200 



the quality was highly valued : — some of the samples as high 

 '. per lb., a price equalling that of the best Para 

 itchouc. 

 From the peculiarity of the tree not yielding juice freely by 

 wounding the bark, and the juice being obtained from the 

 g branches, 1 would suggest that the tree be cultivated 

 and the young branches cut, in the same manner as oak coppice 

 in England. The tree grows rapidly ; but I doubt, notwith- 

 standing its rapidity of growth and hardiness, if it would bear 

 having its branches cut annually, or even once in two years. 

 For a beginning I would recommend its being cut every third 

 year. However, cutting annually and biennially might be 

 tried for a number of years as experiments, in order to ascer- 

 tain what the results in yield of caoutchouc would be ; and the 

 effects of cutting each year, and once in two years, on the 

 healthiness and longevity of the trees, as compared with cutting 

 every third year. 



The branches may be cut at any season of the year, but the 

 t time for cutting them would be when the sap was most 

 abundant in the branches ; and as the tree is an evergreen, and 

 \s all the year, at least in wet localities, the best time will 

 be during the wet season. This is generally the time that the 

 sap is most abundant in the evergreens of the tropics. The 

 sap might be collected at another time, and the result in weight 

 of caoutchouc, from a given number of trees, carefully noted 

 and compared with that obtained from the same number of 

 trees during the wet season. 



When the young plants are from 1 to 2 feet in height, 

 their upward growth should be stopped. This may be done by 

 cutting off the top of the leading shoot, or by bending their 

 heads downwards, and keeping them to the ground by placing 

 a stone upon them. Both ways may be tried, but I would 

 commend the latter. By stopping the plants while young no 

 time will be lost in getting them to form coppice stools, and 

 should the plants have grown fairly well, they will likely be 

 'it for cutting to obtain caoutchouc in three or four years after 

 planting. To facilitate the cutting of the branches from which 

 to collect the juice, the stools should not be allowed to grow 

 _i,er than 5 feet above the ground. The plants maybe 

 mi thicklj together »o as to form dense masses of branches. 

 When at Babi,in March List, along with Captain Hill, we 

 made aboul an ounce and a half of crude caoutchouc from a 

 small tree, the trunk of which did not exceed 1£ inches in 





