113 Sap* and Exudations. 



daily at Henaratgoda. Results from the high parts of such trees are of little value 

 to the vast majority of rubber planters of to-day, and Mr. Wright is acting wisely 

 In not being enticed into replying on that point. Considering the strain on the 

 tree, the length of time and the number of coolies the first six feet will take to tap 

 economically, and the necessity of getting the trees to a tappable size as early as 

 possible, 1 consider that the discouragement of high wood formation and the 

 encouragement of fat stems at the base is what Para rubber planters should aim at. 

 This subject, so clearly put forward, should be carefully studied. Mis-interpretations 

 of the original suggestion of thumb-nail pruning, cutting away or pollarding the 

 terminal bud and leaves, &c, are bound to crop up, and it is gross exaggeration to 

 construe the recommendations to mean the cutting away of the upper half of an 

 old Para rubber tree.— Yours, &c, 



THUMB-NAILER. 



THUMB-NAIL Pruning Hev'eas.— This discussion is continued in our columns 

 to-day by an interesting contribution from "Thumb-Nailer," who has a sound 

 knowledge of the subject, and whose letter would carry even more weight had he 

 signed it with his own name. He explains the process of this pruning and its effect 

 on the young plant. We may state that this process of pruning the terminal bud or 

 topping the young rubber plant was editorially suggested in the Ceylon Observer of 

 April, 1904. The old forked trees in Henaratgoda are certainly remarkable examples 

 of the increase of girth in a forked tree. But we must again insist that readers 

 must not imagine that this discussion is a case of Mr. Herbert Wright vs. Mr. 

 Gollegde, as has been suggested. Mr. Golledge, in his first letter, referred to the 

 pollarding of a 10-12 year old tree on his estate in connection with an article 

 specially written for the Observer; but he did not once mention Mr. Wright's 

 name except in reference to his recent book. Mr. Herbert Wright has never, to 

 our knowledge, recommended pollarding old trees ; nor has this ever been recom- 

 mended in the Observer, although in our special article on January 9th, it was 

 mentioned as a certain experiment that was being carried out on a particular 

 plantation. In his book on rubber Mr. Wright suggests thumb-nail pruning of 

 young trees. Both Mr. Wright and Mr. Golledge have the interests of the industry 

 at heart, and there is no possible idea of antagonism at all. Mr. R. W. Harrison, 

 late of Culloden, is also in favour of thumb-nail pruning young trees to prevent 

 great length of stem and to induce thickness and increased tapping area. 



V. 



Upcountry, Jan. 23. 

 Sir,— It appears that one must still try to drive an idea home to Mr. 

 Golledge. That gentleman says that rubber trees never or rarely have lateral 

 branches 10 to 12 feet. Nobody ever said they had at 10 to 12 years old. Having 

 allowed a rubber tree to grow for 10 to 12 years — probably pretty close (for we all 

 planted too close at first) to other trees, he assaulted the unfortunate specimen 

 below the lateral branches, left nothing but a bare, galled and bleeding stump 

 10 to 12 feet high, and expected this to give him a yield of rubber— save the mark ! 

 I take it he hewed (or sawed) off the whole working area of a matured tree— some 

 20 feet of actively growing stem and a number of lateral branches, laden with the 

 whole crop of succulent leafage that is the Hevea's crown of glory. 



Then he howls in print (in print, mind you ! ) that this tortured tree gives 

 him no rubber— yea ! is even so obstinate that it refuses to grow in diameter. He 

 gives us no information as to what it did in height. What kind of suckers did 

 this brutally ill-used tree send up in order to try and live ! What did Mr. Golledge 

 do from the date of his primal assault in 1904, till his letter in 1906 to remedy 

 the evil he had done ? Did he relieve the tree of superfluous suckers ? Did he 

 encourage lateral growth? On all these points Mr. Golledge is dumb. 



