October, 1912.] 



267 



THE INTRODUCTION OF HEVEA BR AS t LIENS IS 



INTO THE EAST. 



[Notes on the history of rubber cultivation in the East are in course 

 of preparation. It has been considered advisable to publish the following 

 extract in the Tropical Agriculturist, as it raises points of immediate 

 interest.] 



After the successful introduction of Cinchona into India and the East, 

 it occurred to Clements R. Markham that something of the same kind 

 might be done with rubber-producing plants. The consumption of rubber 

 was steadily increasing, and owing to the destruction of the trees by 

 native methods of tapping it was anticipated that the demand would 

 soon exceed the supply. The chief rubber tree of India, Ficus elastica, 

 was being destroyed wholesale by the collectors, who felled them in order 

 to tap them more easily ; and consequently the establishment of planta- 

 tions under proper control was being strongly urged by the Forest 

 Department of that country. Under these circumstances, the Indian 

 Government were persuaded of the advisability of taking steps to ensure 

 the permanence of the industry, either by adopting the proposals of the 

 Forest Department or by introducing other rubber-yielding plants. 



Before embarking upon any expensive operations, Markham entrusted 

 Mr. J. Collins with the task of collecting all the available information 

 concerning rubber trees, in order to determine in what direction efforts 

 should be made. Collins published an exhaustive report in 1872 from 

 which it was concluded that " the establishment of plantations of Ficus 

 elastica should immediately be undertaken in Assam ; but that the 

 caoutchouc from the Heveas and Casti lloas of South America was 

 superior to, that of the Ficus and that consequently those trees should be 

 introduced into British India." 



It was soon evident that little was to be expected from Ficus elastica. 

 The establishment of plantations proved more difficult than was antici- 

 pated ; and it was stated that although Ficus elastica would grow with 

 undiminished rapidity and luxuriance in stations remote from the hills 

 it failed to yield caoutchouc. In all prob ability the latter statement was 

 inaccurate. 



It is not easy at the present day to understand why such difficulty 

 was experienced with this species, The propagation of Ficus elastica is 

 an operation which is successfully performed by the humblest nursery- 

 man, and King asserted that it could readily be grown from seed sown in 

 soil, But the same fate befell similar experiments in Ceylon. At the 

 instigation of the Home Government, Thwaites attempted the cultivation 

 of Ficus elastica in 1874, but in 1875 he reported that the experiment had 

 met with very little success ; in 1876, seeds were obtained from Assam and 

 a few plants raised, but with the advent of other species of rubber trees 

 the experiment appears to have been abandoned. It is however to be 

 noted that flourishing specimens of Ficus elastica were already in exis- 

 tence at Peradeniya, the famous row along the front dating from 1833 ; 

 and although one may feel thankful that Ficus elastica did prove a 

 failure, yet it may be surmised that the lack of success was not altogether 

 due to difficulties of cultivation. 



