7 
The damaged roots are perhaps more liable to attacks by Ponies 
but the danger is not great because the frequent turning and airing 
of the soil is sure to reduce the virulence of an}* mycelium in the 
ground. 
All roots cut by the ploughs throw out whole hunches of new 
routs which, owing to the loose nature of the ground, have a tendency 
to go deeper down. This is quite contrary to their habit on unculti- 
vated soil, where the roots always lie near the surface, and where the 
young rootlets sometimes even go above it. The young rootlets from 
rubber trees often form one mass, and when the ground is ploughed 
or changkolled these are all spoilt. But in a fortnight it will be 
found that new rootlets are taking their place, and this lively action 
of the roots can only be beneficial to the trees. 
The cutting of the roots has been one of the points against 
cultivation, and another is, that the uneven surface of the ground 
causes too great a loss of moisture. 
I do not think that the root-question need cause any alarm, and 
in a climate like this where rain is so plentiful the loss of moisture 
by evaporation from the ground cannot have serious consequences, 
at least not where something is done to keep the water. 
A loose top-soil is of vital importance, and rubber trees respond 
very well to proper treatment in respect of cultivation, but it should 
not be overlooked that retarded trees cannot suddenly throw out 
sturdy shoots from weak branches, and the effect of cultivation is not 
to be expected until after a year’s time. To judge the result by 
measurement of the girth of the trees only is not sufficient. The 
general appearance of the trees, the colour of the leaves and the 
thickness of the shoots have all to be taken into consideration, and 
if they are there is always a marked difference between trees on 
cultivated and uncultivated land. 
With a view to gaining some knowledge concerning the effect 
of artificial manure on rubber trees many experiments have been 
carried out with rather varying results. It has been said once 
in a report that the good results of some experiments supposed 
to he due to the manure, was really the effect of turning over the 
soil when digging down the manure, and that view is probably 
correct. 
It is in any case difficult to arrive at anything like exact figures 
as to the result of an experiment carried out on soil not cultivated 
before. 
We have had two experiments running for some time, one on 
young trees and one on old trees, but as far as the latter is concerned 
the result is not very encouraging. 
Previous experiments have proved that young trees respond 
very well to manure. We started our experiment on the three 
