258 



THE AGEICULTUEAL NEWS. 



August 25, 1906. 



holing, as good holing will give the young plants 

 a better start. The holes should be IJ feet deep and 

 as wide as possible. 



The Para rubber tree usually seeds freely after its 

 fifth year, and mature trees may be expected to give 

 some 500 seeds per annum. The seeds germinate in 

 a few days, if the beds are regularly watered. 



In regard to the important subject of the distance 

 at which the trees should be planted, Mr. Wrie-ht 

 discusses at some length the relative advantages of 

 close and wide planting. Taking into consideration 

 that the main object of persons who are planting this 

 product is to obtain the quickest returns, he recom- 

 mends a distance of 10 feet by 10 feet. This is, of 

 course, on the assumption that all ideas of catch crops 

 are disregarded. On such an estate individual trees 

 ■could be tapped, as soon as they attained a diameter of 

 20 inches, on the full spiral system until they died, 

 and thus make room for the further development 

 of the remaining trees. 



In the ca.se of rubber trees planted close, the 

 cultivation of inter-crops, or catch crops, is limited to 

 about four to eight years. Cassava, bananas, cacao, 

 coffee, chillies, ground nuts, lemon grass, pepper, 

 gingelly, and perhaps tobacco and cotton, are suggested 

 for cultivation under such conditions. 



The cultivation of permanent inter-crops — such as 

 cacao and coffee — would be confined to wide-planted 

 estates, as the rapidly growing surface roots of Para 

 rubber will ultimately take possession of the soil. In 

 the West Indies cacao would be the crop most likely 

 to be grown with the rubber. In many districts of 

 Ceylon, the mi.xed cultivation of cacao and rubber is 

 extending. In this connexion, Mr. Wright suggests 

 that the cacao trees be planted 10 feet to 20 feet apart. 

 Many are planting cacao and rubber both 20 feet apart, 

 so that there will be, approximately, 100 rubber and 

 100 cacao trees to the acre. 



Considerable space is naturally devoted in this 

 book to the important subject of tapping. Bad tapping 

 often results in permanent injury to the trees. In 

 regard to tools, Mr. Wright states that ' the faultless 

 or ideal paring implement has not yet been produced, 

 though there seems every likelihood that it will soon 

 be on the market.' The object must be to ensure that 

 the minimum, if any, damage is done to the cambium. 

 The first requisite of a good tapping knife is that the 

 cutting surfaces shall be such as to enable the operator 

 either to make an even, clean cut or to excise the 

 cortical tissue without dragging the cells or .clogging 



the knife. Secondly, it should be capable of such 

 adjustment as to prevent the operator from cutting too 

 deep. Descriptions are given of the best known 

 tapping implements. 



The various methods of tapping Para rubber 

 trees are roughly described as (a) single oblique 

 Imes, (b) V-shaped incisions, (c) single oblique cuts, 

 with a vertical channel joining them, the cuts being on 

 one or both sides of the vertical line (known as 

 the ' half-herring-bone ' and ' herring-bone ' systems, 

 respectively): (d) spiral curves. The V-incision is 

 merely a duplication of the first system : but it does 

 not result in double the quantity of latex. The 

 herring-bone system has the advantage of requiring 

 the minimum labour for collecting, as the latex (lows 

 down the groove in the bark. The long spiral curve 

 has given good results. It consists of a series of 

 parallel cuts running round the stem and each ending 

 separately at the base of the tree. The full spiral 

 system is drastic. 



As regards the age or size at which Para rubber 

 trees may be tapped, opinions seem to vary considerably. 

 As a result of experience in Ceylon, Mr. Wright is of 

 opinion that, if the circumference of a tree 3 feet from 

 the ground is anything above 20 to 24 inches, it may 

 be lightly tapped. .Such a circumference cannot be 

 attained in Ceylon much before the fourth, fifth, or 

 sixth year. 



The yield of rubber from trees of ffcvea brasilien- 

 SIS of known age varies very considerably according to 

 climatic and soil conditions, methods of tapping, etc., etc. 

 The results warrant the conclusion that trees from 

 four to six years onwards, having a minimum circum- 

 ference of 20 inches, may be expected to yield an 

 average of 1 lb. to 3 ft. of dry rubber per tree up to 

 their tenth year, and a higher yield in subsequent years. 



It is scarcely possible, within the compass of this 

 article, to enter upon the subject of the preparation of 

 rubber for the market. Much useful information on 

 this subject has been published in the West Indian 

 Bulletin (Vol. V, pp. 210-23). 



The Late Mr. A. J. Jordan. Readers of the 



Agrindturat Xni's will read with regret the announcement 

 ot the sudden death, in Trinidad, of Mr A. .J. Jordan, Curator 

 of the Government House Gardens. Previous to occupying 

 tlius position, Mr. Jordan had lield appointments under the 

 Imperial Department of Agriculture in Montserrat and 

 Antigua In August 1899 he was appointed Agricultural 

 Instructor m Montserrat, and he held this position until his 

 transference, in January 1905, to the Botanic Station in 

 Antigua. 



