1*9 
, lnc h 'to .4 inches long, they have tufts of hairs dispersed over the 
upper surface, and these hairs cause painful stings if touched. 
The moth is of a greyish colour. A careful look-out should be 
kept for this pest and when one or more are seen they should be at 
once destroyed and a search made to see if others are on the neigh- 
bouring trees. Though in this case the cate rp.Uars -vere <ee, hng 
only on the coconut palms many ol which they J . 
foliated, yet they will eat the leaves of both Hevea ^ihemts alld 
Ficus Elastica, and when in captivity greedily fed on these, 
I , I) . • 
CEARA RUBBER IN SHEETS. 
M Furniss, rb- U. S. A. Consul in Bahia having discovered 
Ceara rubber in tfahia, describes the manufacture of Ceara sheets 
the best form of Ceara rubber. The preparation as made by an 
American owning extensive areas in this region consists in collec- 
ting enough liquid latex to fill flat pans; then after coagulation, 
pressing the rubber between flat boards, washing and drying 
nothing unfortunately is said as to the method of coagulation). 
The sheets are 20 inches long, io inches wide and a quarter of an 
inch thick. The rubber is of good amber colour and smells well 
and is remarkably elastic. It quoted on the Liverpool and 
U. S. markets as equal to fine P^ 
'Journal d’ Agriculture Tropic ale, No. 6j,p. 93. 
LARGE PARA RUBBER TREES IN 
CULTIVATION. 
What is the size of the largest Para rubber tree in cultivation 
in the East? The biggest specimen in the Botanic Gardens, 
Singapore, measures 9 feet 5! inches at 3 feet from the ground. 
It is 27 years old. 
The largest mentioned in Ceylon in Mr. Wright’s book is 9 
feet 2 inches. Are there anv bigger than this in the Peninsula? 
H. N. 
FOMES SEMITOSTUS IN CEYLON. 
Royal Botanic Gardens. 
Peradeniya, March 12 th, 1906. 
Dear Sir, 
I am very much obliged to you for the specimens of Fames 
Semitostus. I think we are dealing with the same disease though 
our specimens are red brown changing to pale yellow brown. I 
enclose a piece of an old sporophore, the edge is thicker than 
usual. 
Yours faithfully, 
T. PETCH. 
7/71 
