iug a borne, a community and a state, none of which things can 

 result from the efforts of the rubber man. lie may hope to ^row- 

 rich some time and return to civilization — but he never does. If his 

 shipment this year brings a good return at Manaos or Para, he 

 spends the money freely in relaxation after a year's drudgery ; if 

 not — and too often this is true — he begins the new Year in debt to 

 his merchant, and to the other features of a hard life, is added the 

 dispiriting task of paying off old scores. 



Of course we may say that these men are not obliged to hunt 

 rubber against their will, and of course people in civilized lands to 

 whom the use of rubber brings added luxuries are not called upon 

 for svmpathv for their exiled fellovvmen whose work contributes so 

 much to their comfort. At the same time we feel that our readers 

 will at least be interested, now and then, in such side lights on the 

 business of collecting rubber as explorers may happen to give us, 

 even if for no other reason than it helps to explain the high cost 

 of the chief raw material of their industry. One other considera- 

 tion is that, with the business of gathering wild rubber attended 

 by such conditions, which it seems impossible to improve, the cul- 

 tivation of the product in more favourable latitudes receives its 

 strongest encouragement. 



" India Rubber World January /, /yoj, p. 10J." 



Recovery of Para rubber Trees injured by fire. 



LUMUT, 

 January jjt/i, njoj. 



Dear Sir, — I noticed in the Agricultural Bulletin in a report on 

 fungoid growth on Para Rubber in Ceylon that the Director of 

 Agriculture refers to the great recuperative powers of para rubber 

 trees. I was aware of the fact that if a tree were broken by wind, 

 etc. it would sp-out again, but do not know if any observations 

 have been recorded with reference to fires. I therefore write to let 

 you know of a case I have noticed here, you may have heard of 

 similar ones, if not, the following may be of interest. 



There are three young trees in a Chinese plantation planted with 

 young coconuts, they are about 4" in diameter, the only trees to be 

 seen in the neighbourhood and struck my eye owing to their being 

 on the edge of the bridle path, their height is about 15 to 20 ft. 



Some months ago I noticed that the laiang, etc., had been burnt 

 and that the Para trees appeared to have been destroyed too, they 

 had lost all their leaves and the bark was scorched and blackened. 

 Lately, perhaps a month or six weeks ago, I saw that they were 

 sprouting again and to-day when riding past I got off to examine 

 them more closely. 



The first tree is sprouting about 4 or 5 ft. from the ground on 

 the trunk, one side of it is dead the bark coming away in flakes and 

 the wood on being cut being dead, new bark is forming a ridge 



