CHAPTER V. 



PLANTING AND CULTIVATING. 

 SITE FOR PLANTATION. 



AT one time it was considered absolutely essential to plant 

 the Para rubber tree in swampy land to grow it successfully, 

 in consequence of the reports of travellers that it was only to 

 be found growing in such situations in its native habitat. This 

 theory, has, however, been proved to be untenable, and many 

 failures have been experienced by planters who endeavoured 

 to cultivate the tree under these conditions. 



It thrives best on damp, low-lying lands composed of deep, 

 rich alluvial soil, but it will grow satisfactorily on others. As 

 previously stated, I have seen it growing vigorously in Ceylon 

 at elevations varying from a few feet to nearly 3,000 feet above 

 sea-level, and where the annual rainfall varied from 70 to 

 150 inches. 



Mr Francis Holloway, of Kepitigalla, Matale, Ceylon, 

 writing in reply to an inquiry whether Para rubber would be 

 profitable if grown at an elevation of 1,600 to 1,800 feet, says: * 



" I am now tapping some trees at about 1,600 feet on a 

 hillside, and am very pleased with the excellent results obtained. 

 Trees at this elevation, although a good deal smaller than the 

 ones of the same age at a lower elevation, are now being proved 

 to yield better than those lower down. They only require one 

 incision in the morning, and the cups are emptied at n a.m. 

 and replaced under the same cut immediately, and are again 

 emptied at 3 p.m., thus giving the same yield from one cut as 

 would be obtained from two cuts on trees at the lower elevation. 

 I have never been able to do this at the low elevation, as the 

 latex does not flow at 10 a.m. This is proof positive that Para 

 rubber yields better at 1,600 feet than at 600 feet. I think this 



* India-rubber Journal, 3Oth March 1903, p. 335. 

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