33 - 
through the mass of trees above them and get into full sun, they 
develop very rapidly, attain a large size and an exceptional strength. 
The seeds lose their germinating power in about a month. Jt is 
recom mended here not to wash them and especially not to expose 
them to the sun. They are preserved in lime or in charcoal dust. 
The trees are tapped with an-instrument like a parang of which 
the end which is square is rolled on itself so as to make a tube 
large enough to admit the linger and sharpened, Fig. A. Another 
shorter form with a smaller incurved point is an improved torm 
manufactured in the United States,. Fig B \ 1 he incurved edges 
are the cutting part of the instruments. 
The cuts are made horizontally, half or three quarters ot t ie 
circumference of the tree, on the stem and larger branches about 
16 inches apart, of course they must not completely surroun t e 
tree or they may kill it. The latex exudes in very watery drops 
at first, this is allowed to drop on the ground and not preserve . 
After a minute or two this watery latex ceases and a thicker latex 
exudes which sticks in the incisions. At the end of 48 hours it is 
taken out in the form of ribbons which are washed and dried in the 
shade. Exposure to the sun makes it sticky. Each tree is tappe 
4 times a year, on different sides, each tapping gives i kilogramme 
(half a pound) of rubber, one kilogramme per year. 
These figures however are only reached when the bigger branches 
are tapped. When only the trunk is tapped, only half this amount 
is produced. The tapping of the branches is very troublesome and 
though they produce as good a latex, as a rule, the trunk only is 
tapped. 
The incisions made by the above-mentioned tool heal up com 
pletely in 3 or 4 months whereas those made in the ordinary native 
way with the machete (parang) take four times as long to heal. 
The objections to the El Baul tool are that the work is very 
fatiguing, the cutting edge very difficult to sharpen on account of 
its semicircular curve, and if it is not very sharp it rubs off bits ot 
the bark and so dirties the rubber. 
There seem to be two Castilloas in cultivation in Tropical Cen- 
tral America, apparently exactly similar in appearance, but one 
produces a very fluid latex, while in the other it is too thick to 
flow. The trees we have here in Singapore as far as 1 have been 
able to examine them have a very thin latex which flews very readily. 
GROWTH OF PARA RUBBER TREES. 
We give this month an interesting photograph of a row of Para 
rubber trees planted in Bukit Rajah estate, Selangor, to show the 
rapidity of growth of the plant under good treatment. Taking the 
trees in order and commencing at the left hand of the plate, the 
following are the dimensions and age of the tree, the girth being 
taken at a height of four feet and a-half from the ground, by Mr. 
F. A. Calloway: — 
