TREES THAT COUNT — MANIHOT GLAZIOVII 7 1 



of an inch in diameter and a foot in length. But the 

 top and bottom of the cutting should show the bud or 

 leaf scar close to the terminal ends, the bottom bud 

 being buried two inches in the soil and the terminal 

 above ground dressed with white lead (in a thin coat) 

 or paraffin to prevent canker and decay. They should 

 be set out 6 inches apart in rows 2 feet wide, and 

 shaded for the first few days if possible, although 

 this is not absolutely necessary where cuttings are 

 plentiful and the rainfall not too heavy. 



In the Philippines it is the custom to protect the 

 seed beds and newly planted areas by sowing among 

 the rubber a crop of corn or palay. This provides 

 shade, prevents washing of the soil by the rains, 

 and at the same time obviates weeding. From an 

 economic point of view this is an enticing departure 

 in rubber culture, as palay is a very profitable crop, 

 but it cannot be interplanted with rubber that has 

 entered upon a second year's growth. If planted in 

 over-rich soil Manihot invariably shows a marked ten- 

 dency to branch low down, which spoils its appear- 

 ance and depreciates its value as a latex-yielder. But 

 if it be planted on hard ground, it throws up a fine 

 long bole 9 feet to 10 feet in length before it begins 

 to branch at all. 



That Ceara will yield at two years of age has been 

 proved at Witu, East Africa, and on the San Nicolas 

 Plantations, Nicaragua (Central America). From a 

 report on the latter experimental station we gather 

 that twenty-one trees aged fourteen to twenty-one 

 months, with an average age of eighteen months, 

 were tapped, and gave together 7-i lb. of dry rubber. 



