February 1, 1913.] 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



245 



MR. H. A. WICKHAM AND ONE OF HIS TREES. 



PROBABLY everybody in the rubber industry is more or less 

 familiar with the story of Mr. H. A. Wickham and the 

 cargo of Hevea seeds which he gathered along the Amazon in 

 1876 and carried to Kew Gardens in London. Charles Goodyear 



than he is at present — when he first conceived the idea of plant- 

 ing Hevea trees on soil under English control. He was e.vplor- 

 ing the Amazon Basin, not particularly well known in those days, 

 when he saw the great forests of Hevea trees, and it occurred 

 to him that these trees could be made to grow under the very 

 similar conditions that obtained in India. 



may properly be called the father of the rubber industry, but 

 Mr. Wickham is certainly the father of the rubber plantations. 

 It was 50 years ago — when he was a considerably younger man 



>[r. Wickh.\m .\nd One of His Origin.\l Seedlings. 



He went back to England and tried to interest his friends, but 

 they thought his scheme much too visionary. However, finally 

 he interested the India office and returned to the Amazon in 



