384 



The object of the rubber planter is to produced healthy vigorous 

 rubber trees containing large supplies of latex as quickly as possible. 

 The climate in Malaya is for such a purpose ideal, sunshine 

 and rain and a moist atmosphere of an equable temperature — the 

 conditions aimed at in a forcing house. The"! soil cannot be described 

 as rich though it is physically good and allows the passage of water 

 and air both of which are necessary for vigorous root action. 



Various writers on the subject of growing rubber have recom- 

 mended the use of shade trees for growing young rubber and used as 

 an argument the fact that wild rubber trees in Brazil grow in dense 

 shade, yet those who have seen the healthy rapid growth of para 

 rubber trees grown in the open in Malaya and observed their height 

 and girth are satisfied that such conditions are suitable, probably the 

 most suitable, for the vigorous growth of young rubber. 



The conditions to be aimed at for the portion of the plant above 

 ground are an equable, moist climate with a temperature not too high 

 for the healthy growth of the plant cultivated. These conditions we 

 have all the year round in Malaya. 



The conditions to be desired for roots are briefly ; — a soil so con- 

 structed physically that it is not too loose to retain the water which 

 is necessary for growth and yet not so close as to become water 

 logged and prevent the access of air, which is also necessary, the soil 

 must possess a sufficient amount of nutritive substances for the for- 

 mation of plant tissue. The soil must be moist and shaded for these 

 are the conditions under which the formation of plant food in the soil 

 takes place. 



The conditions present for the development of roots of rubber 

 trees can be and are very largely dependent upon methods of cultivation 

 and it is not difficult to see that the methods at present adopted are 

 not calculated to produce the best results and are at the same time 

 costing a large sum of valuable labour. 



The coffee or tea planter in Ceylon and Malaya is a firm believer 

 in clean weeding and has perhaps never seriously considered whether 

 this method is suited to all cultivations in all climates. Weeding is 

 practised in the corn fields and gardens of Britain therefore it should 

 be used in the plantations of the East. Clean weeding is good farming. 

 A good farmer at home is known by the freedom of his land from weeds 

 ergo a good planter in the East must show bare earth between his 

 plants. But the conditions in the two cases are totally different ; 

 little or no harm is done in Britain by exposing the soil to the sun 

 and rain, incalculable harm is done by exposing good friable soil in the 

 tropics to baking sun-light and downpours of rain. 



The cultivations are different and the growth of cereals, roots or 

 other temporary crops in England can have little to teach us in regard 

 to methods to be employed in rearing forest trees in the tropics. 



Bacteria which are largely responsible for the continuous supply 

 of plant food to the roots cannot exist in a dry baked soil and the 

 roots themselves cannot live under these conditions. 



The soils in Malaya are physically excellent in their structure 

 though not chemically very rich and possess the requisite amount of 

 plant food for para rubber cultivation. Many places require little or 



