THE AFRICAN RUBBER TREE 183 



Three hundred of the native communal plantations in 

 the Central Province of Southern Nigeria were tapped 

 dm'ing 1911. A yield of 1,885 lb. 11 oz. of dry rubber 

 was obtained from 20,210 permanent trees, equal to a 

 yield of 1"49 oz. per tree. 52,166 trees were also tapped 

 to exhaustion and cut out, yielding 1,064 lb. 12 oz. of dry 

 rubber, or an average of 0"326 oz. per tree. These yields 

 agree closely with those obtained the previous year. 



Uganda. — The average yield of dry rubber from 

 mature Funtumia trees in the Uganda forests, when 

 tapped to a height of 30 ft., is placed by Fyfie at 5 or 

 6 oz. per annum. 



In an experiment conducted by Dawe in the Bugoma 

 forest, fifty Funtumia trees were taken haphazard in 

 different parts of the forest. They had an average girth 

 of 27^ in. and were tapped to a height of 22 ft. The 

 average yield of dry rubber per tree from the single 

 tapping was 3^ oz. The quantity of latex furnished by 

 the different trees ranged from 2 J to 20 fluid oz., thus 

 showing a very considerable variation in the yield from 

 different trees. 



Cluisty has published the results of a number of 

 tappmg experunents on wild Funtumia trees in Uganda 

 by the pricker method. Twenty-eight trees varying in 

 girth from 19| to 46-| in. were tapped, mostly to a height 

 of 30 ft. The yield of latex ranged from 3-13 to 20 fluid 

 oz. per tree, and the amount of dry rubber from 0"36 to 

 5*14 oz. per tree from the single tapping. 



In the Mabira forest of Uganda over 400,000 wild 

 Funtumia trees, 18 in. or more in girth, have been tapped 

 during a single year, and the average yield of dry rubber 

 per tree amounted to 3 oz. 



Cameroons. — Large numbers of Funtumia trees have 

 been planted in the Cameroons, and, according to Preuss, 

 the average yield of rubber obtained by tapping several 

 hectares of eight- to nine-year-old trees was not more 

 than 40 grams (r4 oz.) per tree. More recently the yield 

 has been increased to 60 to 70 grams (2*1 to 2*4 oz.) per 

 tree. 



Individual trees may give much larger yields, but the 

 above figures are valuable as representing the results of 

 tapping cultivated Funtumia trees on a fairly large scale. 



Belgian Congo. — The following results of tapping 



