118 



(2) The reservation of the gutta percha-providing forests and 



their working by means of a simple working plan. The 

 following extracts give the details of his proposals. 



" The systematic working of these forests should be arranged 

 for by means of a plan by which the same area would come 

 under operation after an interval of not less than five years and 

 not more than 10 years. The forest should be divided into a 

 number of blocks (from 5 to 10), and these should be gone over 

 annually one by one. The operation would consist in giving 

 more space and light to each Palaquium species tree, and in 

 uncovering the crowns of the trees by either felling or girdling 

 all trees overtopping them, interfering with their side develop- 

 ment or tending to suppress them. At the same time, care must 

 be taken not to too suddenly isolate trees that have till then been 

 growing under dense shelter. 



" All trees over a certain size, say, 1 foot 6 inches in girth, 

 should be enumerated, when found, and be marked with a ring 

 of white paint, and all suppressed seedlings and saplings, which 

 are not required to form the crop in that particular place, should 

 be dug up for transplantation elsewhere. 



The extraction of the gutta percha, both from the trees and 

 the leaves and twigs, is an important matter. 



" It has been the custom of the hill tribes to cut down the tree, 

 and that has led to the disappearance of most if not all of the 

 mature trees. It is rare to find a tree over 1 foot 6 inches in 

 girth. From small incisions made in the bark, I see no reason 

 why trees should not yield up their gutta percha, just as other 

 trees yield their rubber ; but should this process fail, it will be 

 necessary to cut down the trees at a suitable age for the production 

 ot coppice shoots. In the meantime, exoeri merits shmilrl he m^le 



from 



must 



so that by the time the selected and tended areas are fit to yield 



gutta percha it will be known whether they have to be coppiced 

 or not. rr 



"Processes have been patented for extracting gutta percha 

 trom the eaves and twigs, but it is doubtful whether they can 

 be worked profitably at any distance from the forest producing 

 tne leaves. The eventual method of treating these forests 

 remain for future determination. 



" The working plan should also prescribe the planting up of all 

 blank areas, in which no Palaquium species are growing naturally, 

 the forest being gone over block by block as plants are available 

 oWwJ? 1 * 6 8 L^ ndei T l com Plete. Blanks of less than a square 

 rtS l ( n f ? ♦ 6 ) * need n0t be consid ered. This work, owing to 

 ™ir* S mtJ °! P rocurin g P^ntB, can only follow the improve- 

 ment fellings and must be independent of them. 



thl'wZv^^ 0t ™} tdhle P aths an <* lines of export, in so far as 

 £ Ttuto^X^ ^ mSUffident ' 8hould *» * Vrescrihea 



Pa1al^F%%»° ^f^tL^ e8timates the e ut ta P^cha of 

 mS "hfte t „7°p n*? 00 a Pikul (13:j 3 lb8 -)> **, 3! dollars 



