THE STORY OF PLANTATION RUBBER 53 



I was working against time. Sometimes, however, 

 during times of rest, I would sit down and look into the 

 leafy arches above, and as I gazed, become lost in 

 the wonderful beauty of the upper system overhead — 

 a world of life complete within itself. This is the 

 abode of strange forms of life, strangely plumaged 

 birds, and elfish little ti-ti monkeys, which never 

 descend to the dark soil throughout their lives, but 

 swing and gambol in the aer'al gardens of dainty 

 forms and sweet-smelling orchids, for every great tree 

 supports an infinite variety of plant life. All over- 

 head seemed the very exuberance of animal and vege- 

 table existence, and below, its contrast — decay and 

 darkness. Here and there a mass of orchid, carried from 

 above by the fall of some withered branch, sickening into 

 pallor, thrust out from the vitalizing air and life above . 



" I got the Tapiiyo village maids to make up open- 

 work baskets or crates of split Calamus canes for 

 receiving the seed, first, however, being careful to 

 have them slowly but well dried on mats in the shade, 

 before they were put away with layers of dried wild 

 banana leaf betwixt each layer of seed, knowing how 

 easily a seed so rich in a drying-oil becomes rancid or 

 too dvy, and so losing all power of germination. Also 

 I had the crates slung up to the beams of the Indian 

 lodges to insure ventilation. 



" I was working against time. It was true that the 

 seed would still continue to ripen, and to fall from the 

 trees for another month or so, but it would be inex- 

 pedient to risk the vitality of some thousands I had 

 succeeded in securing. The rendezvous with Captain 

 Murray of the Amazonas would soon fall due at the 

 river mouth, and if I missed that, when and how another 



