28 PARA RUBBER. 



The use of the Dadap or Albizzia stumps between Para rubber 

 plants would, I believe, be accompanied by good results. The 

 presence of a young Dadap between every two rubber plants 

 would not interfere with the growth of the latter for several years , 

 as is obvious from the previous considerations regarding the rate of 

 growth of the lateral root system. 



Pruning Young Trees. 



The Para rubber tree naturally grows to a tall slender tree, and 

 it remains to be seen how by pruning or pollarding the young plants 

 an increase in circumference may be obtained at the expense of 

 the growth in height. Considering what has been accomplished 

 with tea, where plants ordinarily growing into fairly stout trees 

 over twenty feet high have been converted into small bushes two 

 to four feet in height, it would be idle to predict the possibilities with 

 Para rubber. The prevention of the unnecessary growth in height 

 may well form the subject of many experiments. 



The plants can be prevented from growing into slender woody 

 structures by removing the terminal bud with a knife or thumb-nail 

 pruning, or, as is more commonly the case, by pruning the ter- 

 minal young leaves and the enclosed bud. If the central bud is 

 effectively and repeatedly removed, without doing considerable 

 damage, the stem cannot grow in height except by means of lateral 

 shoots ; these will subsequently require bud-pruning once they 

 have attained the required size. Buds which appear in undesir- 

 able places can be removed in the same manner, the ultimate result 

 being that a tree considerably forked and supplied with abundance 

 of foliage is obtained. The production of woody tissue in the upper 

 part of the tree is appreciably checked, and the girth of the basal 

 stem increases more rapidly than when the tree is allowed to 

 grow upwards uninterrupted. 



At Henaratgoda the trees which have forked at 7, 9, and 11 feet 

 from the ground show an increase of about 30 inches in thirty years 

 or an average of one inch, per year, throughout a long and fairly 

 reliable period. Young trees which have been bud-pruned in the 

 manner suggested above show an increased rate of circumferential 

 growth, and this means the attainment to a tappable size at an 

 earlier period. 



When Pruning Should be Tried. 



Tliis operation is impossible or useless on old trees which have 

 produced high woody stems. To cut off the whole of the stem and 

 branches above fifteen feet would check the growth of the 

 remaining stem, and such a measure is not recommended. Old 

 trees treated in this manner produce foliage, but this mainly 

 testifies to their hardy characteristics. 



The stems of plants, when less than 20 feet in height, are more 

 suitable for such an operation ; when 12 to 15 feet high the ter- 

 minal bud alone can be easily removed by thumb-nail pruning, and 



