478 
The conditions required for the successful and profitable cultiva- 
tion of Para (Hevea) Indian rubber are in my opinion, that it be re- 
garded as a plantation — a cultivated product— rather than as one to 
be planted with view of being widely disseminated, under canopy, of 
an area covered by primitive standing forest. This opinion, formed 
at the time of the original introduction of the Hevea to cultivation 
at the instance of the Government of India in 1876, has been 
strengthened by subsequent years of planting experience, and J am 
convinced that any advice for the setting out of the Hevea uibber- 
tree as a self-disseminating forest product i.e. planting it out under 
canopy through wide areas of existing forests or jungle will be found 
to be founded on fallacy. The Hevea has no light winged seed, as 
mahogany and others, on the contrary, although the seed is scattered 
to some extent around the parent tree by the bursting of the ripe 
triform pod, it should be remembered that the seed is in form an 
exceedingly heavy and oily nut, and falls thickly in a circumscribed 
area. Even there it is exceedingly attractive to every four-footed 
creature of the jungle, who devour it greedily. In its own iorests 
it owes its preservation only, as I think, to the fact that very ’veno- 
mous and large snakes, the saracucu, are in the habit ol lying in 
vvaite about the base of these trees, in seeding time, and so ward 
off to a great degree the agouti, Indian rabbits, and other rodents. 
Forest deer, also, in my experience, are very destructive to the 
youna- plants. In any case I have found that Hevea take at least 
three times as long to come to productive size grown under forest 
shade as under plantation cultivation free from top shade. Lateral 
shade to the extent required, at first, lor formation ot a straight 
trunk form is readily got by allowing intermediate ‘‘second growth 
to come up between the young Hevea for mvselt, I have known 
these trees when grown in the open, seed abundantly m three years, 
whereas they would have taken 10 to 12 to do so in the shade of 
the woods. It is therefore recommended that Hevea snould be sys- 
tematically grown in cultivated plantation. For spacing distance, 
I advise the half chain (33 ft. by 33 ft.) diagonal as giving more 
root scope. This gives 40 trees to the acre. Besides being a good 
distance, the half chain is of practical advantage in marking off 
forest land, as by opening lines with the prismatic compass or theo- 
dolite, the man following can plant the seed to stake as the chain 
is drawn over the lines, As soon as the young trees attain proper 
trunk form the more light and air they are given, and the cleaner 
they are kept, the stouter and quicker will be their growth, and in 
the fourth to fifth year they would be in a condition to yield to a his; 
tapping for rubber latex; say, by using two cups taking on an aver- 
age a pound (t lb.),of rubber during the drier season of that period. 
The empty tins used for "preserved milk" answer admirably for 
this purpose, as they are of about the right size, and being made of 
thin tin readily bend to the shape of the tree trunk. The operation 
if carefully done will not arrest the growth of the tree. It is rather 
shown from experience that accumulation of the latex in the bark 
of the trunk of the trees is augmented thereby. For the purpose of 
extraction there has yet, as I think, been no better instiument de- 
