3 « 
RUBBER PLANTING IN CEYLON 
It was while discussing these subjects that we visited the adminis- 
tration buildings of the gardens. They are neat and business like, and 
with their tropical setting form a very pretty picture. We visited the 
museum, where sections of the woods, in which the island is very rich, 
are displayed ; while seeds, fruits, and everything pertaining to the life 
of the plant growths are carefully prepared and preserved. He also 
showed me the offices of Director Willis, his own laboratory — where 
some very interesting experiments in determining the vitality of the 
Hevea nut were then being carried on — introduced me to Mr. E. E. 
Green, f. e. s., the government entomologist, and then led me to some 
of the fifteen-year-old Para trees, which we tapped. It was really too 
"hevea” at edangoda. 
[Government Forest Department plantation, 8 years old. Mr. 
F. Lewis, assistant conservator of forests.] 
near the middle of the day for the latex to do more than ooze out very 
slowly, The tool used is well known. It only needed a very few cuts 
with it, however, to convince me of its usefulness ; indeed, for the Hevea 
it is far superior to any form of machete that I have seen. 
The incision is really a drawing cut that takes out a strip 
of bark, laying the cambium bare. The cut is clean, small 
and may be made by the most unskilled coolie with but 
little chance of injuring the tree. I had with me a small two-bladed 
tapping-axe, invented by a friend in the United States, which I had 
brought along to test. We all tried it, but the simple little tool far 
