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that no greater mistake could be made than to start plantations 

 of this tree in the plains of Bengal. This is true also of many 

 parts of the world where the tree has been introduced. In spite 

 of the abundance of the tree under cultivation in the tropics of 

 both the Old and New World it has nowhere proved valuable for 

 the production of rubber except in the mountainous parts of Assam. 

 The Conservator of Forests says: "it requires an exceedingly 

 damp atmosphere to do well," and therefore thrives best at the 

 foot of the mountains. As these conditions do not exist in Natal, 

 and as from our experience of the tree in these Gardens, I judge 

 the yield of sap to be very small indeed, this plant may very 

 safely be left out of our calculations. 



Hevaa brasiliensis (Mull Arg).- — A large tree which is usually 



GO feet in height, with a diameter of (3 inches when first tapped 



for the juice. The rubber obtained from it is known as " Para " 



and fetches the highest price in the market. It is a native of the 



forests of the Amazon, where it abounds and attains a large size. 



The soil in which it grows is deep and rich, mainly alluvial, 



sometimes a stiff clay, and is frequently inundated during the 



wet season. The temperature is very equable, ranging from 73 



to 95 Fahr.j the mean for the year being 81. This condition of 



temperature is an important one, as is proved by the failure to 



grow these trees in Northern India, where the nights of the 



winther months are cold, while in Ceylon and South Burma it is 



said to be a success. The highest monthly rainfall of about 15 



inches is in April. The rest of the year is called the dry season, 



though there is scarcely a week without some showers. The 



atmosphere is excessively damp. The bulletin of the Botanical 



Department of Jamaica, from which the foregoing is condensed, 



says : — " The Para rubber will probably only succeed in Jamaica 



in districts with an annual rainfall of 75 inches, at elevations not 



at any rate greater than 2,000 feet. In Assam the plant failed, 



and it is stated that this failure had been anticipated, and is 



attributed to the comparatively low temperature in Assam. Dr. 



King, Director of the Botanic Gardens, Calcutta, reports that — -" It 



is in vain to hope that this species can ever be cultivated to profit 



in this part of India, I believe it is useless to try it anywhere in 



India, except in the South of Burma, the An damans, or perhaps 



in Malabar. While plants in Ceylon were 30 feet high, those of 



the same age in Calcutta were barely feet. In the same year 



(1879) Dr. Kirk says — " The Para is a less quick grower than 



the Ceara, and does not branch." In 1880 the late Dr. Trimen, 



Director of the Botanic Gardens at Peradmiya, Ceylon, says : — 



" The cultivation of Para rubber will be probably found to be 



satisfactory only in rich land, when the temperature is high and 



equable and the rainfall large," if these statements are correct, 



and I believe they are, all hope of successfully cultivating the 



Para rubber plant in Natal may certahdy be abandoned, 



