126 



THE PARA RUBBER TREE 



These results are, of course, from trees of all ages, but 

 a large proportion in each year were being tapped for the 

 first time. In 1908 the percentage of trees tapped for the 

 first time in Xegri Sembilan was much lower than in the 

 other States, and the results from 306,376 trees in that State 

 averaged 3 lb. 2| oz. of rubber per tree. On several 

 plantations in Malaya yields of from 7 to 8 lb. of rubber 

 per tree per annum have been obtained from trees seven 

 to nine years old and 10 to 11 lb. from trees eleven to 

 twelve years old. 



Wright has made an analysis of the returns published 

 by a large number of Malayan rubber companies, and he 

 gives the following summary, from which exceptional 

 yields have been excluded, as illustrating the results which 

 are being obtained on different estates * : 



In Ceylon the rate of growth of Para trees is not so rapid 

 as in Malaya, and as a rule the trees are not ready for 

 tapping until they are a year older. Lock considers 

 that Para trees grown in Ceylon under suitable conditions 

 of climate and soil willyiekl at least lOo lb. per acre in the 

 seventh year, 150 lb. in the eighth, 250 lb. in the ninth, 

 and so on, increasing as the trees become older. This 

 is admittedly a conservative estimate, and the published 



* Ilcrai braailioisis, or l'(iru liubbrr, by Herbert Wright, 4tli ctlition, 

 pp. 283, 291. 



