104 RUBBER AND 



nearly always be necessary. In tropical agriculture 

 two totally distinct kinds of draining are to be dis- 

 tinguished. The first is the draining of swampy land 

 for the removal of superfluous water, and the second 

 is the cutting of transverse drains on sloping land, in 

 order to check the washing away of the soil, which 

 soon occurs when the original vegetation is cleared. 



In the Federated Malay States rubber is frequently 

 planted on alluvial flats where the water level is only 

 a foot or two from the surface of the soil. In selecting 

 land for an estate in such a situation it is important 

 to remember that provision will have to be made for 

 carrying off the drainage water to a river or to the sea. 

 For this purpose canals of some size may have to be 

 specially constructed, and it may be necessary to acquire 

 the land occupied by the canal beyond the boundary of 

 the estate proper. The necessary canals are usually^ cut 

 by government before the sale of the land. In soil of 

 this kind numerous open drains are required, which may 

 be as much as three or four feet deep and two or three 

 feet wide. In some cases a drain is needed between 

 each row of trees, and the trees themselves are planted 

 on ridges formed by the materials thrown up in digging 

 the drains. In the Southern Province of Ceylon a 

 certain amount of rubber has been planted in swamps 

 similarly drained. 



A large part of the rubber in Ceylon and other 

 countries is however planted on comparatively steep 

 hillsides, and here an entirely different system of 



