have been attacked. The Borneo Estate is quite a newly formed 
one and in Perak the fungus has appeared on a newly planted 
portion. In both cases the disease is sporadic, and does not appear 
to have spread to other trees just as was the case in Irpex. It 
must, however, be remembered that the trees attacked are young 
and have not spread that mass of roots interlacing with those of 
the next trees that we have in the big trees attacked by Fomes. In 
the case of coffee attacked by Irpex nothing was done, but to aban- 
don the spot where the fungus had appeared, and probably with* 
the decay of the food supply of the fungus, the fungus itself would 
die away. 
Whatever be the fungus which has caused this destruction it will 
certainly be advisable to lime the soil well where the tree has died 
and to avoid planting any more rubber trees on this spot. 
It might be a good thing also in cases like this to plant a Banana 
plant or two on the infected ground. These poiypori cannot of 
course, grow on Bananas, and the plants help to break up the de- 
composed and infected wood and roots beneath the soil. This has 
been tried in the Botanic Gardens against Fames. The ground in- 
fected was dug over, treated with lime and copper sulphate, and 
planted with Bananas, and the fungus in this patch seems to have 
quite disappeared. It is however the oldest bit of the infected area 
and the fungus may have died out of itself. This fungus what- 
ever it is should be carefully watched, to see that it does not spread 
to the trees next to it. 
H. N. R. 
PARA RUBBER TAPPING IN JAVA 
In the Journal d' Agriculture Tropicale , January, 1906, p.g, there 
is published an article by M. Tromp de Haas on tapping rubber 
in the Experimental Gardens at Tjikeumeuh in Java. He begins by 
pointing out how trees vary in the amount of latex they produce and 
how important it is to select seed from the most productive trees. 
This is I think, appreciated by all. It is the line on which cultivation 
in its true sense must take in this class of plants. Trees vary con- 
siderably in the amount of latex, and also in the amount of Caout- 
chouc thev produce but this is not always due to the idiosyncracy ol 
the tree. A tree occasionally produces but little at one time, and 
might be considered worthless or nearly so, but a few years later it 
produces for some occult reason quite as much as could be expected 
of it. A tree in the Botanic Gardens Singapore tapped many years 
ago refused give any milk at all, though a quite similar tree close by 
gave two* pounds and a half. It was noticed in this tree that the 
bark seemed loose, as if so to say it was too big for the trunk. Some 
years afterwards on being tapped again it was found to be quite as 
good a milker as the other and has continued so ever since. Another 
tree on being tapped refused to give milk, till a Fiddlewood tree 
close* by it was cut down when it gave plenty of latex In this 
