60 THE WHOLE ART OF RUBBER-GROWING 



CHAPTER VI. 

 Trees that Count Manihot Glaziovii. 



TAPPING FREAKS IN CEYLON - PROPAGATION IN 

 INDIA, EAST AFRICA AND ELSEWHERE - EXPERI- 

 MENTS - THE WEST INDIES, HAWAII, AND CEYLON- 

 PECULIAR HABITS OF THE MANIHOT - PROPAGATION 

 AND RATE OF GROWTH - VALUE TO THE MANUFAC- 

 TURER. 



many years the Manihot was cultivated with 

 much energy in the island of Ceylon. But owing- 

 to a lack of knowledge in tapping the tree it was re- 

 jected, and ultimately large areas were grubbed up 

 to make room for tea and other favoured crops. 



We have evidence of this from the authorities 

 themselves. For instance, in his report for the 

 year 1883 Dr. Trimen speaks of the plant thriving 

 on the new estates in the Trincomalee district, 

 and further on says : "A planted area of 977 

 acres is credited to this cultivation, but rubber 

 has not yet appeared among our exports " . At 

 that time the cultivators were, he tells us, quite 

 convinced of the excellent quality of Ceara rubber, 

 but they had not yet discovered a means by which 

 the milk could be obtained at a cost sufficiently low 

 to g"ive a return with encouraging results. 



As already described, it is the custom to re- 



