183 



sioned in tea clearings, where the plants are planted three to four 

 feet apart, or on cocoa estates where cocoa saplings, distanced nine 

 to twelve feet apart, are interplanted with Erythrinas and Albiz- 

 zias, has been considerable ; but in the wide planting of rubber 

 trees alone, a much larger proportion of the soil is exposed for 

 many more years, and the loss of food constituents and steriliza- 

 tion of the soil become much more serious matters. This consti- 

 tutes a very serious disadvantage against permanent wide planting 

 of Para rubber trees. The reduction in available tapping area 

 consequent on the fewer number of trees on widely planted estates 

 is an objection of importance in the early tapping years, and the 

 fewness of the trees would ensure that the death of a single tree 

 would be occasioned with relatively more serious loss. 

 WIDE PLANTING AND INTER CROPS. 



The fourth method is that of permanent wide planting, and inter- 

 planting with more or less temporary intercrops. The advantages 

 of this system are many, as Para rubber trees can for several 

 years be more or less successfully grown in association with cocoa, 

 coffee, tea, camphor, &c, when widely planted. Such a system 

 provides against a slump in rubber, however unlikely such may be, 

 and is usually recommended because the admixture of trees of 

 entirely different characters serve to check the spread of diseases ; 

 the latter has been often disputed since stumps of roots of such 

 intercrops may be left in the soil a few years. Another advantage 

 lies in the fact that the soil is more quickly covered, the roots of 

 the various plants assist in the disintegration of the soil, and the 

 total loss is, therefore, not as great as when rubber trees alone are 

 planted ; this again is open to the objection that the cultivation 

 of the intercrops, does in the removal of woody, leaf and fruit 

 tissues, lead to considerable exhaustion. A very noticeable fea- 

 ture on all Para rubber estates thus interplanted is the check given 

 to the growth of the weeds, and this apart from the fact that some 

 return is obtained at an early date, weighs seriously with many 

 planters. It has been estimated that the weeding on a rubber 

 estate of only 300 acres, necessary to bring the trees into bearing, 

 is no less than Rs. 25,000, — a considerable item, especially where 

 large acreages have to be dealt with. 



But what appeals most strongly to the opponents of close-plant- 

 ing is the fact that by this system the Para rubber trees can be 

 originally planted out at a distance which will allow of permanent 

 and undisturbed occupation by the rubber trees ; as the trees in- 

 crease in size, the intercrops and not the rubber trees can be 

 thinned out. 



DISADVANTAGES. 



Though the system of widely planting rubber trees and inter- 

 planting with other products has much to recommend it, and 

 appeals to those with limited capital or those who desire to adopt 

 a system intermediate between permanent close, and wide planting, 

 it has many disadvantages. First and foremost must come the 

 objection that the introduction of any intercrop divides not only 

 the attention of the superintendent and coolies, but also the 



