 459 



The total number of plants sent to Ceylon was 2,019, 

 1,919 being those raised from Wickham's seed and 100 in the 

 second consignment. Of the former it was recorded that 

 about 90 per cent, survived the journey, so that altogether 

 it would appear that Ceylon received between 1,800 and 1,900 

 plants. But it is not possible to place much reliance on these 

 figures, which, under the circumstances then existing, aie 

 scarcely hkely to have been based on Thwaites's personal 

 observations. Trimen, on his arrival in February, 1880, 

 found about 300 of the original plants at Henaratgoda, and 

 from the size of the area occupied by them it does not appear 

 probable that there were ever very many more. Some would 

 perhaps be kept in bamboo pots for the purpose of propagation, 

 and others were distributed, but, making every allowance for 

 that, there must have been an enormous mortahty while the 

 plants were in bamboos, if the figures cited above are even 

 approximately correct. There is, however, another possible 

 explanation (see later). 



It is not now possible to give the early history of these plants 

 with any degree of completeness, as scarcely any documents 

 relating to the internal management of the Botanic Gardens 

 during Thwaites's directorship have survived. The recorded 

 events of the next three years (1877-1880) are as follows : — 



In his report for 1877 Thwaites stated that propagation 

 by cuttings was being carried on successfully. In 1878 he 

 recorded that rather more than 500 rooted plants, raised from 

 cuttings of the stems, had been sent to British Burma, and 

 further supplies were being prepared for the same destination. 

 In the same year a few Wardian cases of rooted plants were 

 sent to India. The Kew report for 1878 gives the number 

 sent to Burma as 516. Thwaites's report for 1879 states that 

 small supplies had been sent to British India (33 plants), and a 

 moderate distribution hadbeenmade to some planters in Ceylon. 

 It is probable that the isolated old trees which are to be found 

 on several estates in Ceylon, e.g., Imbulpitiya, Dedugalla, 

 Eadella, &c., and which are said to be of the same age as those 

 at Henaratgoda, originated in that way, though popular 

 rumour accounts for their existence by a less creditable 

 explanation. 



