RUBBER 273 



Ceylon, and some few to Perak in the Malay Peninsula. Of 

 those sent to Ceylon the greater number survived and 

 flourished, while seven of the Perak ones were planted in the 

 garden of the Residency at Kuala Kangsar. Later on plants 

 were reared successfully at Singapore. 1 It is from these small 

 beginnings that the present enormous production of British 

 rubber has sprung. 



Climate. Hevea brasiliensis requires both heat and moisture, 

 but it does not as a rule do well in a swamp ; in the Tapajos 

 Plateau, where it thrives abundantly, the soil is exceedingly 

 well drained. 



It will grow in suitable climates within latitudes 15 N. 

 and 15 S. of the equator, but of all the places in 

 which it is cultivated, the Malay Peninsula seems A 



to present the most favourable conditions. \ / 



The Malay Peninsula. Here the climate is hot ** 

 and damp, but moderated by sea-breezes, and 

 there are no extremes of heat and cold, and no 

 long dry or wet season ; the rain is abundant, but 

 evenly distributed throughout the year. 



Along the coast are extensive lowlands, but 

 farther away from the sea the country is undulat- 

 ing. In the middle of the peninsula, stretching its whole 

 length, are lofty mountains. The rubber plantations are on 

 the lowlands and the undulating country. Much of this region 

 was already under coffee, and in that case it was merely 

 a question of planting rubber instead of coffee, but the 

 greater part was primaeval forest, and this had to be cut 

 down and burnt. 



CULTIVATION. After the ground has been well prepared, 

 the little seedling rubber trees are planted. As the object in 

 growing a rubber tree is to obtain a tree with as big a trunk 

 as possible, plenty of room must be left between each tree ; 



1 In his Annual Report for 1882 Sir Hugh Low, the British Resident in 

 Perak, states that ' seeds and plants of Hevea brasiliensis have been distri- 

 buted to Java and Singapore, to Ceylon and India '. 

 2203 



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