44 
CORRESPONDENCE. 
Ceara Rubber in India. 
Mysore Province, Shimoga, 
isf February , 1906. 
Dear Mr. Ridley, 
I am afraid that attention in Mysore must be confined 
to the “Ceara” variety rather than “Para,” and in order to 
determine the question of yield, I am carrying out an extensive 
series of tapping operations in different parts of the Province. 
I told you, I think, that 7 lb. were obtained from the 
continuous tapping of one tree in the Government Garden at 
Bangalore ; and that 10 lbs. are reported to have been obtained 
from a tree in Coorg; also that I obtained 8 oz. of dry rubber from 
one tapping from a tree in my own compound. 
I have also recently heard of 20 oz. of latex from one tree at 
one tapping. Taking the same proportion of dry rubber to 
latex as in the case of “ Para,” viz., 33%, this would mean 7 oz., 
and corroborates the above yield from my own tree. 
The unfortunate point is that, both in the case of the 7 lb. 
return, and in the case of other trees that I myself tapped, every 
one of them died under the operation. You would be doing me, 
and I may add a promising industry, a very valuable service if you 
would kindly give me your views as to why these trees die. 
Do you think that tapping “Ceara” must necessarily kill 
the tree ; and do you know of, or have you heard of, cases where 
“ Ceara ” trees have been tapped without damage. 
In the cases I allude to, the method of tapping was by 
stabbing the tree close all over, thus necessarily wounded the 
cambium as well as the young w iod. The awkward part of it is 
that similar action on a “ Para ” tree would not have injured it. 
I think you told me that the outer rough bark on the Ceara 
can be stripped off during all seasons of the year without injury. 
In my present experiments I propose to adopt the ordinary 
double-herring-bone system and to carefully avoid the cambium. 
If you would kindly give me your views on the whole subject 
I would be very much obliged. 
Is there any prospect of my seeing you over in these parts. 
Yours sincerely, 
H. F. STRICKLAND. 
P.S . — I would be much obliged if you would kindly insert a 
query in your very valuable Bulletin asking information upon the 
above point. 
->h 
