( 7 ) 
indicated by the local occurrence of flowering and 
fruiting. It may happen that trees in one locality 
will bear flowers and fruit, while trees in another 
locality, but a few miles distant, will show no signs 
of fruit. There are, however, certain years when 
there is a rather general and heavy seed crop. (1921 
was such a year). Our records are not complete 
enough to show whether this is a phenomenon of 
regular occurrence. After the fruit is formed there 
are still a great many dangers to be faced before 
fertile seed is produced. The fruit has a number 
of insect enemies. The ripe fruit is greedily eaten 
by fruit bats, which, however, do not seem to eat 
the seeds, and there are often large numbers of 
ripe seeds to be found on the ground underneath 
a bat roost. When the fruit drops it is quickly 
attacked by squirrels, birds, insects, and other 
animals, and a very small proportion of the seed 
has a chance to germinate. Carefully selected seed 
will show a germination of from 75 to 85 per cent, 
or more, but does not retain its vitality for a very 
long period. Some seeds will germinate after they 
have been kept for as much as two months, but 
the percentage of germination is very much reduced. 
4. Artificial Regeneration. 
Gutta percha can be grown from cuttings and 
from marcots, but the percentage of success is not 
high and these processes have not shown much 
promise of being economically successful. It is also 
possible to propagate the tree by layering and by 
divisions at the root collar, with roots attached, but 
these methods are also less successful than the 
planting of seeds. Planting of gutta percha has 
been done in a few places and it may some day 
I 
