170 THE RUBBER TREE BOOK 



the latter has more decided dry seasons. Moreover, the sudden 

 access of sunlight would certainly cause the renewing cortex 

 to split, and the same might be expected to happen to the 

 original cortex, if the trees had previously been heavily shaded. 

 Because of the damper atmosphere among closely-planted 

 Hevea, the renewal in such a plantation will be more rapid 

 than if the trees had been widely planted. Here, however, 

 another factor has to be considered, viz., the amount of food in 

 the tree which is available for the formation of renewed cortex. 

 The greater part of this food is stored in the tree before tapping 

 begins, and the tree draws on this reserve to provide material 

 for reconstruction. During tapping nothing is added to the 

 stores behind the tapped areas; on the contrary, they are 

 depleted. Now, the amount of food in a young Hevea is 

 astonishingly large, and whether the trees are widely or closely 

 planted it is quite sufficient to ensure the renewal of the cortex. 

 Therefore, for the first renewal the two trees will be practically 

 equal, as far as their food reserve is concerned, while the closer 

 planted have the advantage of a damper atmosphere. The 

 latter will therefore renew their cortex the more rapidly. In 

 subsequent renewals, however, the advantage rests with the 

 widely-planted trees. When the closely-planted trees grow 

 up, their crowns interfere, and ultimately become mere bunches 

 of leaves at the top of a long stem. A crown of this kind can- 

 not manufacture an adequate supply of reserve food, and there- 

 fore the bark renewal must be slower. The influence of a 

 damper atmosphere cannot compensate for lack of food. Lop- 

 ping the trees, of course, diminishes the rate of manufacture of 

 food still more." 



While agreeing generalty with Mr Fetch's observations, 

 it is very much to be doubted if, even in the first instances, the 

 renewal of bark is quicker on young trees closely planted than 

 when they are widely planted. By young trees one may 

 presume are meant trees of five or six years of age, which have 

 been tapped for the first time. The foliage of such trees, 

 when closely planted, say 14 feet by 14 feet, or 17 feet by 17 feet, 

 is already, at six years of age, seriously reduced. The under 

 branches are, even at that early age, devoid of foliage and 

 decaying. Under such circumstances, while there may be 



