88 THE WHOLE ART OF RUBBER-GROWING 



and spread, and ultimately the tree that has nursed 

 them is killed that the Ficus may survive. 



It was the custom to raise the seedlings of the 

 Ficus elastica by planting in the forks of trees, 

 but the system was found to carry with it an infinity 

 of labour in the dry season in order to keep the plants 

 alive, and was abandoned in favour of the common 

 and more rational method of sowing in seed-beds and 

 planting out in the ordinary way. 



The seed, produced in a fig, is very small and 

 light, over a quarter of a million going to a pound. 

 On ripening the fruit falls to the ground ; it is then 

 collected and dried and sown on the surface of the 

 soil, where it is often three months or more before 

 germination takes place. The better plan is to sow in 

 pans or bamboo boxes, so that the drainage, which 

 is essential to success in raising the Ficus, may be 

 regulated and controlled. When the seedlings have 

 reached a stature of 2\ to 3 inches they should be 

 placed in the nursery bed 12 inches apart each way. 

 At 2 feet high the plant is impervious to ordinary cul- 

 tural risks, but needs protection from animal pests. 

 When the trees are 6 feet in height they may be 

 planted out, care being taken to stake them until 

 they have secured a hold in the soil. After that they 

 give little or no trouble. A vigorous tree six to eight 

 years old may with perfect safety be tapped twice a 

 year, much in the same way as the Manihot Glaziovii 

 is tapped in Brazil. Incisions low dow r n in the trunk 

 invariably give greater and more regular yields than 

 those made at a height of 5 feet and over, which is 

 the general custom in the older plantations. Inter- 



