PARA RUBBER. 23 



In its native home the tree becomes Leafless between March and 

 July. 



The annual leaf-fall should be taken into consideration if the Para 

 rubber trees are inter/planted with other products, as the leafless 

 phase usually occurs when the dryness and temperature of the air 

 are at the maximum, and the inter crops will therefore be exposed 

 to the dry hot winds at a time when rain is not expected. 



Root System. 

 The tree has a very well-developed root system which may ulti- 

 mately crowd out many inter crops if planted too close. The tap 

 root may grow to a considerable length and the lateral rootlets form 

 a very compact mass. It is on account of the rapidly-growing, com- 

 pact, and superficial root system that plants such as the coconut 

 and other palms, tea and coffee, cannot be grown successfully for 

 very many years in conjunction with Para rubber. The lateral roots 

 grow at varying rates according to the conditions prevailing, but if 

 grown alone on moderately good and flat land, an incremental yearly 

 increase in radius of about 10 to 12 inches can be allowed for. In 

 six to seven years the lateral roots of plants distanced 12 x 12' may 

 be expected to meet ; when planted 10 x 15' the larger distance will 

 be covered in 7 to 8 years. The rate of development of the lateral 

 root system is of considerable importance as will be shown when 

 dealing with weeding, inter crops, and manuring. 



Propagation of Plants. 



Hevea brasiliensis usually seeds freely after its fifth year. Mat- 

 ure trees can be expected to give about 500 seeds per year, though 

 individual trees or special groups have been known to yield fewer 

 seeds and others twice this quantity. It is interesting to learn 

 that on the above basis — each tree producing 500 seeds each year 

 after its fifth year — that a single five-year-old tree and its off- 

 spring will yield in 20 years no less than 4,000,000,000,000 seeds. 



The yield may, however, suffer reduction owing to excessive tap- 

 ping, bad treatment, and disease, and it is therefore satisfactory to 

 know that this plant can be propagated from cuttings. The first 

 plants sent from Ceylon to India and the Straits were rooted cuttings, 

 and the most remarkable feature of the consignment was that the 

 cuttings were taken from plants only one year old. It is possible 

 that many of the plants now in the Straits and India are the offspring 

 of the original cuttings despatched in 1877, and the fact that they 

 produce plants capable of yielding latex in desired quantity and 

 quality should be reassuring to planters in the event of seed supplies 

 ever becoming unsatisfactory. 



Shade and Wind. 

 In the F M. S.. according to Carruthers, the shading of rubber 

 plants is generally of very little importance owing to the absence 

 of severe droughts in that part of the tropics ; it is only 



