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any other variety. For the last twenty years or more scientists 

 in the admirably conducted Botanic Gardens of these localities 

 have been putting time and thought on the various problems in 

 regard to the Hevea. This has gone hand in hand with cultiva- 

 tion on a larger and larger scale so that planting, care of the 

 trees, collection of the latex, and the production of rubber, has 

 been reduced to a science; the fact of its increasing yield from 

 year to year in spite of, and even stimulated by, tapping has been 

 demonstrated. Cost of collection, market price, etc., all have 

 been reduced to a business basis ; though there are improvements 

 every day. 



CEARA. 



With the Ceara things are quite diflferent. Ceylon has just 

 awakened to the value of this variety and it is only now that 

 trees are beginning to be tapped that were planted many years 

 ago. Malay peninsula never took up this variety. Central 

 America plantations are just beginning to tap. Hawaii thus 

 has a chance to be in the van in regard to solving of the problems 

 presented by this variety. At present Ceylon is a novice in re- 

 gard to tapping Ceara, but in two or three years when our planta- 

 tions are coming into bearing here, they will have had more ex- 

 perience with that variety there and will probably be of service 

 to us. However, we should solve many of these problems our- 

 selves and have a chance to be "leaders" in regard to this variety. 



This variety certainly has its own distinctive problems. Such 

 as handling of the outer bark, after the first tapping, the rapid* 

 coagulation of the latex on exposure to air, etc., etc. First tap- 

 pings are so far as they have advanced in regard to Castilloa on 

 a large scale. So that, take it all in all, the rubber growing in- 

 dustry is still in its infancy. 



Briefly, we will take up some of the questions to be answered 

 in any variety with the experience elsewhere : 



METHODS OF PLANTING. 



I. In Nurseries. — This is the most successful way in regard 

 to the Hevea. Subsequently the nursery plants are planted out 

 as seedlings or stumps. Some have used baskets for seedlings, 

 but this has been given up. Planting stumps, however, has 

 proved the best method. There has been some talk, I believe, of 



