THE arrival of rubber in Malaya in 1877 - one of
the original trees is still in the compound of the Kuala Kangsar District
Office - did not immediately meet with great enthusiasm among the planters, who
were quite happy growing coffee. The man largely responsible for making
Malaysia the largest rubber-producing country in the world is Henry Nicholas
Ridley (1855-1956).
His principal contribution was to develop what is
still today the basic method for tapping the tree - the herring-bone method,
which left V-shaped channels on the trunk, removing only a thin layer bark each
time, thus permitting a smooth flow of latex and allowing the bark to
regenerate. This was a great improvement on the method which was being used in
Brazil and Malaya at the time, which involved slashing the tree or making
holes, causing great damage to the cambial layer and consequently to the
productivity and life of the tree.
