THE PARA RUBBER TREE 



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increase in height from 6 to 10 ft. per annum and in 

 girth from 3 to 4 in. per annum. The parent trees at 

 Henaratgoda Avere 80 ft. in height and over 100 in. in 

 girth when thirty-five years old. 



With reference to the rate of growth of Hevea hrasil- 

 iensis in Africa the following particulars may be given : 



Southern Nigeria. — The six oldest Para trees in South- 

 ern Nigeria are growing in the Gardens at Ebute Metta. 

 Three of these trees had an average girth of 44" 3 in. in 

 1911 when seventeen years old, whilst the corresponding 

 figure for the other three, which were eighteen years 

 old, was 41' 8 in. 



The following particulars have been published of the 

 growth of the trees at the Para Rubber Plantation, 

 Calabar : 



The largest four-year-old tree at Calabar measured 

 21" 75 in. in girth, and several other trees of the same 

 age exceeded 20 in. 



Similar figures for Para trees growing on the Model 

 Farm at Agege are also available : 



The growth at Agege is not so rapid as at Calabar, 

 owing to the lower rainfall and the longer dry season. 



The following measurements were recorded for 260 

 Para trees nine years old which were tapped experi- 

 mentally at Orugbo during 1911 : 



