5 '"— =“,=£=£ 
While an expert estimated the amount at io pounds a tree. Conway 
speaking of yields in Bolivia, estimated that they wet e neve " “ 
than 3lbs. nor more than 7 , which Mr. Pearson think, approximate / 
correct, but he points out that trees vary not only in size butm 
productiveness, and that trees that have been tapped for 
somewhat less than those that have only been tapped fot a short t m . 
There is a great deal more of interest in this nicely got up and 
charmingly illustrated volume, which is well worth renth lg y 
interested in rubber.- Ed. 
TRAVELLING OF RUBB- ' SEED. 
In certain correspondence as to success and failure in seed of Pal a 
rubber sent from the Malay Peninsula to British Guiana some 
investigations of Mr. T. B. Harrison, the Director of the Botanic Gar- 
dens there, are of sufficient importance to be noted. 
Seed from good tr.es were sent from the Singapore Roland 
Gardens, and from a locality in the Native States, in a number ot 
instalments. Of these, on arrival at their destination, aftei a long 
journey about fifty nine days, those from Singapore germinated at the 
rate of 702 per thousand, while of the other sendings only 19 per 
housand germinated. 
Both series were packed in tin boxes with c harred rice dust, but 
with these differences, the seeds from Singapoie were packed only 600 
in a tin, the others contained on an average 823 in each tin so close y 
packed that they almost quite touched, and the Singapore boxes were 
only closed, the others hermetically soldered down. 
The percentage of moisture in the charcoal varied from 5 to 9 per 
cent., but these variations apparently exercised little if any influence 
on the rate of germination. When the packages of the spoiled seeas 
were opened they were found to be slightly warm and evolved a 
strong and penetrating odour. The charred rice husk of the package 
was examined and found to 'contain hydrocyanic acid in minute 
amount, formaldehyde in traces, formic acid in some quantity and 
acetic acid in abundance. The seeds were in fact pickled m the pro- 
ducts of their own decomposition. It was noticeable that the 
proportion of hydrocyanic acid in the vapours of the seeds, varied 
considerably, the amount present in the last shipment received tot 
which only 16 per thousand germinated) being enough to cause a 
transient illness in the persons opening the packages. 
