34 



The following extracts are taken from the Reports of the Ceylon 

 Botanic Gardens : — 



Report for 1890. — " Interest in this plant has of late years very much 

 died away, the yield of rubber having been found too small to satisfy 

 the planter's expectations Thus I made no report on it since 1884. 

 There are, however, considerable plantations on some estates, and now 

 that the trees are older it is found to be profitable to harvest the product. 

 Several shipments have been made to London during the past year, and 

 have realised very good prices. Of coarse the quantities have not been 

 large : one shipment of 4 cwt. fetched Is. 8Jd. to Is. 9Jd. per lb. net, 

 showing a profit here of about 37 cents (of a rupee) per lb. A planter 

 estimates the cost of collection at about 36 cents per lb. and reckons that 

 trees of eight years old afford at least 3 oz., whilst some ten years old 

 gave half a pound. The collection is done in a somewhat primitive way 

 during the dry season, January to March. After the outer flaky layers 

 of bark have been peeled off, the inner bark is pricked copiously ; the 

 tears of rubber which exude are allowed to dry on the tree and are picked 

 off, the resulting product being quite like the " Oeara Scrap" of com- 

 merce, but in small tears. 



The present opinion of planters seems to be that this kind of rubber 

 pays to harvest, but not to cultivate, and they are prepared to destroy 

 their trees to get the crop. But even on such a system (which has been 

 largely followed here with cinchona) extensive areas of bad soil could 

 surely be profitably occupied with this tree, so grown as to provide a 

 crop annually ready for tapping." 



Report for 1893. — " Ceara Rubber has not taken any hold on planters 

 here as a permanent cultivation ; yet it might, I think, be worked at a 

 profit by a system of annual planting, and the sacrifice of successive 

 crops of trees when they reach ten or twelve years. About l|lbs. of 

 dry rubber is at that age obtained from each tree." 



Central American or Panama Rubber. 

 Locality. — The Castilloa trees, Castilloa elastica, Cerv., grow in 

 Central America from south of Mexico, southwards to the west coast of 

 South America. 



Climate and situation.- They flourish in the hot steaming forests 

 near the equator. The trees will not grow in swampy ground, like the 

 Para Rubber trees, as the roots require perfect drainage. They grow 

 not only in the rich soil of the valleys but also on ridges, and in climates 

 that are dry during one part of the year. The range of the tree is not 

 only extensive from north to south but in elevation also, being found 

 from the sea-coast up to 1,500 feet. The temperature does not fall 

 below 60° and is usually between 75° and 80° F. 



Best Districts in J amaica. — Wherever cocoa grows, castilloa will also 

 grow. In Portland a tree growing on dry limestone was at 5 years of 

 age 18 feet in height of clean stem before branching, and 15 to 18 

 inches in diameter. 



Propagation. — The propagation of this rubber tree is most easily 

 effected by seed, but the seeds must be sown almost as soon as they 

 are ripe Cuttings can also be made. Cross says, that " in planting 

 out young plants, the petiole or leaf-stalk of the lowest or oldest leaf 



