332 



through the mass of trees above them and get into full sun, they 

 develop very rapidly, attain a large size and an exceptional strength. 



The seeds lose their germinating power in about a month. It is 

 recommended here not to wash them and especially not to expose 

 them to the sun. They are preserved in lime or in charcoal dust. 



The trees are tapped with an-instrument like a parang of which 

 the end which is square is rolled on itself so as to make a tube 

 large enough to admit the linger and sharpened, Fig. A. Another 

 shorter form with a smaller incurved point is an improved form 

 manufactured in the United States. Fig B. The incurved edges 

 are the cutting part of the instruments. 



The cuts are made horizontally, half or three quarters of the 

 circumference of the tree, on the stem and larger branches about 

 16 inches apart, of course they must not completely surround the 

 tree or they may kill it. The latex exudes in very watery drops 

 at first, this is allowed to drop on the ground and not preserved. 

 After a minute or two this watery latex ceases and a thicker latex 

 exudes which sticks in the incisions. At the end of 48 hours it is 

 taken out in the form of ribbons which are washed and dried in the 

 shade. Exposure to the sun makes it sticky. Each tree is tapped 

 4 times a year, on different sides, each tapping gives \ kilogramme 

 (half a pound) of rubber, one kilogramme per year. 



These figures however are only reached when the bigger branches 

 are tapped. When only the trunk is tapped, only half this amount 

 is produced. The tapping of the branches is very troublesome and 

 though they produce as good a latex, as a rule, the trunk only is 

 tapped. 



The incisions made by the above-mentioned tool heal up com- 

 pletely in 3 or 4 months whereas those made in the ordinary native 

 way with the machete (parang) take four times as long to heal. 



The objections to the El Baul tool are that the work is very 

 fatiguing, the cutting edge very difficult to sharpen on account of 

 its semicircular curve, and if it is not very sharp it rubs off bits of 

 the bark and so dirties the rubber. 



There seem to be two Castilloas in cultivation in Tropical Cen- 

 tral America, apparently exactly similar in appearance, but one 

 produces a very fluid latex, while in the other it is too thick to 

 flow. The trees we have here in Singapore as far as 1 have been 

 able to examine them have a very thin latex which flews very readily. 



GROWTH OP PARA RUBBER TREES. 



We give this month an interesting photograph' of a row of Para 

 rubber trees planted in Bukit Rajah estate, Selangor, to show the 

 rapidity of growth of the plant under good treatment. Taking the 

 trees in order and commencing at the left hand of the plate, the 

 following are the dimensions and age of the tree, the girth being 

 taken at a height of four feet and a-half from the ground, by Mr. 

 I\ A. Calloway : — 



