24 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
[July 1, 1899. 
grow more or less horizontally, so that main shoots 
must be used. "When cut back the- main stem produces 
buds from the axils of the leaves, and these may in turn 
be used as cuttings, and so on. Cuttings should be 
at least 'A inches long, with a basal portion of old 
wood, and perhaps 12 inches is better, as described 
for the case of Para rubber. 
The young plants should be planted out during rainy 
weather in prepared places. Holes should be dug 
and filled with well-prepared sandy, loamy soil. If 
the plantation is to consist of trees of CaitiUoa only, 
they may be put at about 12 feet apart, or perhaps 
better a little closer. If other products are to be 
cultivated between the rubber trees, the distance must 
be much greater. The young trees must be shaded 
for a time, and probably it would be best if they 
were lightly shaded for two or three years till they 
reached a height of 2 J feet or so. This might be 
effected by planting them, for instance, on land al- 
ready bearing such light shade trees as are used for 
cacao. On parts of estates where the canker has 
rendered it needful to cut out the cacao it might 
be well worth while to try ihe Ca.ifilloa. The ground 
should be kept clear of weeds and the trees watered 
in dry weather of long duration, until they reach 
sufficient size to take care of themselves. 
Kate of Ubowth. — The tree grows fairly rapidly at 
first, and soon reaches a height of 10 or more feet. From 
the annual Administration Eeports of this Department 
the following extracts have been made with reference 
to this subject. In 1878 Ihe original trees were two 
years old, from time of planting out as cuttings ; 
some were 16 feet high, and 16 inches round the base 
of the tiunk. In 1880 the largest tree at Henaratgoda 
was 17 inches in girth at a yard above the soil. In 
1882 the largest tree there was 46 feet high, and 26 
inches round at a yard above the soil. In 1834 its 
girth was 324 inches ; in 1886, 38 inches ; and it 
began to show signs of less rapid growth, so that it 
only reached AOi inches in 1888, 42.^ in 1890, and 43^ 
in 1892. Up o about the tenth year, therefore, at any 
rate the tree may apparently be counted upon to grow 
well'; and even though the subsequent growth is slow, 
the yield of rubber seems to increase considerably. 
After reaching a girth of about 2 feet or 2 feet 6 
inches the trees may probably be tapped for milk. Com- 
paring the above measurements with those given in the 
circular on Para Rubber, it will be seen that Castilloa is 
distinctly slower in growth of the two and probably a 
plantation of Para rubber would reach the girth of 2 
feet (average) in two years' less time than one of Cat- 
tilloa. 
Tapping. — The tree should not be tapped till it 
reaches a girth of at least 2 feet. This should be 
attained in a period of perhaps nine years on the 
average, and it would be better to wait for two years 
more if possible till a girth of perhaps 2 ft 6 in is reached 
After the eighth year there would probably be a 
fair number of trees in the plantation ready for 
tapping, and of course the number would increase 
every year till all were sufficiently large for the purpose. 
The milk of this tree flows much more freely than 
that of Hevea, so that one cut seems to drain a much 
larger area of the stem of its milk. The native 
methods of tapping are mostly very wasteful, and 
also often cause the death of the trees. Sometimes 
the method described under Para rubber, by cutting 
V incisions at frequent intervals, is used, and so far 
this seems to have been the only one used in Ceylon. 
We have found that the milk here runs so freely a that 
simple sloping cut is sufficient, and that there is no 
need to make the V. If this method is used the 
cuts need cot be so close together as in Hevea; they 
may be 3 or 4 feet apart instead of 1. Sometimes 
the whole tree is cut down and incisions made in 
the bark as it lies on the ground. Other methods 
are to out spiral groves round the tree for some dis- 
tance up, or to make a main channel on cne side of 
the stem with lateral cuts leading into it. These 
methods are almost sure to kill the tree, at any 
rate after a few years, and only the first-mentioned, 
the method of simple incisions, should be used with 
caltivated trees, 
Further details of methods will be given in succeed- 
ing Circulars of this Series. The general principle 
recommended is to attach four or five tin cups at 
distances of a few feet apart up the tree. Single 
oblique incisions are made, one above each cup, and 
the milk is collected and washed into a vessel 
with a tap at the bottom. Probably the best machine 
would be a glass churn with tap at base, fixed so 
as to revolve about a horizontal axis. The milk ia 
left to stand, when it separates into a cream con- 
taining all the rubber, and a beery, fluid below, 
which is run off by the tap. The cream is mixed 
with water, churned, left to stand, and the process 
repeated. The rubber is thus obtained almost pare 
in three washings, and the cream ia poured out to 
dry on a porous surface, when a thin sheet of per- 
fectly dry and almost pure caoutchouc is obtained in a 
short time. 
Yield. — Till further experience has been gained 
we do not know how much tapping is advisable in 
Castilloa, nor how much it will stand. The trees 
in the Island, so far as tested, yield very well, bat 
it would be premature to draw any general conclu- 
sions. A few trees of about three feet girth 
gave an average of ri ounces of rubber each from 
one day's tapping. Probably three or four tap- 
pings might be done every year without serioM 
injury, but this remains to be investigated. The 
amount of rubber is not much larger than 
in Para trees of similar age, but it was collected 
from a quarter of the number of incisions, thus very 
much reducing the cost of its collection. It mast 
also be remembered that this rubber was perfectly 
dry, whereas the driest rubber prepared by the old 
methods contained 10 per cent, or more of water. 
The cost of opening plantations of rubber will be 
found in the preceding Circular. The probable return 
in the case of Castilloa is larger than in the case of 
Para, and its cost of collection is less, bo that the 
cultivation of this plant as a bye product in favour- 
able localities may be recommended to planters. 
Neither kind of rubber can be safely recommended 
as a principal product. Those who wish to plant it 
on a large scale would probably do better in countries 
further east. 
Literature. — The following books and papers, 
among others, relating to Castilloa, may be consulted 
in the Library at Peradeniya. The initials and figures 
indicate their place in the Library: — ■ 
Hooker, Sir J. D., and Dyer, W. T. T., 
on the Castilloa elastica of Cervantes, 
and some allied rubber-yielding plants. 
Trans. Linn. Soc. Series II-, Vol. II., 
p. 209, 1885 .. .. .. G 1 
Morris, D , Cantor Lectures on the Plants 
yielding commerciil Indiarnbber, 1898., M 6 
Morris, D., The Colony of British Hon- 
duras, pp. 74, 80 .. .. .. P 6 
Seeligmann, G., Lamy, and Falconnet, 
Le Caoutchouc et la Guttapercha, Paris, 
1896 .. .. .. .. M 6 
Forei(^n and Colonial Office Reports : 
F. O. Misc., 1894, No. 322 (Colombia) ) ^ . 
Do 1895, No. 385 (Mexico) [ ' * * 
Kew Bulletin of Miscellaneous Information, 
December, 1887 .. ... .. J3 
Trinidad Bulletin, August 1898, p. 115 . . B 3 
Tropical Agriculturist : Feb. 1883, p. 682 ; 
November 1884. p 301 ; March 1885, 
p. 697, &c. .. .. I 1 
John C. Willis, 
Director, Royal Botanic Gardens. 
Peradeniya, April 7th, 1899. 
The Para Rubber Trees are described as 
doing splendidly in the Kalutara district and 
there ought to be a line show all over the place 
in a few years, 
