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RUBBER CULTIVATION. 
CULTIVATION AND MANURING. 
By A. P. N. Vesterdal, 
( General Manager, Mount Austin* Estates, Johor e.) 
ANY interesting articles on tillage of soil and various other 
1 matters in connection with this question have from time to 
time appeared in the Agricultural Bulletin, and what has been 
mentioned in those articles 1 shall only touch lightly upon. 
The general principles of cultivation will apply to most crops, 
but of tropical agriculture I only know rubber, and what L have to 
say will, therefore, refer only to rubber trees, and mostly to those 
planted on poor undulating land. Trees planted on virgin land or 
alluvial soil will continue for many years to grow well and to yield 
well, and although I do not doubt that cultivation would increase the 
crops anywhere, it is, for the present, not required here to the same 
extent as it is on poor land. 
All over the Peninsula large areas formerly cultivated with 
pine-apples, gambier and tapioca have been planted with rubber. 
The state of such land is well known, it is always up in lalang and 
blnkar, and, generally speaking, it is exhausted ; firstly, on account of 
the crops taken, and secondly, because of the frequent burnings of the 
lalang. 
Through fires some valuable foodstuff is always wasted, not 
only what goes away in the air by the burning process itself, but 
also what is afterwards washed away with the ashes by heavy rains 
even on gently sloping bills. 
Trees planted on this kind of land take a long time to reach 
maturity, and (he result is often far below average. It will always 
be below average, if nothing is done to help the trees along. 
The usual method of clean weeding is not so satisfactory here as 
it is on good flat land. It is certainly the cheapest, but in this 
particular case the cheapest, in my opinion, is not the best, as it will 
sooner or later lead to retarded growth of the trees. In some 
instances the retardation is shown when the trees are from two to 
three years old, and in other eases it is not noticeable until tapping 
lias commenced. 
It is always said that tapping does not hurt a tree, and it is true 
that it does uot hurt those growing on first class soil, hub it hurts 
weak trees. Whether the cause is removal of latex or removal of 
bark, I do not know, but (lie fact remains, that trees in tapping do 
not grow so quick as trees not in tapping. It is not unusual that 
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