. Cyclopedia of farm crops. Farm produce; Agriculture. 556 RUBBER RUBBER keep it longer in the nursery when the plantation is liable to the attacks of grasshoppers or slugs, or where deer or other wild beasts are likely to attack the young plant. In such cases the taproot should be cut off, and, if the young plant is over twelve feet in height, the top should also be removed with a clean cut at eight to ten feet from the ground. Young plants of Hevea should be potted in bamboo joints as soon as they can be safely handled ; and the same applies to all the species. In the bamboo pots the young p
. Cyclopedia of farm crops. Farm produce; Agriculture. 556 RUBBER RUBBER keep it longer in the nursery when the plantation is liable to the attacks of grasshoppers or slugs, or where deer or other wild beasts are likely to attack the young plant. In such cases the taproot should be cut off, and, if the young plant is over twelve feet in height, the top should also be removed with a clean cut at eight to ten feet from the ground. Young plants of Hevea should be potted in bamboo joints as soon as they can be safely handled ; and the same applies to all the species. In the bamboo pots the young plants can await time or season for planting better than if grown in nursery- beds, and will stand transport better. However, they should not stand too long in these pots, or their roots may become cramped and hinder future growth. (Hart.) The plantation.—The soil in the plantation should be rich alluvial flat, free from salt-water and well drained. Rocky or very sandy soil should be avoided. The ground should be cleared of trees and bushes by felling and burning, and the young trees should be planted about twenty-live feet apart. Growth.—The growth in a suitable locality is very rapid, and the young trees should be about fifteen feet tall in a year and a half, and .sliould attain their full height of sixty feet in about eight years. If they grow very tall and slender it is advisable to top them at about eight or nine feet from the ground. For the first few years the ground should be cleared of weeds from time to time ; afterward it is less necessary, as the trees will shade out the weeds. No further cultivation is required. The duration of the life of the tree is not known. The oldest trees in cultivation are about thirty-five years of age and show no signs of weakening ; and there are said to be some trees in the Amazon region which have been tapped for eighty years. It was formerly thought that the Hevea requires swampy river-side lands, but the discovery of forests of it
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