Gums, Resins, 



104 



RUBBER AT HENARATGODA, CEYLON. 



POLLARDING HEVEAS : HIGH TAPPING: SCIENTIFIC COAGULATION. 



We were a square party who sat down to dinner at the Henaratgoda 

 Resthouse one evening not long since. All were, of course, interested in the topic, 

 the one great all-absorbing topic of the day in Ceylon— Rubber, and all had a hand 

 more or less deep in the industry. There were the Inventor, the Scientist, the 

 Planter, and the Writer. The last of the quintet, the Company Promoter, was 

 missing, but he turned up next morning betimes having dossed for the night at 

 Veyangoda. 



The rubber experiments plantation, for that is what the Henaratgoda 

 gardens are now in addition to being a botanical garden, is but a walk from the 

 Resthouse, and the tappers were just commencing their morning's task when we 

 arrived next morn. The visit to the plantation resulted in Avhat was really 

 a practical lecture and demonstration on the rubber tree, and the working of it 

 to the best advantage, the Scientist being the " spokesman," while the four others 

 put forth questions and opinions and desired solutions of various knotty points, 

 of which more later. The Inventor, as becomes such a remarkable man, had plenty 

 of good statements to make ; but, like many of the bon mots of the Company 

 Promoter, such things are not all meant for the public, nor is it good for them 

 to hear them. 



POLLARDING HEVEA BRASIL1ENSIS. 



Passing the grove of the old original Para trees— and these parents of 

 the plantation rubber industry always inspire respect— we came to the plantation 

 of trees of different ages raised at Henaratgoda, and on one of them the wood- 

 cutters were at work. The middle one of three imtapped 10 year old trees } 

 all about the same girth, was being cut away at 15 ft. from the base. 

 Now the Scientist came to the fore and commenced his story. 



" In a Hevea plantation," was the drift of his Avoids, " we don't necessarily 

 want lofty ti ees with tall straight stems. What is required is a very big-girthed 

 trunk of about 15 ft., with plenty of foliage on the top. To obtain this I recommend 

 pollarding the young trees at about 15 to 20 ft. from the base ; this may induce a great 

 annual increase in the girth of the stem and consequently you may have a much 

 enlarged tapping area. You don't usually want to tap higher than 15 ft. Of 

 course, I cannot, at present, recommend pollarding 10 year old trees— this one is 

 being done solely as an experiment to compare its growth with these two trees 

 beside it. What I do recommend is thumb-nail pruning young trees when they've 

 reached a height of 12 to 15 ft in order to induce lateral branch growth and an 

 increased amount of foliage." 



" What is thumb-nail pruning ? " interjected the Planter. 



" This," said the Scientist, demonstrating by taking the main shoot of some 

 plant growing near and nipping off the tiny terminal bud with his thumb-nail, 

 " that prevents any further growth in length and induces the stem to thicken 

 and throw out side shoots. We have found here that by pollarding young tree g 

 an increase of girth growth is obtained of one inch per annum ; that is 3 — 4 year 

 old pollarded trees are equal to unpollarded 4— 5 year old trees ; and thus we can 

 equal in Ceylon the extra growth of the Malay Peninsula." 



The natural proof of this is seen in trees that begin to fork a short distance 

 from the ground, for pollarding has the same effect as natural forking. Of the 

 oldest Henaratgoda trees (30 years from seed) most are trees with tall straight 

 stems, while a few are forked at 7 to 11 feet from the ground. The average girth 

 of the straight trees at a yard from the ground is 75 inches, the average of the 

 forked trees is ICS inches ; while one tree forked 11 feet from the ground girths 

 110 inches and two others 109 inches each ! (Fuller particulars on this interesting 



