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The Supplement to the Tropical Agriculturist 



rubber tree in Ceylon is such that a cir- 

 cumference of 20 inches cannot be attained 

 much before the fourth, fifth or sixth year, 

 it is obvious that, under ordinary methods of 

 cultivation, all ideas of extracting rubber from 

 trees under these ages should not be encouraged." 

 It is therefore abundantly clear in our opinion 

 that early yields and correspondingly quick 

 profits may be obtained at a far greater cost 

 than the R500 necessary to be put in posses- 

 sion of the secrets of the new system. 



As to the effect of the system upon the tree 

 itself, we are precluded from discussing this 

 freely because it would be unfair to the inventor 

 of the method to publicly state the manner in 

 which latex is extracted under his system. It 

 is, however, generally known that the bark of 

 the tree is conserved and left practically intact. 

 It is upon this point which doubt exists. 

 Rubber is extracted at present by removing 

 the bark of the tree : the existing doubt, as 

 put to us, is "whether, after a period of tap- 

 ping, the latex cells will re-fill and continue 

 to yield rubber." The point may be better 

 understood when we remind our readers that 

 "the bark, or — as it is better termed — the 

 cortex, is formed from within outwards ; new 

 cells are continually being formed which push 

 the older ones outwards. All these cells, at 

 some time or other, are liable to undergo decom- 

 position and to assist in the production of 

 well-defined tubes which become filled with 

 latex." Will this action continue when the 

 tree has been tapped some time under the 

 new system ? Two years is the time esti- 

 mated to elapse before this can satisfactorily 

 be proved by experience. Personally we do not 

 regard this as a grave menace to the industry 

 although it is a point upon which we should like 

 to have the opinion of a competent scientific 

 authority. It would appear, however, from an 

 opinion expressed by Mr. Herbert Wright in a 

 lecture at Kegalle, (assuming the point above 

 alluded to is satisfactorily settled) that the new 

 system is well-calculated to effectively prevent 

 the danger of vital injuries to the tree being 

 effected during tapping by the old method. Mr. 

 Wright said :— 



It is not in the extraction of latex that the 

 harm is done, so much as in the removal of the 

 bark containing that substance. The bark or 

 cortical tissue, which is removed in tapping 

 operations, contains organised systems of ele- 

 ments which are of vital importance to the plant 

 and on their health and continuity depends the 

 perfect distribution, mainly from above down- 

 wards, of the food materials elaborated in the 

 leaves. As a store house and conducting channel 

 the cortex is of vital importance to the plant, and 

 if it is removed too quickly, the life of the tree 

 may be endangered. The rapid stripping of the 

 bark is an unnatural process, analagous, perhaps, 

 to the treatment meted out to cinchona trees — 

 though they did not flourish long— but not com- 

 parable with the natural peeling away of dry 

 bark. During ordinary tapping operations the 

 cortical cells are excised while they are in a 

 living condition, and are entirely removed at a 

 time when they contain reserve food intended 

 for the use of the plant ; it also differs from the 



natural peeling of the bark, in so far as the 

 average operator exposes the inner and more 

 delicate and vital components of the cortex and 

 cambium to atmospheric influences. Such treat- 

 ment does affect the vigour of the trees, and if 

 cortical stripping is effected much more fre- 

 quently than once in three or four years, I 

 anticipate trouble in the future. 



It is well in this connection, and in connection 

 with the letter which appears elsewhere, of Mr. 

 H. A. Wickham (the veteran introducer of Ama- 

 zon rubber into Kew, whence it came to Ceylon 

 and the East) to remember that the latici- 

 ferous system of the rubber trees has no vital 

 association with other parts of the tree, and is 

 not like the circulatory system of human beings; 

 it is almost useless during the life of the tree 

 and persists when the tree is apparently dead. 



The latter of the two points dealt with above 

 is, however, one upon which our scientific 

 advisers are best able to sit in judgment. If 

 they pronounce the system one which can 

 bo safely practised, it is certainly going to be a 

 splendid thing for the industry, if utilised only 

 on matured trees ; because in other respects 

 it undoubtedly does all that it claims. The 

 first point comes within the comprehension of all 

 interested in the rubber industry. By sending 

 rubber from immature trees to market we may 

 secure quick returns for a time ; but the rub- 

 ber is bound to be less resilient and strong 

 than that of our competitors taken from older 

 trees. It will snap when stretched, and the 

 inevitable tendency will be to throw the Ceylon 

 plantation industry into disrepute with the 

 buyers. This is a serious consideration and 

 one that should be carefully weighed before 

 the new system is applied to thousands of 

 young trees, the rubber from which is not really 

 lit to be placed on the market. 



OPINIONS OF PLANTERS. 



I. 



March 19th. 

 Deae Sik,— In your interesting article on the 

 new system of tapping rubber you lay too much 

 stress, I think, on Mr Herbert Wright's ideas, 

 now getting rather out of date, I had the plea- 

 sure of having as my fellow passenger on my 

 voyage out in the "Omrah " last November, the 

 Chairman of the Lanadron Rubber Estates. 

 This Company spares no expense in having 

 scientific experts on their Johore property, who 

 are in touch with their consulting Chemists in 

 London, Messrs Clayton, Beade & Stephens, and 

 so far as these experiments had gone to Autumn 

 of 1908, the summary arrived at was thus:— 



" The quality of the Rubber is not affected 

 by the age of the tree that yields the latex." 



The effect of such tapping on the future life 

 history of the young tree cannot yet be deter- 

 mined, but the summary deals effectually with 

 your fear that such tapping on young trees will 

 affect the quality of the Rubber itself.— Yours 



