PLANTATION RUBBER INDUSTRY OF THE EAST, 513 



close planting. Estimates published in the " Tropical Agri- 

 culturist " for 1881 provided for a distance 20 feet by 20 

 feet, but the general opinion was in favoiu' of closer 

 planting. Then there were two schools of tapping, pricking 

 and incising, whose advocates were as uncompromisingly- 

 opposed as those of later days. ' The use of coagulants was 

 deprecated, though rather on the ground of expense than on 

 the quahty of the rubber produced. GilHatt smoked rubber 

 after coagulation and claimed to have obtained a better 

 product. 



Many of the points elucidated were apphcable to rubber 

 tapping in general. Thus, it was found that it was best to 

 tap in the early morning, that the latex ran more freely after 

 rain, and that sunlight affected the quality of the rubber. 

 The collecting cup then evolved is that in use at the 

 ])resent day, and bulking the day's collection of latex was 

 practised instead of allowing it to coagulate in the tins ; 

 while the guarded comb -pricker, the rotating guarded 

 pricker, and GiUiatt's knife are practical identical with later 

 inventions . 



At the present time Ceara is distinctly out of favour in 

 Ceylon. The Ceylon planter's attitude may be summed up as 

 follows : " If you want to grow rubber, grow Hevea ; if you 

 can't grow Hevea, go somewhere where you can." Ceara 

 grows hke a weed all over the planting districts up to an 

 elevation of at least 2,000 feet, and trees may be found every- 

 A^'here in the hedges of native compounds. But it still, in 

 comparison ^^ith any other product, " does not pay to culti- 

 vate," and none of the Ceara experts who have visited Ceylon 

 during the rubber boom have been able to demonstrate how 

 a remunerative yield can be obtained. During the boom 

 Ceara was planted on some estates, but up to the present a 

 return is only being obtained from it in cases where it is a 

 secondary product. On some cacao estates, where Ceara was 

 planted for shade years ago, young trees spring up everywhere. 

 These are allowed to grow, and are tapped when they are large 

 enough, regardless of whether they Mve or die, as there are 

 alwa3'S others to take their place. Under such circumstances 

 quite a large profit has been made from Ceara. 



6(4)14 (66) 



