ful  culllvation  of  rubber.  C'limale,  soil,  transport  faeililies,  the 
quality  of  the  product,  and  the  yield  of  the  trees,  leave  little  to  be 
desired.  As  regards  labour,  this  country  is  at  any  rate,  infinitely 
better  off  than  any  other  with  which  we  will  be  brought  into  com- 
petition, excepting  Ceylon,  and  India  itself,  where,  however  some 
of  the  other  conditions  are  far  less  favourable,  ft  may  be  contended 
that  little  is  known  of  the  yield  over  a large  area,  which  is  true,  but 
on  the  other  hand  we  do  know  what  considerable  numbers  of  in- 
differently cultivated  individual  trees  have  given,  and  there  is  no 
reason  whatever  for  fearing  that  our  average  yield  will  be  less  than 
that  of  any  otlnu*  country.  The  ve^xed  question  of  the  proper  dis- 
tance to  plant,  has  yet  to  be  settled  and  your  Committee  would 
urge  upon  all  those  interested,  to  institute  experiments,  if  they  have 
not  already  done  so,  with  the  object  of  arriving  at  a definite  con- 
clusion. 'rhe  distance  perhaps  most  in  favour  at  present  is  15'  by 
15',  which,  allowing  for  sites  for  buildings,  roads,  etc.,  gives  about 
175  trees  to  the  acre.  10'  by  10'  [ilanting  provides  more  than 
double  that  number,  and  it  is  a question  for  serious  consideration 
whether  the  closer  distance  is  not  the  best,  in  view  of  the  very 
slight  additional  outlay,  and  the  fact  that  superfluous  trees  can  al- 
ways be  removed  at  will.  Providing  the  cost  of  collection  be  not 
prohibitive,  the  best  financial  results  will  be  secured  from  the  largest 
returns  per  acre,  not  per  tree,  and  although  it  must  be  apparent  to 
all  that  a space  of  10  feet  is  not  sufficient  for  a tree  with  a natural 
spread  of,  say,  60  feet  still,  it  is  possible  that  the  gross  returns 
from  six  small  trees  may  be  mnre  than  from  one  large  one,  and  also 
that  a system  of  coppicing  may  be  introduced,  or  some  other  method 
for  artificially  retarding  the  upward  and  whippy  growth,  and  thicken- 
ing the  stems,  with  a corresponding  increase  in  yield.  If  such  a 
result  can  be  achieved,  those  who  fiave  their  estates  planted  20  by 
20',  will  find  themselves  unable  to  put  matters  right,  for  supplies, 
and  additional  trees,  planted  after  their  neighbours  have  had  a vear 
or  two  start,  rarely  make  good  growth.  The  best  method  of  tap- 
ping has  not  yet  been  definitely  settled  either.  Ceylon  planters 
appear  to  favour  small  V shaped  incisions  cut  fresh  every  day. 
Short  herring-bone  cuts,  gradually  widened  out  by  the  daily  removal 
of  a thin  slice  of  bark,  to  make  the  latex  flow’  afresh,  are  most  in 
vogue  in  this  country,  and  some  interesting  experiments  are  now 
being  carried  on  in  the  Singapore  Gardens  under  the  direction  of 
Mr.  Ridley,  which  may  prove  to  be  the  best  of  all.  The  injury  to 
the  tree  is  practically  nil  only  a small  piece  of  bark,  about  2"  long 
by  wide,  being  removed  at  a time,  and  although  the  daily  yield 
is  naturally  very  much  less  than  by  the  other  methods,  the  clits  be- 
ing few  and  far  between,  still  it  seems  probable  that  tapping  mav 
be  continued  almost  the  whole  year  round,  whicli  of  course  has  also 
an  important  bearing  upon  the  distribution  of  labour.  The  curing 
of  the  latex  is  now  so  thorouglily  understood  that  no  remarks  upon 
the  subject  are  called  for  here,  but  your  Committee  would  draw 
your  attention  to  the  unanimous  opinion  of  all  the  manufacturers 
that  absolute  j:)urlty  and  freedom  from  foreign  matter,  is  the  most 
importaiit  point  of  all.  The  latex  is  easily  strained,  and  all  impuri- 
