PROPAGATION. 



brasiliensis you so kindly sent me, I have now fourteen thrifty 

 plants a foot high. I feel very proud of them. The matter is 

 worthy of record, as undoubtedly they are the first plants ever 

 raised in Mexico." 



These seeds left Singapore on the I2th February 1903, and 

 arrived in Mexico on 3rd May 1903, and were therefore about 

 three months in transit. 



SEED SELECTION. 



Too great care cannot be taken in selecting good seed, for 

 the whole life of the plant depends upon the seed. Its selection 

 for rubber planting is of far greater importance than in the case 

 of annual crops, where the sowing of poor seed in any one season 

 may generally be remedied the following year. With rubber a 

 good many years must elapse before the results are visible. 



Endeavour to select seeds from healthy, prolific trees, especi- 

 ally those with a naturally sturdy trunk and many branched 

 "crown, as these invariably afford the best tapping areas and are 

 jess liable to be broken by wind. A well-developed trunk is of 

 primary importance. It is the most accessible portion of the tree 

 for tapping, so that the greater area of bark available in this 

 region the better. 



The yield of rubber from different trees growing under 

 similar conditions in the same plantation varies to an enormous 

 extent. Vernet conducted experiments with a view to compare 

 the yield of different trees and to determine the percentage of 

 caoutchouc in the latex obtained from them. He published the 

 following results : * 



Journal d' Agriculture Tropicale, July 1907. 



