23 



The half-herring-bone system of tapping appeared to 

 be the most popular one. Results published some time 

 ago showed that although that system gave the minimum 

 yield in a short period of time, yet it was one which 

 ultimately gave a large yield per tree without entailing 

 undue waste of bark. Such a system is not as drastic 

 as the full-spiral or even the full-herring-bone. 



Most of the estates are tapping from the base to about 

 five or six feet. A few, however, are going as high as 

 ten and fifteen feet. On very few estates was tapping 

 limited to the basal parts of the trees; only on one pro- 

 perty in the district were tapping operations limited to 

 the basal parts of very old trees; there the trees were 

 not being tapped above two feet from the ground, the 

 basal Y or single spiral line system being adopted. 



Raw Rubber Prices and Planters, 



The main topic among the planting community in Cey- 

 lon was the price recently paid for the raw product. 

 Planters know how dependent the issue of their ventures 

 rests on the price to be paid for rubber, and now realise 

 that their worldly possessions— many of them have in- 

 vested their last rupee in some plantation or other — are 

 subject to considerable fluctuations in value. Why 

 Ceylon planters are surprised at the change in rubber 

 prices I cannot understand, for they, more than most 

 people, have known what it is to sometimes run their tea 

 and cacao estates at a loss during periods of low prices. 

 I distinctlv remember a meeting being held at the Fer- 

 guson Hall, Kandy, in or about 1902, when tea planters 

 were seriously discussing the idea of abandoning a frac- 

 tion of each estate, when a dead loss was shown on a 

 large number of estates, and private tea planters were 

 in a very despondent state. Last year the prices were 

 near the maximum, and the whole position was changed; 

 this year tea prices are unsteady and almost wobbling, 

 and the outlook is a little uncertain. Again, one might 

 refer to the fluctuation in value of copra and cacao dur- 

 ing the last three years to convince thoughtless people 

 that rubber has so far only shown its affinity to other 

 tropical products. 



