Rubber 



289 



greed of collectors urges them ruthlessly to cut down trees to extract all the rubber possible 

 rather than to tap the trees in a proper manner and conserve the supplies. The increasing 

 scarcity of rubber in accessible regions has led to efforts being made to cultivate Castilloa as 

 well as other kinds, and very large plantations are now established in Central America. 

 The plant, largely through the instrumentality of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, 

 has been distributed to many parts of the British Empire, including India, Ceylon, the 

 Straits Settlements, the West Indies, Queensland, etc. In Tobago, the dependency 

 of Trinidad, it is cultivated on a 

 commercial scale with successful re- 

 sults, and it has given considerable 

 promise of being suited to other West 

 Indian islands. In the East Indies it 

 is at present overshadowed and put 

 into a secondary position owing to the 

 success which has attended the culti- 

 vation of Para rubber, to which the 

 energies of the rubber planters are 

 now almost entirely devoted. 



It has been suggested that Castilloa 

 would form a good tree to plant where 

 shade is wanted for cacao, coffee, and 

 other crops, in the place of other 

 trees commonly so used, but which 

 yield no useful crop. This has been 

 done to some extent in Central 

 America and Tobago. In some 

 instances successful results are re- 

 ported, in others the contrary, and it 

 is difficult to lay down any hard and 

 fast rule as to whether the practice is 

 to be commended or not. 



Like other rubber-yielding plants, 

 a good many years have to elapse 

 before trees are ready to be tapped. 

 The actual age varies in different 

 countries, and in the same locality, 

 with trees under varying conditions, 

 but as a general rule it is safe to say 

 that about eight to ten years is the 

 average age at which tapping should 

 be commenced. Younger trees do 

 not yield good rubber, but a sticky 

 material containing a high proportion 

 of resin and of very low commercial 

 value. 



The worst method of collecting the 

 rubber is to cut down the whole tree, 

 make deep cuts in its bark, and ex- 

 tract every drop of latex or milk 

 which can be obtained. This is too 

 frequently done where the trees are 



20— C.P. 



By permission of Messrs. Marfarev, Shoe La~te 

 " THE REVERSED OBLIQUE 



SYSTEM 



