120 
grow well on hill sides i m a rocky and rather poor soil. We found 
it growing in Ceara up to a height of 3,600 feet above the sea. 
It is a rapid EON and dn be tapped in "five years aed rer 
provided it has wn we believe a rai 
inches or Goins is c Suitable for it, but it will do Mh 
much less, say 65 or 70 in 
he occurrence of the mes atan elevation of 3,600 feet, and 
ihe wide range of conditions under which it appears to thrive are 
facts that have not hitherto been fully recognised. It is quite 
possible that we may yet see successful plantations of Ceara 
rubber trees established in districts that have been regarded as 
unsuitable, and under heel toe that may afford a sufficient 
yield of rubber to render the enterprise remunerative. Mr. Biffen 
has been good enough to ees the following E pannas as the 
result of Psor observations on trees in the : 
“The leaves fall in August and Beitr" Seeds produced 
very abundantly ; ripe in Se eptember; they keep their power o 
germination well. The tree is apparently yoy liable to a HN 
for rotten branches are voro mem fallin 
* Growth is very rapid: in Baturité we saw one-year old plants 
10 tc 12 feet high ; in five [a Six years it is bn A to tap; then it 
is some 25 feet high and 8 to 9 inches in diamete 
3 Propagated either from cuttings or from seeds. So far nurseries 
have failed in Ceara. Shade for established ovs is unnec 
Large plantations are now being made in the district. 
“ The tree has a singularly wide nose of inerti ; it grows 
in the desert plains where rainfall is said to be under 50 inches, 
and the se peces: = scorched up fo or the seed part of the 
year; also, in the mountains (plantation at 3,500 feet at Monte 
Alegre) wed rainfall, I should say roughly, is over 100 ae 
In the mountains the temperature falls even below 60? F. 
ni = 
* The tree is never found in marshy soil ; ui rige it thrives 
best in somewhat scanty soil among granite ‘boulder 
“ The | is exported in three forms :—(a.) In n pale sella 
brown threads, } inch in diameter and several inches in length, 
bark 
m 
palm, in a similar manner to Para rubber. So prepared it contains 
a large quantity of water, taen partially sweats out on exposure 
to the heat of the sun. exudation on evaporation leaves a 
brown resinous substance. This last method is becoming very 
general. 
* To collect the latex inel tin eups are used; each tree is tapped 
80 days, divided, by an interval of about three months, into Ad 
periods of e each. Under this system the tree is said to liv 
for 15 to 20 y 
