Gums, Besins, 



extra quantities of caoutchouc ; or trees 

 useful for supplying timber for the 

 estate might be planted, Manihot would 

 not be advisable, as it not only belongs 

 to the same family, the Euphorbiaceee, 

 but also to the same tribe. Fungi and 

 insects often confine themselves to nearly 

 related groups of species. 



Seed- Selection.— Anothei matter wor- 

 thy of brief mention is seed-selection. 

 Too little attention has hitherto been 

 paid to this. Estates, as a rule, have 

 been planted with seeds from Hevea 

 trees irrespective of their rubber-produc- 

 ing qualities. Selection might have been 

 commenced ten years ago to the great 

 advantage of those now about to engage 

 in Para-rubber planting, It is not too 

 late to begin, since even if the laying 

 down of new areas in rubber should soon 

 cease, old estates will doubtless require 

 some renewing in course of time. 



Suggestions* thrown out about the 

 advisability of selection nine years ago 

 were not heeded. In the interval 

 nothing systematic in this direction has 

 apparently been done. Now several are 

 beginning to see the importance of 

 turning attention to seed-selection. 

 Sandemannf has recently advocated the 

 practice strongly and writes: "The 

 matter was not perhaps so very pressing 

 at the present moment, but would prove 

 to be of very great importance if the 

 price of rubber fell considerably, and 

 especially so if that of labour rose 

 coincidently." 



Apparently there is a strain of Hevea 

 now growing in the East which is a poor 

 latex yielder but a great seed bearer. If 

 care be not taken, estates may be planted 

 with this variety, only to cause grave 

 disappointment in a few years 'time, 

 when the trees reach the bearing age. 



Now that plant-breeding has almost 

 become an exact science, largely through 

 the application of the principles of 

 Mendelism, comparatively quick results 

 might be obtained even with a tropical 

 tree. In ten to fifteen years' time seeds 

 of a valuable strain might be forth- 

 coming with which estates could replace 

 worn-out trees or plant additional 

 ground. The writer has referred in 

 greater detail to this matter in a recent 

 article. 



(To be continued.) 



* ; J. H. Hart, India Rubber World, October, 

 1900, p, 6 ; J. Parkin, idem, January, 1901, p. 105. 



f Sandemann, India Rubber Journal, 1909, 

 vol. xxxviii, p. 345. 



16 [April, 1910. 



TAPPING CEARA RUBBER IN 

 MYSORE. 



(Prom the Planters' Chronicle, Vol. V , 

 No. 7, March, 191C.) 

 (Altitude of Plantation— about 3,300 

 feet. 



Average Rainfall — 90 to 100 inches ; 

 chiefly from June to October ; occasional 

 showers in April and May, but fre- 

 quently no rain from October 1st until 

 April following). 



Example, /.—Ten of the best grown 

 trees in a 5-acre clearing, 3| years old 

 and averaging a girth of 13 inches, three- 

 feet from the ground, were tapped on 

 alternate days during October and 

 December, 1909, aud February, 1910, i.e., 

 440 tappings. The aggregate yield of 

 latex was 6.372-25 e.c. (1,795 drachms) 

 which resulted in 4i lbs. dry rubber. 



This is equivalent to 90 lbs. dry rubber 

 per acre of 200 trees for six months, or 

 180 lbs. per annum, tapping on alternate 

 days and alternate months. 



Note.— Of the above one tree proved a 

 poor milker, giving slightly less than 

 half the quantity of latex of the 

 other nine. 



Example //.—Five trees in a five year 

 old clearing, averaging a girth ot 17 

 inches, tapped as above, yielded 7,188'?5 

 c.c. (2,025 drachms) latex, which gave 

 5 lbs. dry rubber. Equivalent to 200 lb?, 

 dry rubber for the six months, or 400 

 lbs. per annum per acre. 



Example III.— Five trees, seven years 

 old, girth 26 inches. Tapped as above- 

 yielded an aggregate of 12,709-00 c.c. 

 (3,580 drachms) giving 9 lbs. of dry 

 rubber. Equivalent to 720 lbs. of dry 

 rubber per acre per annum. 



Example IV.— Two trees, ten years 

 old, with girths of 32 inches, gave respec- 

 tively 900 aud 855 drachms of latex, 

 tapped as above, which gave 2\ lbs. and 

 2£ lbs. dry rubber. Equivalent to 875 

 lbs. dry rubber per acre per annum. 



Example P.— One fifteen years old 

 tree, having a girth of 43 inches, tapped 

 as above yielded 1,575 drachms latex, 

 giving 4 lbs. dry rubber. Equivalent to 

 1,600 lbs. dry rubber per acre per annum. 



The trees appear to have suffered no 

 harm wh i tever ; I intend to tap thdm 

 again in April, while bare of leaf, and 

 again in June and August, during the 

 S. W. monsoon, and shall be curious to 

 see how the yields compare with those 

 already obtained. 



With the cheap and skilful labour in 

 Mysore, it should be possible to place 

 Ceara rubber on the market at consider- 



