252 THE RUBBER INDUSTRY 



buildings. Beyond this work and the weeding there is 

 little to be done after the estate is planted, until the end 

 of the third year, except to supply fresh plants where 

 those originally set out have died or been damaged, and 

 to keep a vigilant watch for the appearance of disease, 

 white ants, or other pests. In the third year prepara- 

 tions should be made for the erection of the factory, and 

 an appropriate site selected. This work should be 

 completed in the course of the fourth year, when a 

 census of the trees must be taken and those of sufficient 

 girth marked for tapping. The tapping begins when the 

 trees measure 16 to 18 inches in circumference at 3 feet 

 from the ground. 



If a catch crop of Robusta coffee is grown, more work 

 is entailed. The bushes give a first crop when two and a 

 half years old, and the question of setting up the neces- 

 sary machinery and appliances for curing and prepara- 

 tion for the market has to be considered. The coffee 

 buildings are so erected that they can be converted into 

 a rubber factory at small expense when the shade from 

 the rubber-trees causes the further cultivation of coffee 

 to be abandoned. 



However tempting a catch crop of coffee may appear 

 to be, it must not be forgotten that it entails certain 

 detrimental effects to young rubber. Whenever such a 

 crop is cultivated, the result under most favourable cir- 

 cumstances leads to an irregular growth of the rubber- 

 trees ; this means that, in place of tapping 70 per cent, 

 of the trees in the fourth year, only some 30 to 40 per 

 cent, will be available. The outcome is extra expense 

 in tapping and collecting, and also a reduced yield 

 during the fourth and fifth years. 



