FICUS ELASTICA. 



(Extract From Mr. A. B. Stephen's Eeport Of His 

 Tour Through Some Of The Indian Forests.) 



The India -rubber plant was first planted by the Indian 

 Forest Department in Assam as far back as 1872. Many ways 

 of planting it were tried : first of all with cuttings, and some 

 of them did very well, but as a whole they were not a success. 

 Cuttings were merely put in on the level ground, and in time 

 they sent out roots and leaves and became good sized trees. 

 Someone then said that " nature's way " was the proper method 

 to adopt, so young seedlings were planted amongst the branches 

 of the jungle trees, at their forks, a large number of these died; 

 and afterwards they were planted in baskets, and the baskets 

 and all put up in the trees with the soil, many of these may still 

 be seen up the trees and, although they are twenty years old, 

 many are scarcely any 1 jigger than the day they were planted. 

 They were iisually placed twenty or thirty feet high, and in some 

 cases seventy to eighty feet high ; the consequence has Ijeen that 

 their roots have failed to reach the ground, and so they merely 

 just exist, and do not thrive. In a few instances the roots 

 managed to reach the ground, and in these cases they flourished 

 and became large trees. After some years someliody suggested 

 seed planting, and that system has now been adopted, and is 

 considered a great success. Seed beds should be made east by 

 west for shade purposes, not over four feet wide. Raised lieds, 

 at least a foot high, with stone or brick sides to prevent wash 

 during rains, and when they are watered. The soil must be well 

 pulverised and sifted, and fine charcoal powdered up together 

 with wood ashes mixed with it, and then the seed should be 

 planted on this, and abovit three-quarters of an inch of the mixed 

 soil and ashes laid over the seed. In Assam the seed ripens in 

 December, and it is planted then and takes some three or four 

 months to germinate, but I am of opinion that perhaps if 

 planted say in the middle of February it would germinate at the 

 same time, but I may be quite wrong. After the seedlings are 

 about three inches high they are picked out into new nurseries, 

 each plant being put in at about one foot apart; here they are 

 allowed to grow up till they are three or four feet high. It is 

 then decided in which parts of the forest these are to be planted, 

 and in the forests fresh nurseries are made, thes«.; are stockaded 



