189 



that obtained for the best Para. It has heretofore been thought 

 that Funtumia rubber could not compare in value with the product 

 of Para or of Oastilloa." * 



Funtumia Rubber in Ceylon. 



From the Report for 1906 of the Government Entomologist 

 Ceylon (vol. ill.. No. 22, December, 1906), it is to be gathered that 

 the experimental cultivation of Funtumia elastica in that island 

 has proved unsuccessful owing to the injury caused by a leaf- 

 rolling caterpillar, Caprinia conchydalis, Green. The report is as 

 follows : — 



" The pests of the various rubber-producing trees have naturally 

 attracted considerable attention, but with the exception of a leaf- 

 rolling caterpillar that defoliates l Kickxia rubber' (Funtumia 

 elastica), no really serious insect pests have yet asserted themselves 

 in Ceylon. 



"We cannot, however, rely upon any long-continued immunity. 

 With the great extension of rubber plantations now in progress 

 fresh pests are sure to appear. It will behove rubber planters to 

 keep a careful watch for any signs of attack. If taken in time 

 most insect pests can be checked. Fortunately, latex-bearing 

 trees— while in good health— are self-protected from bark and 

 wood-boring insects. This protection is lost when, from any 

 cause, the supply of latex is reduced. Root diseases have so far 

 proved the most fertile source of such debility, and are almost 

 invariably followed by the invasion of « white ants ' (Termites) 

 and boring beetles of various kinds. These insects are generally 

 wrongly credited with the death of such fungus-infected plants. 

 Any attempt to penetrate the latex-bearing tissues of a healthy 

 rubber plant must inevitably result in the defeat and probable 

 death of the invader. The period of latex-reduction that follows 

 systematic tapping will be a time of danger, and artificial means 

 oi protection may be necessary at such times. Careless tapping, 

 resulting in injury to the cambium, will render the trees particu- 

 larly susceptible to attack. ' Ceara rubber ' trees, under tapping, 

 appear to be exceptionally liable to disease, and many fatalities 

 trom this cause have been recorded. 



" The cultivation of 



impracticable 



iu ^eyion owing to tne systematic assaults of a leaf -rolling cater- 

 pillar (Caprin ia conchy dal is, Green). Defoliation commences 

 even in the nursery and is continued during the growth of the 

 plant, at more or less regular periods of three months, when the 

 young trees are denuded of every single leaf. Under such cir- 

 cumstances it is impossible for the plants to make good growth, 

 and it is surprising that they even continue to exist. The pest 

 can be checked by repeated spraying with arsenical compounds ; 

 but on a large clearing this would be quite impracticable, or at 

 least would render the cultivation of this species of rubber 

 unprofitable in comparison with the hardier Hevea." 



Funtumia Rubber in the East Africa Protectorate. 



The subjoined information is extracted from Colonial Report, 

 No. 519, East Africa Protectorate, for 1905-6, p. 80, regarding the 

 Government Experimental Station at Meritini (Mazeras). 



