4* 



CHAPTER IV. 

 Hevea Brasiliensis. 



PREPARING A CLEARING CLOSE AND WIDE PLANTING— 



THE EFFECT OF WIND HOLING AND WEEDING 



MANURING. 



TN speaking of a "clearing " one has in mind 

 ■*• an area of stripped jungle such as is to be met with 

 in the Mid-East, where the mass of alienated Para 

 rubber is located. This work is most economically 

 performed by contract, and the cost, which should 

 include roading and draining, ought never to exceed 

 30 Rs. (£2) per acre. Operations are usually com- 

 menced in the dry season, so that the cleared land 

 may be ready for planting during the rainy period 

 that follows. Perhaps the most serious problem 

 present-day planters are faced with in this connexion 

 is that of the distance at which his trees should 

 stand. It is a problem which for the last seven 

 years has caused more controversy than any other 

 question associated with the industry, and it is as 

 burning a topic in the tropical bungalows to-day as 

 ever it was, with never a sign of agreement in 

 sight. The reason is not far to seek, and if there 

 be any call to frame a complaint in the matter, it 

 should be laid at the doors of the Kew authorities 



