CCCXVIIL— PARA RUBBER IN CEYLON. 



As stated in the Kew Report for 1876, p. 8, Mr. H. A. Wickham, ;•: 

 resident on the Amazon, was commissi. :; ni i v the India Office to 

 collect seeds of Hevea brasiliensis. He arrived in England on June 

 14th with 70,000 seeds obtained on the Rio Tapajos, and on August 

 12th following, about 2,000 plants raised at Kew from these seeds w<>n- 

 despatched to Ce\ Ion in ;;.s Waidian ease-. Xinety per cent, of the 

 plants reached their destination in p ■■v-'- ■■■: condition. A further con- 

 signment of 100 plants was sent in 1,^77. making the total number of 

 plants transmitted to Ceylon 2,119 (Kew Report, 1877, p. 15).: 



The following correspondence gives tin tir-t result of the experiment 

 which affords anything like commercial data for deciding whether the 

 cultivation oi' lliis staple would be a payiug enterprise in the Old 

 World :— 



Dr. Tbimen to Royai 



. Gardens, Key 





[Received Febru 



ary 6th, 1893.] 





rabber (2 lb.) from Hevea bi 

 Garden, Ceylon, in 1892. 



-asiliensis grown 



in Heneratgoda 



ee from which this was obtai 

 a circumference of 6 ft. 5 in. 



^L^ZboJ 



ears old, and the 

 the ground. 



now been tapped three tin 



ie B , and has giv 



en the following 



„ 1890 „ 

 „ 1892 „ 



2 lb. 10 4 oz. 



2 lb. 13 oz. 





i total of 7 lb. 2$ oz. of dry r 



ubber in five year 





"ee is in no respect the worse for this treati 

 years permitting the scars on the trunk to b< 



^ec^pL^f; 





(Signed) H: 



EXRY TlHMEX. 



3RS. Hecht, Levis, & Kahn to Royal Gai 



?dexs, Kew, 



21, Mi 



Incing Lane London, E.C. 



Dear Sir, 7ch February, 1893. 



We have received your yesterday's letter, 



very good inde 

 effected in the ] 



in large quantities. 

 We return the sample to you, according to your desire. 

 We remain, &c. 

 (Signed) Hecht, Levis, & Kaiin 

 John R. Jackson, Esq., 

 Royal Gardens, Kew. 



