412 



industry to have sufficient experience of old trees planted 

 at different distances apart to judge of this important 

 question. 



The reasons against close planting- in rubber — i.e., VI 

 feet by 12 feet, or 302 per acre, or closer — are: 



That it prevents the tree from growing with full vigour 

 and to the greatest possible size, forcing it to run up to the 

 light and giving it no room for lateral branches. 



That it increases the cost of collection of rubber, since 

 a larger number of trees have to be tapped for the same 

 amount of rubber. That if it is found necessary to give 

 the trees more room, the cutting out of a portion of them 

 is fraught with much danger to the remainder, inasmuch 

 as each dead rubber tree, root or portion of root, is a poten- 

 tial centre of root disease, and may harbour white ants. 



That the spread of fungal and insect disease is helped 

 by the crowding together of the trees. 



The advantages claimed for close planting are: 



That it gives for the first years of tapping a much 

 larger yield of rubber. There is not a great amount of 

 evidence on this point, but such evidence as there is seems 

 to point to it being true that a larger yield of latex and of 

 dry rubber can be obtained at any rate in the first three or 

 four years of tapping. It is also claimed that the closeness 

 of the trees more quickly produces shade over the ground 

 and so prevents the growth of weeds. The whole question 

 of weeding is being considered at the present time, and if 

 it is believed that to cover up the ground with a green 

 manure is the best method of cultivation, then the fact that 

 close planting reduces the cost of weeding is of no value. 



That in order to compensate for the casual losses of 

 trees, which in the course of time must necessarily occur, 

 more trees should be planted than are wanted. The an- 

 swer to this is that where trees are planted at large dis- 

 tances, 30 or more feet apart, supplies come on without 

 difficulty, and it is only in crowded estates that difficulty is 

 found in replacing casualties. 



To plant more rubber trees than it is intended to per- 

 manently keep on the estate, and afterwards by cutting out 

 to reduce the number, is a dangerous policy. Xo one 

 acquainted with diseases in plants would deny that to leave 

 the dead roots of trees of the same species in close prox- 

 imity to the roots of living trees is most likely to encourage 

 l oot fungus and insect pests, while the cost of removing the 

 roots, even if the trees are cut out when quite young, is 

 prohibitive. If a planter finds it necessary to give more 



