138 



sufficiently obvious lies in the fact that branding sheets and 

 blocks would prevent theft. 



T. W. M. 



PRECOCITY IN RUBBER TREES. 



Dear Mr. Ridley, 



With reference to your article in the August num- 

 ber of the Bulletin on " Precocity of Rubber Trees" 

 it may interest you to learn that on 23rd Dec. 1908 we 

 successfully raised seedlings from seed obtained from a 

 Para tree planted as a stump in June 1906 : the fruit set in 

 28 months, and the resultant seedlings sprouted 30 mouths, 

 from date of planting out the stump. 



Over fifty trees flowered within 28 months of planting 

 out the stumps and four of these set fruit within 30 months. 



In all cases stumps were not more than 12 months old 

 when planted out. 



As to the undesirability of such "precocity" I would 

 quote the opinion of Sir W. T. Thiselton-Dyer of Kew 

 Gardens "I am not aware of any grounds theoretical or" 

 tl practical for thinking that the age of the seed parent" 

 4 'makes any difference to the offspring in the case of" 

 "Para rubber or any other tree. The first Para plants" 

 "were sent from Kew to the Straits Settlements in 1876:" 

 "it may be presumed therefore that all the trees now" 

 "growing there are the progeny of comparatively young" 

 4 ' parents. ' ' 



Yours faithfully, 



Frank E. Lease. 



Note on above. Air. Lease's trees though very pre- 

 cocious are not much more so than the ones mentioned in 

 the paper referred to as their age works out to 40 months 

 from seed i.e. 3 years 4 months. The objection to precocity 

 is not based on any supposed weakness of the offspring of 

 the trees, about which as Sir William-Tliiselton Dyer says 

 we have no evidence but upon its action on the tree itself, 

 i.e. whether or no such trees are short lived. In the case 

 of Nutmegs fruiting in three years instead of the normal 

 seven, it is strongly believed and there is some evidence for 

 it that such trees die out more quickly than the normal ones. 

 There is no advantage to be gained by the rubber planter 

 in his trees fruiting early, but there is a great advantage 

 in their being large and stout trees early. In the early 

 fruiting trees I have seen and mentioned the stems were 



