68 THE RUBBER TREE BOOK 



no half measures about immediately getting rid of all traces of 

 the timber or roots of hardwood trees, such as the Johore, the 

 Halebun, and others differently named or varying according 

 to the various countries. The decaying timber and roots of 

 such trees are the most fertile source of Fomes possible to 

 imagine. It is only inviting certain disaster to leave them on 

 or in the soil. 



FIG. 14. View showing Decaying Roots and Timber left on a 

 Planted-up Estate. 



The most careful inspection should be made, and all trees 

 of this description so marked after felling and before burning 

 that the stumps and roots will be easily recognized, even after 

 they have been well charred by the flames. A little pile of 

 stones beside each tree of this sort will help easy recognition. 

 If no stones are available, as is generally the case in Sumatra, 

 where stone is exceedingly scarce, an iron bar will serve the 

 purpose. These trees usually grow in clumps of four or five 

 and their roots infect a wide space. The writer has seen roots 



