RUBBER 6ll 



of bark, apparently to refresh themselves with the result- 

 ing latex. The only adequate defence against these 

 larger nocturnal marauders lies in the liberal employment 

 of barbed wire, with which all properly conducted 

 plantations should be entirely enclosed, entrance to the 

 fields being preferably dependent upon rough step- 

 ladders. Gates are too apt to be left open by careless 

 pedestrians. 



In the Belgian Congo, goats, antelopes, and wild pigs 

 invade the plantations and strip the bark from Hevea 

 trees. 



Barbed wire is of no use against the smaller mammals, 

 amongst which the porcupine may be reckoned one of 

 the most troublesome enemies of the rubber planter. 

 This animal simply revels in the succulent bark of the 

 rubber tree. The amount of damage that a single 

 .porcupine, coming night after night, can effect is 

 astonishing. I have seen the bark more or less com- 

 pletely stripped from the stems of three- and four-year-old 

 trees, from ground level up to a height of about 2 ft. 

 If, as is often the case, the injury extends all round the 

 stem the tree naturally dies, the circulation of sap being 

 completely interrupted. If a small area of bark on one 

 side escapes destruction the tree may continue to struggle 

 along in a half-starved condition, but will seldom fully 

 recover. Such invalid trees are only taking nourishment 

 that might be more usefully employed by their healthy 

 neighbours, and are best out of the way. They also form 

 a nidus for wood-boring insects of all kinds. 



The porcupine is one of the wiliest of animals and most 

 difficult to circumvent. You may sit up with a gun night 

 after night, but the animal keeps out of your way, and 

 chooses some other spot for his depredations. He laughs 

 at any ordinary trap, and has a keen nose to detect 

 poisoned baits. The Cingalese villager has more success 

 He is an adept at setting spring guns, his inborn know 

 ledge of tracking enabling him to place these in the bes/ 

 possible positions. A porcupine that had been ravaging 

 my garden for weeks, and that had defied all attempts 

 upon its life, fell a victim the very first night after one 

 of these native sportsmen had been called in. But spring 



