6 7 



TO WHAT ALTITUDE CAN PARA RUBBER 

 BE GROWN. 



A planter in the Madras Mail writes "Our ideas as to the height 

 at which it (Para rubber) can be grown have steadily enlarged. In 

 South India I have given measurements of growth at 3,500 feet, and 

 I may mention that I have plants 6 feet high from seed planted at 

 stake among coffee, in 1904. " Mr. WlCKHAM saw in the Amazons 

 trees growing at certainly over 4,000 feet, and all he saw being 

 tapped were at over 2,000 feet above the sea. The general opinion 

 however was that it does not pay to .tap trees at over 3,000 feet. 

 He suggests that this means that the trees would be smaller, and 

 thus compared with the big trees lower down would not be con- 

 sidered worth tapping. However it is stated by some persons that 

 at that altitude, the trees actually do not produce the latex required. 

 Much more information is wanted in this subject. 



If the He^ea grew in the hills of the Malay Peninsula at 4,700 

 feet anything like it does even in poor soil in the plains, it would be 

 truly astonishing. At very little over 2,500 feet altitude the whole of 

 our flora alters. At 4,000 we get a stunted class of trees small gnarled 

 of slow growth, none of which can be successfully grown in the Idw 

 country. But there is certainly a great difference in the growth of 

 plants at high altitudes in different parts of the World. This de- 

 pends to a certain extent on latitude, but also it may be noted that 

 a flora changes less from the plains upwards if the high Hinterland 

 is very extensive and very high. 



The changes in the flora of the hills at even so low an altitude as 

 2,500 feet, as on Penang Hill, show that there is a distinct altera- 

 tion in the growth and life -of the plants from that of the lower 

 slopes. Experiments on Heveas planted high up in the hills would be 

 very interesting. Some trees were planted we believe, on Gunong 

 Angsi at different heights and it would be worth trying at Gunong 

 Hijau on the Perak hills. 



Failures to grow here at such altitudes would not necessarily 

 imply that Heveas would fail at similar altitudes everywhere, but 

 the growth and yield of latex at such altitudes might throw some 

 light on physiological problems of the plant. It is hardly likely 

 that any plantations will be started at great altitudes here. The 

 steep slopes of the hills, the comparatively inferior soil and the . 

 lower temperature would all be against the plant, besides which 

 the greater part of the accessible hills are required for forestry and 

 as water sources. 



From South India we have had very bad reports of the growth of 

 Para rubber, the planter quoted seems to have a higher opinion of 

 its potentiality, though it must be said that the only measurement 

 he gives, 6 feet in two years, is decidedly poor growth. 



