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claim that branching is not good for the trees. I believe that 

 branched trees grow somewhat faster because they get a larger 

 leaf sm-face, but I do not think that this leaf surface affects the 

 amount of latex. Trees planted far apart branch moi'e freely and 

 earlier than those which are close together. There also seem to 

 be more branches on trees grown in the sun than in the shade. 

 It has been suggested that it would be well to grow branches on 

 the trees — by the forced method above described — in such manner 

 that the trees could be ascended by tappers without a ladder. The 

 fact that some temporary limbs turn permanent might be in- 

 vestigated, and perhaps a way could be found to make them turn 

 permanent at will, if desirable. 



The CastiUoa is a fast growing tree. It appears to grow faster 

 between the ages of two and four. The leaf surface of the tree, 

 and consequently the amount of light it gets, has a great deal to 

 do with its growth. Shade grown trees are not nearly so large 

 at the same age as those grown in the sun. Some planters 

 believe that trees grown in at least partial shade yield more latex, 

 but if this is so, I do not believe that they yield enough more to 

 pay for the loss in growth, for under any ordinary conditions the 

 trees yield in proportion to their size. Monthly measurement of 

 a large number of CastiUoa trees shows that they grow on an 

 average of about \ inch per month in circumference. This varies, 

 however, the trees sometimes growing not at all for a month and 

 growing | inch or more the next month. An experiment in the 

 effect of tapping on growth did not show that it made any 

 difference. 



The proper distance in planting depends a good deal on how 

 soon the plantation is to be tapped. Trees planted 10 x 10 feet 

 begin to crowd each other at about six years. If the plantation 

 is to be tapped at this age, or earlier, this is a good distance for 

 planting. When the trees get older, the poorer and weaker ones 

 can be bled out. The experiment of planting four trees in a hole 

 shows that it is possible for two, three, or even all four to grow 

 well and apparently not to hinder each other. If these trees continue 

 as they have begun, it seems to me that the way to grow the most 

 good trees on a given piece of land would be to stake the land at 

 a distance of 15 or 20 feet, and to plant a circle of 8 or ID trees 

 about each stake. Any trees grown in this way which did not 

 keep up to the others should be cut down, and by the time they 

 are ready to tap there should be three or four good trees in each 

 group. This method would avoid one trouble which has shown 

 itself where one tree was planted to a hole, and that is that when 

 the time for tapping came many of the trees were poor and stunted 

 and not worth anything. This irregularity of growth loses much 

 time and can be avoided where only the best trees are allowed to 

 grow. 



Whatever the method of tapping employed for CastiUoa, the 

 healing of the cut requires to be considered. The general idea 

 has been that the cut must not be made too deep and this is true 

 to a certain extent. But it may also be made too shallow. Be- 



