ful cultivation of rubber. Climate, soil, transport facilities, the 
quality of the product, and the yield of the trees, leave little to be 
desired. As regards labour, this country is at any rate, infinitely 
better off than any other with which we will be brought into com- 
petition, excepting Ceylon, and India itself, where, however, some 
of the other conditions are far less favourable. It may be contended 
that little is known of the yield over a large area, which is true, but 
on the ether hand we do know what considerable numbers of in- 
differently cultivated individual trees have given, and there is no 
reason whatever for fearing that our average yield will be less than 
that of any other country. The vexed question of the proper dis- 
tance to plant, has yet to be settled and your Committee would 
urge upon all those interested, to institute experiments, if they have 
not already done so, with the object of arriving at a definite con- 
clusion. 1 he distance perhaps most in favour at present is 15' by 
15', which, allowing for sites for. buildings, roads, etc. ; gives about 
175 trees to the acre, io' by io / planting provides more than 
double that number, and it is a question for serious consideration 
whether the closer distance is not the best, in view of the very 
slight additional outlay, and the fact that superfluous trees can al- 
ways be removed at will. Providing the cost of collection be not 
prohibitive, the best financial results will be secured from the largest 
returns per acre, not per tree, and although it must be apparent to 
all that a space, of 10 feet is not sufficient for a tree with a natural 
spread of, say, 60 feet still, it is possible that the gross returns 
from six small trees may be mere than from one large one, and also 
that a system of coppicing may be introduced, or some other method 
for artificially retarding the upward and whippy growth, and thicken- 
ing the stems, with a corresponding increase in yield. If such a 
result can he achieved, those who have their estates planted 20' by 
20', will find themselves unable to put matters right, for supplies, 
and additional trees, planted after their neighbours have had a year 
or two start, rarely make good growth. The best method of tap- 
ping has not yet been definitely settled either. Ceylon planters 
appear to favour small V shaped incisions cut fresh every day. 
Short herring-bone cuts, gradually widened out by the daily removal 
of a thin slice of bark, to make the latex flow afresh, are most in 
vogue in this country, and - some interesting experiments are now 
being carried on in the Singapore Gardens under the direction of 
Mr. Ridley, which may prove to be the best of all. The injury to 
the tree is practically nil only a small piece of bark, about 2" long 
by i" wide, being removed at a time, and although the daily yield 
is naturally very much less than by the other methods, the cuts be- 
ing few and far between, still it seems probable that tapping may 
be continued almost the whole year round, which of course has also 
an important bearing upon the distribution of labour. The curing 
of the latex is now so thoroughly understood that no remarks upon 
the subject are called for here, but your Committee would draw 
your attention to the unanimous opinion of all the manufacturers 
that absolute purity and freedom from foreign matter, is the most 
important point of all. The latex is easily strained, and all impuri- 
