67 



wait a year or so longer for their Para trees to come into 

 bearing^. 



I fully believe that the growth of Hevea in many parts 

 of Java can be as rapid as in the best Selangor districts, 

 and in a few instances it is second to none. But on most 

 of the estates I visited the growth was not what I ex- 

 pected it to be from considerations of the climatic and soil 

 conditions prevailing. The less rapid growth can, I be- 

 lieve, be partly explained by the intercropping, absence 

 of drains, and prevalence of weeds, which characterise 

 the properties I refer to. The system adopted is a very 

 safe one, and is sometimes cheap; but it does not allow 

 the Para trees to develop as rapidly as they might do in 

 such ideal soil. When one has a soil on which coconuts 

 can be brought to the productive stage in five years, and 

 tea crops average 800 lb. per annum, he has some ground 

 for expecting the Para trees to grow at the rate of six 

 inches in girth per annum. I was shown some trees, re- 

 puted to be five years old, which girthed 32 inches. Such 

 growth should be the rule, and not the exception in Java. 



Seed Selection in Java. 



It was to be expected that Java planters would wish 

 to select only the best seeds for their Para rubber estates; 

 they have, from past experience, been taught how im- 

 portant seed selection is in tropical agriculture. I was 

 therefore not surprised to read a translation of a circu- 

 lar issued by the Chairman of the Ned.-Ind. Planting 

 Syndicate in which the desirability of selecting seed for 

 this year's planting was suggested. The circular was 

 issued in consequence of a very suggestive letter received 

 from a member of the Syndicate's committee. The letter, 

 freely translated, was as follows : — 



" Up to now practically all the Hevea seed planted in 

 Java in recent years has come either through agents or 

 direct from Straits estates. There has been no question 

 of choice of seed trees for Java planters. Further, the 

 cost has been high, and the seeds for the most part have 

 been very slovenly packed. 



" Although it is clear that experience has not yet taught 

 us which of the various kinds of Hevea should be adop- 

 ted for seed parents, it appears to me that trees of which 



E2 



