106 



fairly quickly. An account of this fibre and its possibilities 

 will appear in an early number of this ''Bulletin." On 

 many estates the swamps in which para rubber grows only 

 precariously or not at all could be more profitably planted 

 with Sago for the sake of its attaps, which at present can be 

 sold at a good price. An account of this plant may be 

 found in the "Agricultural Bulletin" January 1895. 



The main points in putting down catchcrops expected 

 to pay is not to put down something which is consumed to 

 only a small extent, and with which the market would be 

 easily over-stocked. Patchouli and Papain are cases in 

 point. The Department of Agriculture is always ready to 

 supply statistics about tropical products, and its library, 

 which is already fairly extensive, is at the disposal of plant- 

 ers who wish to read up the literature of any particular 

 product. 



I notice that the upper lateral roots of rubber trees lie 

 much deeper where intertill age has been practised than in 

 the ordinary clean-weeded virgin jungle soil. 



Pruning. 



The question of pruning is still an unsettled one, and 

 the majority of planters regard topping with disfavour. 

 At any rate thumbnail pruning is preferable to cutting of 

 a top two or three inches long. In the latter case a leader 

 never grows up ; two or three branches come out of the same 

 level and at a wide angle. In a year or two when their leaf 

 spread is larger one or more of these branches breaks off 

 leaving a gaping wound in the stem, and which offers an 

 entrance to wound-fungi. I think it is not wise to assert 

 that pruning should or should not be followed. Much de- 

 pends on the situation, the soil, and the rapidity of growth 

 of the trees. Certain trees branch naturally at a suitable 

 height; others grow up to 15 feet and higher without 

 branching and these might certainly be helped by judicious 

 pruning. 



It is generally recognised now that all branches should 

 be cut off when quite young up to a height of at least 10 

 feet, as tapping will ultimately be done to this height at 

 least ; a good clean step is wanted, and branches or big scars 

 left where old strong branches had been cut off will only 

 interfere with high tapping. 



Formerly when two branches grew off near the ground 

 both were allowed to develop on the view that double the 

 tapping area would be available. Planters with old trees 



