460 
THE TROPICAL 
AGRICULTURIST. 
[Jan. 1, 1904. 
direct fiom Mexico and elsewhere, and may prove 
to be different from the originaliy imported form. 
When young tlie tree grows rapidly upwards, 
and forms a number of short/ lateral branches, 
which after a time drop ofiP, being; detached 
from the trunk by a peculiar joint, whose 
surface resembles a piece of coral. The bark is 
rather soft anil thick. The leaves fire large and 
oblong. The flowers are borne when the tree has 
reached some considerable size (in the fifth year 
or later) and has begun to form permanent bran» 
ches. They are nioncecious., male and female on 
the same branch, enclosed or embe^ided in a top- 
like common receptacle, which is covered exter- 
nally with smrtll leaves. This subsequently forms 
a somewliat fleshy fruit, containing numerous 
small seeds about ^ inch in diameter, with white 
papery seed coats. About 800-1,000 seerls weigh 
a pound. They do not keep well, and should Lie 
sown as soon as possible, 
Cultivation. — The seeds are sown an inch deep 
and about 8 inches apart, in a well prepared nur- 
sery- and lightly covered with a little vegetable 
mould. They are kept lightly shaded, and watered 
when ihe surface of the ground is dry. They 
germinate in about three weeks. lu ten or twelve 
months the young plants are 2 feet high and ready 
for planting out. 
Cuttings (a.t least 3- inches long, with a basal 
portion of old wood) may also be taken ; those 
from lateral branches have a tendency to grow 
more or less horizontally, so that main. shoots must 
be used. The tree in its native country inhabits a 
warm, steamy climate, like that of the low country 
of South-West Ceylon, and is rarely found above 
1.500 feet. The most common situations are in 
alluvial soil at the sides of valleys or on low 
ridges. It needs deep, warm, loamy soil, with 
plenty of water, but does not thrive where the 
soil is swampy, nor in places where there is not 
good drainage at the roots. It grows best where 
the temperature never falls below 60°, and in a 
district with a well distributed rainfall of at least 
70 inches. The most promising localities in 
Ceylon are the lower mountain districts, such 
as Matale, Rambukkana, Balangoda, Passara. 
The young plants are planted out dtiring rainy 
weather in holes filled with well prepared sandy, 
loamy soil. If the plantation is of Castilloa only, 
they are usually put at about 12—15 feet apart. 
The young trees are shaded for a time ; po.esibly it 
•would be best if they were always lightly shaded 
like cacao, Castilloa being a forest tree. It is 
sometimes itself used as a shade for cacao or for 
other crops. The ground is kept clear of weeds 
and the trees watered in dry weather until they 
reach sufficient size to take care of themselves. 
The tree grow.s fairly rapidly at first, and soon 
reaches a height of 10 or more feet. The largest 
of the original trees at Henaratgoda at si.x years 
old was 46 feet high and 26 inches in girth at 
a yard above the soil ; at ten years old its girth 
was 36 inches, but afterwards it grew more slowly. 
Tapping, &C. — The tree may be tapped when 
it reaches a girth of at least 2 feet or 2 feet 6 
inches. After the eighth year there will probably 
be a number of trees in the plantation ready for 
tapping. 
The milk flows much more freely than that of 
Bevea, so that one cut seems to drain a much 
larger area of the stem. Tiie native American 
methods of tapping are wanteful, and often cause 
the death of the trees. The method described 
under Para ii^bber, by cutting "V" incisions at 
frequent intervals, seems to be the only one used 
in Ceylon. The milk here runs so freely that a 
simple sloping cut is sufficient, and there is no 
need to make the V. A sharp knife should be 
used, as the milk flows more readily and the wound 
is less ragged, Tlie cuts need not be so close 
together as in Hcvea ; they may be 3 or 4 feet 
apart instead of 1. A large quantity of milk 
flows frcm an incision, so that tins holding 150 c.c. . 
or 4 ounces, must be u.sert. The incisions are about 
an ir.eh long, and should be confined to one side of 
the tree, or to not more than thiee-fourths of 
its circumference at a time. Tlie milk is placed in 
a glats churn or other receptacle (machines for the 
purpose are occasionally used) in which it can be 
shaken. On standing, the caoutchouc floats to the 
top as a cream. The beery fluid below 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 pure in three 
creamings, and the cream is poured out to .dry on 
a porous surface, when a thin sheet of perfectly 
dry and almost pure caoutchouc is obtained in a 
short time. Good results are obtained with less 
trouble by the use of the centrifugal machine, 
first applied to rubber separation by Biffen. Sam- 
ples of Oeylon Castilloa rubber, prepared by Mr 
Parkin by the creaming method, were submitted 
to MM. Michelin et Cie, who reported that they 
were "rubber in very clean sheets, unusually fine 
for Castilloa." On washing and drying the rubber 
lost nothing in weight. The film contained 9178 
per cent, of pure caoutchouc, 7 54 per cent, of 
resins. Till further experience has been gained 
we do not know how much tapping 
is advisable in Castilloa, nor how much 
it will stand. A few trees of about 3 feet girth 
gave an average of 5 ounces of rubber each from 
one day's tapping. Probably three or four tappings 
might be done every year without serious injury, 
but this remains to be investigated. The tree is 
not very resisienc, and in some cases at Henarat- 
goda has died back completely, apparently as the 
result of a number of tappings carried on four 
years ago. Trees in the Matale District, about 
twelve years old, have yielded IJ to 2 pounds of 
rubber a year. It is sometimes stated that rubber 
may be obtained from saplings or from the young 
twigs, thus saving many yiars in obtaining a 
return, but Parkin's experiments showed that in 
Ceylon at any rate the latex in young stems 
contains no caoutchouc, but a sticky substance 
like bird-lime, which he terms viscin. The best 
Castilloa rubbers appear on the market as sheets, 
and are valued next to fine Para. Ceylon samples 
have obtained 3s. 6^d per lb at a time when fine 
Parawas valued at 4s 2l\,— Circular (No. 7 ) of the 
Royal Botanic Gardens, Ceylon, for December 
1903. 
«, 
The Stanmobe Anamallay Coy. Ltd.— 
is at present in the stage at which the 
Directors cast their bread upon the waters ; 
or in other words the period at which money 
is expended in opening land and preparing 
it for cultivation. Further opening is to 
be done shortly and in consequence further 
shares are to be issued. The prospects of 
the Company are on the whole encourag- 
ing and it was stated by Mr. Maclure that 
by 1st January 1908 there should be a return 
of 12 per cent on their whole capital from 
tea alone. We direct attention to the iiiterest- 
ing report elsewhere, 
