522 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[August 1, 1912. 



and very thrifty. One's doubts are renewed, however, when 

 examining some twenty or thirty Castilloas on the other side of 

 the hill. They are 

 not thrifty, nor 

 would they be 

 picked as pos- 

 sible producers 

 of more than 

 two or three 

 ounces per tap- 

 ping. It is grad- 

 ually dawning 

 upon planters 

 that the Castil- 

 loa will grow al- 

 taost anywhere, 

 but it will pro- 

 duce profitably 

 only under the 

 most favorable 

 conditions. 



For some time, 

 as the planters 

 began to doubt 

 Castilloa, their 

 hope centered 

 upon Funtumia, and from 20 to 30 thousand of these beautiful 

 trees were planted. The yield, however, was not satisfactory 

 and they turned to Hevca Brasilieiisis, of which there are about 



St. Clair Experiment Station, 

 proper soil in which . to plant 



S.\MPLES OF Rubber, Expemment Station, Trinid.vd. 



not only for help in determining 

 rubber, but to secure expert ad- 

 vice on diseases, 

 insect pe.sts, tap- 

 ping tools and 

 methods of co- 

 agulation. It has, 

 therefore, been 

 necessary for the 

 Experiment Sta- 

 tion to be equip- 

 ped with the best 

 tools, and also 

 with simple 

 and efficient ap- 

 pliances for turn- 

 ing the milk into 

 a merchantable 

 rubber. In the 

 CISC nf the Cas- 

 lillna. for ex- 

 irnple. they have 

 done away with 

 both the Mexi- 

 can style and 

 that of the Mid- 

 lion prevalent in Tobago. That 



die East, and tap in the fash 



is, an enameled cloth apron is placed about the base of the trees 



Funtumia, 10- Year-Old Trees, St. Marie Estate, Trinidad. 



one hundred thousand trees now planted, on the island. 

 The planters naturally look to the scientists in charge of the 



Native Assistants Tapping, Experiment Station. 



to catch the latex. Then with a 2-inch chisel and mallet, hori- 

 zontal incisions are made about 1 foot apart up to 30 feet from 



