Gums, Resins, 214 [Sept. 1906. 



The Nature of the Para Rubber Tree and 

 Latex Extraction. 



By Herbert Wright. 



The second of the series of lectures on the science of rubber cultivation being 

 delivered by Mr. Herbert Wright, Controller of the Government Experimental Station 

 at Peradeniya, was given under the auspices of the Sabaragamuwa Planters' Associ. 

 ation in the Wace Memorial Hall, Ratnapura, on Saturday, Aug. 25th the subject being 

 " The Nature of the Para Rubber Tree and Latex Extraction." The interest evinced 

 may be gauged by the fact that in this remote and widely scattered district no less 

 than 50 people, nearly all planters, were present. Mr. Wright spoke for thirty minutes 

 only, his special aim apparently being to stimulate discussion on very debatable 

 questions among the planters present. The lecturer on this occasion used a black- 

 board a good deal and illustrated his points with sketches. Afeature of the lecture 

 Avas a number of slides prepared by Mr. Wright ten years ago shown under 

 a powerful microscope. Mr. John Hill presided, and there were present : — 

 Mr. R. B. Hellings, g.a., Mr. G. F. Plant, D.J., Mis. Plant, Mrs. Bartrum, 

 Miss Laing, Messrs. P. D. G. Clark, G. M. Crabbe, B. A. Thornhill, P. S. Bridge, 

 D. Robertson, L. P. Watk ins-Baker, C. Watkins-Baker, Albert Eck, J. VanDenberg, 

 D. J. Jayatileke, H. Molyneux-Seel, Arthur Watt, F. W. Bridge, J. Jeffery, 

 C. F. Emerson, R. Gordon-Forbes, L. Victor Neligau, J. William Robertson 

 S. A. Rolland, A. G. Balsillie, Harold North, W. Ferguson, P. H. Bird, C. E. Clarke, 

 A. J Ingram, F. Lecky Watson, G. H. Danvers Davy, H. A. Dambawinne, P. C. 

 Phillips, John Paterson, Charles Goodbrand, William Ingram, G. W. Greenshields, 

 H. H. Low, D. T. Gurunada, A, A. de Alwis, J. F. Martinus, D. L Dharmawardhana, 

 F. R. de Alwis, J. P. Jayawardene. A. H. Abeyratne, D. M. Seneviratne, E. J. 

 Wijesinghe, and F. T. Ellawala, R.M. 



The Chairman briefly introduced the lecturer. 



THE LECTURE. 



Mr. Wright said— Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen, most of you will 

 probably remember that the subjects of distance in planting and the pruning of young 

 Para rubber trees have already been previously reviewed and discussed atKegalla* 

 I intend to go into other matters to-day, but I shall be only too glad to hear any 

 questions or suggestions relative to my previous remarks, if any one in this audience 

 desires to bring such forward after to-day's lecture. The more we discuss such 

 points the better, since it will assist us to form definite ideas on these very debatable 

 subjects. I know that in your districts there are small acreages of rubber in bearing, 

 and that there is every prospect of a much larger number of trees being brought to a 

 tappable age and size at an early date. It is therefore desirable that we should all 

 closely study the constitution of a Para rubber tree and try to understand the 

 nature of the parts that can be tapped ; we must know exactly what we are going to 

 do to our trees, and take into account the probable effects of the methods employed. 

 As with most other subjects connected with rubber plants, our knowledge of the 

 points to be discussed to-day is very limited ; but we must make a start sometime in 

 the hope that information of a reliable kind will ultimately be in our possession. 



THE SCIENTIFIC STANDPOINT. 



I do not deliberately wish to weary you with a dry technical discourse on 

 the anatomy of the Para rubber tree or the physiology of its many parts, but I do 

 think it is necessary to fully describe the constitution and formation of the 

 channels from which the rubber liquid is obtained, Enquiries from, and interviews 



