1U6 THE PARA RUBBER TREE 



districts which have been opened comparatively recently 

 and where many of the trees are being tapped for the 

 first time. In the Lower Amazon region, where the forests 

 have been worked for many years, the average yield 

 appears to be between 2 and 3 lb. per annmn. 



Cultivation of Hevea brasiliensis. — The mtroduction of 

 the Para rubber tree into tropical countries outside South 

 America was successfully accomplished in 1876 as the 

 result of the labours of Wickham, who collected seeds of 

 the plant in Brazil. This mission was undertaken at the 

 instance of the Government of India in co-operation with 

 the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and the plants raised 

 at Kew were distributed to India, Ceylon, Smgapore, and 

 otlier countries. Tlie plants sent to Ceylon and Suigapore 

 were found to grow well under the local conditions, and 

 it is from these parent trees that the extensive plantations 

 now existing in Cejdon and INIalaya have been formed. 



Hevea brasiliensis not only furnishes rubber of the 

 higliest quality, but it also gives a larger annual yield tluin 

 an}'' other rubber tree. On these grounds its cultivation is 

 to be recommended in preference to that of any other 

 rubber tree wlierever it is likely to thrive, and it will there- 

 fore be of interest to consider the climatic and other con- 

 ditions under which the tree has been successfully grown. 



Climatic Conditions. — The conditions which prevail on 

 the Lower Amazon have been already described, and it 

 was at first thought that similar conditions would be 

 necessary for the cultivation of the tree. It has been 

 found, however, that the Para rubber tree possesses 

 very considerable powers of adaptation, and it is at pre- 

 sent beii^ grown successfully under very varied con- 

 ditions of temperature, rainfall, and elevation. 



In Ceylon the Para tree has been widely cultivated 

 and has been found to grow particularly well in the 

 following districts : Kelani Valley, Kalutara, Ratnapura, 

 Matale, Kegale, Galle, Kandy, Km-unegalle, and Badulla. 

 The best results have been obtained in the low moist 

 countr}^ ; but the tree is being successfully grown up to 

 2,000 ft. in the Central Province and up to 3,000 ft. in 

 the Uva Province. The mean annual temperatiu'e of the 

 low districts such as Galle and Ratnapura is about 80° F., 

 whilst at Badulla, which is situated at an altitude of 2,225 

 ft., it is 73' 4° F. In the rubber districts rain falls every 



