PARA RUBBER. 157 



"These figures show that a cake prepared from Para rubber 

 seed meal may form a good cattle food, and that it contains very- 

 little indigestible matter." 



There is, therefore, in Para rubber seeds an economic product 

 which may soon become important commercially, and, providing 

 the oil is expressed from the kernels before the meal or cake is 

 made, the residue may be used in the Tropics either as cattle food 

 or manure. 



Packing Seeds for Transport. 



The difficulty of transmitting seeds of Hevea brasiliensis to 

 distant countries is well-known ; the seeds do not retain their germi- 

 nating capacity for a very long timo except great care is taken 

 in collecting and parking operations. 



Twenty seeds were sent from Singapore on Feburary L2 to 

 Mexico, where they arrived on May 2 in the same year: from 

 these fourteen plants were raised. 



Seeds of Para rubber, after being dried in the sun for a short 

 time, packed in dry earth, and sent from Penang and Ceylon to 

 India, have arrived in the latter place with only 17 and 31 per cent, 

 of loss due to the seeds going bad. They have also been success- 

 fully sent in powdered charcoal in hermetically sealed boxes or tins 

 over very long distances. From 30,000 seeds packed with charcoal 

 and sawdnst in ordinary cases, sent from Ceylon to the Gold I !oas< . 

 3,650 plants have been raised. 



Wardian eases have also been used with conspicuous success. 

 Each case is made to hold from 1,500 to :>.<><io seeds, the earth 

 and packing material forming alternate layers with the seeds. 

 From 20,000 seeds packed with moist soil in Wardian cases, sent 

 from Ceylon to the Gold Coast, some 3,400 plants were raised. 



Experiments at Trinidad \\i> Singapore. 



Mr. Hart. Superintendent . Botanic Gardens, Trinidad, assures 

 me that he always keeps Para rubber seeds damp and never dries 

 them, and objects to the use of charcoal in packing, as he believes 

 the latter abstracts the 1 moisture from the seeds. Mr. Bart informs 

 me that coconut dust is best when '" tobacco damp.'" and seeds 

 packed with this material, in small tins of I lb. or so. keep sound. 

 germinate freely, and do well when disentangled. 



The Director, Botanic Gardens, Singapore, has recently sent 

 quantities of Para seed to Jamaica. Kew. Mexico, &c, with satis- 

 factory results. The seeds were sent to Jamaica in biscuit tins. 

 packed in slightly damped incinerator earth, with the upper pari 

 filled with sawdust to reduce the weight ; the other seeds were sent 

 in biscuit tins filled with damp finely-powdered charcoal. 



' : In packing, a certain amount of care is required in damping the 

 charcoal so as to get it equally moistened all through and not either 

 over wet or over dry. This is best done by damping the charcoal 



