2 8 PARA RUBBER. 



Large heavy seeds invariably give better results than small 

 lightbnes. 



When purchasing seeds obtain them from growers who make 

 a practice of seed selection, and adopt scientific methods of 

 cultivation and disease prevention, as such seed must necessarily 

 prove more satisfactory than that from careless growers. Seed 

 which has to travel long distances should be packed with dry 

 material and preferably with powdered charcoal. The seed and 

 packing material should be placed in layers with sheets of stout 

 paper or some similar substance between each layer to prevent 

 the powdered charcoal, or whatever is used in its stead, working 

 out from between the seeds in transit. 



SEED SOWING. 



Tjie^s^ejsjriay_either be raised in seed beds, singly m ^bamboo 

 pots, or directly in the situations it is intended the trees shall 

 occupy in the plantation. 



When seeds are scarce, sowing them in bamboo pots or 

 baskets is perhaps most satisfactory, for by this method the roots 

 of the plants are not as much disturbed when they are transferred 

 To the plantation as is the case when they are lifted from 

 nursery beds. While, if seeds be sown out direct in the planta- 

 tion, and a spell of dry weather follows, a large number will fail 

 to germinate. When large numbers of plants are to be raised, 

 it is advisable to select a well-sheltered spot possessing a rich, 

 light, friable soil and near the site for the plantation. On this 

 temporary nursery shelters should be constructed by fixing stout 

 upright posts about 8 feet high, in lines 10 feet apart each way, 

 and then on these cross bars, the whole sufficiently strong 

 to support a thin layer of palm leaves, split bamboos, or some 

 similar material. Under this the bamboo pots or baskets should 

 be placed. If it be decided to sow the seeds in beds, these should 

 be made 8 feet wide, i.e., one bed between each row of posts, 

 and allow the intervening spaces to serve as paths in order to 

 facilitate the work of watering and weeding the beds. It will be 

 found that under such a shelter the work of watering will be 

 considerably lessened, and when germination takes place the 

 young seedlings will be protected from heavy rains and scorching 

 sun. The beds should be thoroughly dug up to a depth of about 



