i 
THE TEOPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [July 1, 1901. 
ground. I have not observed any difference in yield 
of latex, but I would not recommend land which 
is liable to heavy floods. 
Tapping.— 1 consider the latex flows most freely 
when the new leaves appear, which with most 
Hevea trees is about March, and the advantage 
of tapping about th!,t time is not so much a 
question of actual yield as it is of the amount of 
bark removed in the operation, which would be 
less at the best season. There would also be 
another season commencing in September with those 
trees then flowering. As with all tiees, the ratio 
of growth is variable at different periods, but taking 
the girth of Hevea trees here, a 3 year-old tree 
at 3 feet from the ground being 13-15 inches, and 
an 18 year old tree 100 inches, the annual increment 
would average nearly 6 inches in circumference, and 
I am sanguine that Hevea trees can be tapped in 
Malaya when 6 years old, if not earlier when I 
estimate the girth at 24-30 inches on good free 
soil. Tapping should be commenced at the base 
of the tree, working unwards to 6 or 8 feet if 
necessary, and f a tree be operated on in a workman- 
like manner three anuual tappings could be executed 
before going over old incisions. 
Coagulation. 
Samples of rubber prepared at Kuala Kangsar 
have been reported on as equal to good para 
(Brazilian; and would fetch best para prices. I 
have always found the latex to coagulate readily 
with only the addition of a pinch of alum, and 
by placing immediately in smoke both putrefaction 
and mould are avoided. If the rubber is sound 
the market value depends on the state of dryness 
in which it is received. What has been prepared 
at Kuala Kangsar has been kept smoked until 
shipped. A parcel sent to London years ago 
was reported to have lost 261 per cent, in washing 
and the manufacturers thought that if sent home 
in bulk the loss would reach 30 per cent. This, 
however, is a question for the planter himself. 
Smoke has a chemical action in the coagulation of 
latex from Hevea as well as saving decomposition, 
and assists in gradually drying. To be as dry as 
possible depends on the time the rubber has been 
kept smoked, and I am of opinion that dry market- 
able rubber could not be prepared under two months. 
Whether centrifugalisation will prove a practical 
method with Hevea is still in its infancy. I 
understand that the globules of caoutchouc in the 
latex of Hevea do not separate readily, as is the 
case with some other latices, and owing to its 
chemical combination the latex of Hevea will be 
probably best prepared by the natural method, 
Eambong. 
India rubber (Ficus elastica). — A sample of 51 
lbs. was sent to London, with the para parcel, 
for sale and opinion. It was reported on as 
"good clean Java character" and valued at Ss. 6d. 
per lb., but sold for 3s. lOd. 
The largest tree at Kuala Kangsar is about 90 feet 
high, measures 88 feet and 3 feet from the grou id, 
measuring round all the aerial roots, the branches 
extend to 36 paces, and the largest leaves are 13" 
X 7", its age 19 years. The growth of this tree 
has been remarkable during the last three years, from 
he time its aerial roots reached the ground. 
Ficus elastica is an indigenous tree, found in Upper 
Perak. It is naturally an epiphyte, and its growth 
would be no doubt assisted if planted at the bases 
of felled trees. Its growth is slow at first but 
rapid when well established. Considering the enor- 
mous dimensions this tree attains, iO to the acre 
would be cloHC enough planting and as perhaps 8 
years would liave to elapse Ijefore the tree could be 
profitably tapped the intervening spaces could be 
utilized by some other crop, even Hevea, which 
would be beuelicial to the growth of the Fiaua. 
Yield. 
I have not any information as to the age when 
ticus elastica could be profitably tapped. At Kuala 
Kangsar there are two trees 12 years old, and 
two 19 years old ; from the latter 25 lb. of rubber 
has been obtained from each tree, and the tapping 
was far short of being exhaustive. The result of 
the other trees has not yet been ascertained, but 
I expect good results. 
Getah Singret (Willoughheia Jirma). A small 
sample was sent to London with the Para parcel, 
and reported on as " good strong Borneo character, " 
valued and sold at Is 6rf. per lb. This is the best 
of the indigenous creepers, but I doubt very much 
if it ordinarily reaches the European market in a 
pure state, being usually used to adulterate getah 
percha. 
Getah Taban Sutra {Dickopsii) gutta war. There 
is one example of this tree in the Kuala Kangsar 
garden which is said to be 17 years old, and 
fruited for the first time in November, 1900. A 
few herbarium specimens were obtained, all the 
other fruits being carried off by squirrels before 
being ripe. The height of this tree is 25 feet, and 
girth 2 feet at 3 feet from the ground; a jangle 
tree growing under heavy canopy would of course be 
much higher, with less branching habit and smaller 
girth. 
Central America Rubber [Castilloa elastica). — 
About 150 seedlings of Castilloa from Ceylon seeds 
have been raised. It appears doubtful, however, 
whether the Ceylon trees are Castilloa elastica 
(true) or only an inferior variety, Castilloa Markhami- 
ana, the results of the Ceylon trees being far below 
South American returns. 
Getah Percha {Dichopsis polyantha).—K variety of 
getah percha which grows from near the foot of 
Larut hill to 3,000 feet. A mountain form may 
prove valuable for planting on high land. None, 
however, was observed in fruit, and it presumed 
that with this tree, as with many indigenous trees, 
a fruiting season only occurs once every few years. 
Seedlings are abundant but the smallest seem two 
years old. 
THE DATE PALM FOR QUEENSLAND.* 
By T. Morris Macknight, F.L.S. 
[Eead at a meeting of the Natural History Society 
of Queensland, on 1st November, 1894] 
WHY NOT FOE NORTHERN CEYLON? 
The date palm is an example of extraordinary 
fraitfulness. Next to the coconut it is unquestion- 
ably the most interesting and useful of the palm 
trilDe. Without it the desert would be uninhabitable. 
Do we not understand, then, the gratefulness of 
the Arab towards a tree which can derive its 
nourishment from the scorching sand, and scarcely 
less burning airs of heaven, and the brackish waters 
beneath the soil, which are fatal to all other kinds 
of vegetation ; which retains its verdure fresh in 
the glare of a pitiless sum ; which provides him 
with beams and coverings for his tent ; cordage 
for the harness of his horses and mules ; fruit to 
satisfy his hunger ? What the vine is to the Italian, 
the coconut-tree to the Polynesian, the date palm 
is to the Arab. And more — far more. This single 
tree has peopled the desert. Without it the tribes 
of the Sahara would cease to be. The wealth of 
an oasis is computed by the number of its date trees. 
* The author prefaced his paper with the state- 
ment that he made no pretence of having an 
expert knowledge of his subjeit. He had collected 
information from all the sources which were avail- 
able to him, :ind had given the matter his con- 
sideration for some time past. The results of this 
compilation he submitted as a guide to those in 
search of summary information on the subject. 
