trees  will  be  ready  lor  tapping,  d'he  latex  is  coagulated  by  boiling,' 
but  this  must  be  done  gently  and  can  only  be  done  after  the  ad- 
dition of  \A’ater._  It  is  advisable  also  to  stir  the  mass  uhile  boiling 
slowly  to  prevent  the  lormation  of  a porous  mass  in  which  portions 
of  uncoagulated  latex  may  be  included.  After  coagulation  the 
rubber  must  be  carefully  washed. 
So  little  is  known  at  present  as  to  Funtumia  under  cultivation 
that  any  notes  made  by  cultivators  are  worth  recording,  but  as  far 
as  our  experience  of  Funtumia  in  the  Straits  is  concerned  one  can- 
not .say  that  it  giawvs  nearly  as  ra[)idly  here  as  it  appears  to  in 
Africa. 
PARA  RUBBER  IN  COCHIN-CHINA. 
In  the  Bulletin  Economique  of  Hanoi,  (1903,  No.  15),  M.  Haff- 
NER  gives  some  notes  and  [)hotographs  of  Para  rubber  cultivation 
in  Ong-lem,  Cochin  China.  A thousand  trees  were  planted  in 
October,  1898,  in  different  parts  of  the  Experimental  grounds,  (i) 
in  very  wet  places  flooded  for  a part  of  the  year,  these  trees  all 
died;  (2)  in  similar  ground  well  drained,  moisture  at  60  centeme- 
tres  depth  in  the  dry  season;  (3)  in  land  a metre  higher;  (4)  on 
the  slope  of  a hill^  a little  less  sandy  than  Ihe  others,  where  traces 
of  moisture  are  only  to  be  met  with  at  a depth  of  6 to  i o metres 
in  the  dry  season.  1 he  best  result  has  been  obtained  from  the  last 
planting.  This  is  certainly  not  what  one  would  expect.  Another 
remarkable  feature  about  the  plants  In  this  region  is  that  they 
shed  all  their  h aves  and  remain  bare  for  four  months  in  the  dry 
season  January  to  April,  budding  again  on  the  appearance  of  the 
rains.  Judging  from  the  photographs  and  measurements  the  trees 
seem  fairly  up  to  average  growth,  but  they  are  too  young  yet  to 
form  an  estimate  of  their  value  as  rubber  producers. — Ed. 
UNITED  PLANTERS’  ASSOCIATION. 
Report  for  1902. 
Gi-:.ntlemen, 
Your  Committee  have  now  the  pleasure  to  submit  for  your 
('onsideration  the  Sixth  Annual  Report  of  the  UNITED  Elani  eRS’ 
Association,  F.  M.  S. 
During  the  past  year,  there  have  been  four  Committee  and  three 
General  Meetings  at  which  there  has  been  a fair  attendance.  We 
recommend  that  in  future  the  Committee  should  meet  regularly 
every  month,  and  that  there  should  be  an  ordinary  General  Meet- 
ing every  second  month. 
The  Selangor  Planters’  Association  was  dissolved  during  the 
year  under  review,  and  we  regret  that  the  Negri  Sembilan  Planters’ 
Association  is  no  longer  affiliated.  The  members  of  the  former 
body  have,  however,  elected  to  retain  their  membership  of  the 
IGNITED  Planters’  Association,  and  we  sincerely  trust  that  Negri 
