332 



The Supplement to the Tropical Agriculturist 



being tapped, and one also hears of hundreds of 

 acres of old rubberbeing rested on many of the 

 leading estates. One sees gloomy aisles ef 

 closely-planted rubber trees. Between the 

 rows of the trees light never penetrates, 

 and the soil is always shrouded in dark- 

 ness. The foliage of such trees is poor 

 as a rule, and is often limited to a mere crown 

 at the top of the trees. Owing to the lower 

 branches of the trees receiving no light, there 

 is no foliage upon them, and thus deprived of 

 their function, they decay and fall off. 



Drastic thinning out of rubber trees is going 

 on on quite a number of the leading plantations. 

 On some estates, from 50,000 to 70,000 trees are 

 being cut out. It is now freely admitted by 

 many of the leading visiting agents that 40 to 

 50 trees to the acre might be the best number, 

 and at any rate about 70 trees to the acre is the 

 largest number that should be planted. If 

 thinning out is to be done, there should be no 

 half measures about it. Once decided upon, 

 the quicker it is carried out, root and branch, 

 the better. When I state root and branch, 1 

 mean literally, and do not approve of simply 

 pollarding the trees, or topping the trees and 

 letting the trunks remain in the ground, in 

 order to get some additional rubber out of 

 them. The roots and trunks should be entirely 

 removed as quickly as possible, in order that 

 the roots of the remaining trees may have a 

 chance to extend, and that the ground may re- 

 ceive some cultivation. 



When thinning out the rubber trees, I do 

 not think that too much importance should be 

 attach^ to the necessity of preserving a good 

 tapping line of trees. First of all, poorly-grown, 

 mis-shapen trees should be marked for cutting 

 out. When these have been removed, then 

 all bad-yielding trees which remain might 

 also be eliminated. Thereafter, one can stop 

 to consider whether it is advisable to still 

 further reduce numbers or not. The diffi- 

 culties of thinning and getting rid of roots are 

 not inconsiderable, and there is, of course, the 

 danger of disease from decaying roots, if these 

 are left in the ground. After all, however, the 

 roots of Hevea, especially in such closely-planted 

 estates, are comparatively small, and not like 

 those of many of the larger jungle trees. 



It is impossible in the course of a letter to do 

 justice to this subject, but the foregoing may be 

 taken as a brief epitome of my opinions on the 

 subject, 



C. E. Welldon, Esq. 



I am inclined to think that in Ceylon and 

 South India 120 trees an acre is not too many, 

 except on exceptionally good flats, and in 

 Malaya and Sumatra 80-90 trees per acre. 



From all I hear it is difficult to get trees 

 thinned out, unless you leave it to the selection 

 of the Superintendent, and allow him to uproot 

 the weaker trees and the trees that are yielding 

 the smallest quantity of rubber. 



Theoretically, I should be inclined to say, in 

 rubber planted 15 by 15 or 17 by 17 it would be 

 better to take out the alternate rows, and the 

 alternate trees, leaving the clearing 30 by 30 

 and 34 by 34 respectively ; but, practically, I 

 think it would prove the best in the long run to 

 leave the Superintendent to exercise his own 

 judgment. 



I advise lopping up the trees well, and then 

 tapping them drastically for several months, 

 prior to eradicating them.— India Rubber Jour- 

 nal, Sept. 4. 



USEFUL TREES. 



The " breadfruit " of Ceylon is a remarkable 

 tree. Its fruit is baked and eaten by the natives 

 as we eat bread, and is equally good and nutri- 

 tious. In Barbatu, South America, is a tree 

 which by piercing the trunk produces milk, with 

 which the inhabitants feed their children. In 

 the interior of Africa is a tree which produces 

 excellent butter. It is said to resemble the 

 American oak, and its fruit, from which the 

 butter is prepared, is not unlike the olive. Park, 

 the great traveller, declared that the butter 

 surpassed any made in England from cow's milk. 

 Sierra Leone has a tree which produces cream 

 fruit, which is agreeable to the taste. At Table 

 Bay, near the Cape of Good Hope, is a small tree 

 the berries of which make useful candles. It is 

 also found in the Azores. The vegetable tallow 

 tree also grows in Sumatra. In the Island of 

 Chusan large quantities of oil and tallow are 

 extracted from its fruit, which is gathered in 

 November or December, when the tree has lost 

 it leaves. The weeping tree of the Canary 

 Islands is a kind of arboreal freak. This tree in 

 the driest weather will rain down showers from 

 its leaves, and the natives gather up the water 

 from the pool formed at the foot of the trunk 

 and find it pure and fresh. The tree exudes the 

 water from innumerable pores situated at the 

 base of the leaves,— Weekly Gagette, Aug, 30, 



