THE PARA RUBBER TREE 



135 



times on alternate days to a height of (5 ft. Five of 

 these trees had been used for the previous experiments. 

 The same systems of tapping were employed as before, but 

 in addition the half-herringbone method was also tried. 

 The retm-ns from the individual trees were not kept 

 separate in this case, but the total yield of dry rubber 

 from the seven trees was 237 lb., equal to 54 oz. per 

 tree during a period of two months. 



4. Diu-ing the latter part of 1910 all the Para trees 

 in the Gardens havmg a girth of 18 in. or over at 3 ft, 

 from the ground were tapped. The number of trees 

 was 118; they were five to six years old and had an 

 average girth of 20 1 in., the largest measurmg 28 in. and 

 the smallest 18 in. The tapping was done on the half- 

 herringbone system to a height of 5 ft. and was continued 

 on alternate days for fom* months, each tree being 

 tapped fifty- two times. The total yield of dry rubber 

 from the 118 trees wa,s 50' 3 lb., equivalent to a yield of 

 68 oz. per tree during a period of four months. 



5. A further experiment Avith 164 trees in the Gardens 

 was conducted from January 1 to March 31, 1911. The 

 trees were tapped forty-one times on alternate days, 

 and yielded 134 lb. of dry rubber, equal to an average 

 yield of 1307 oz. per tree in three months. 



The yields of rubber obtained in these experiments are 

 very promising, and if they are maintained when the 

 trees are tapped regularly for longer periods, the return 

 will be very satisfactory. 



Belgian Congo. — The results of a number of tapping 

 experiments on Para trees growing in the Belgian Congo 

 have been recorded and are summarised in the following 

 table : 



