'Vol. VII. No. 1.59. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



171 



RUBBER IN JAMAICA. 



The Journal of tlie Jaiii^iica Agricultural Society 

 for April last contains the following note on rubber- 

 planting prospects in the island : — 



Rubber pliiiitiiiy as an industry on .Jaiaaica estates has 

 ■only begun of late years, and up till nuw there has been no 

 »y.steniatic tapping of trees and keeping, of statistics of yield, 

 on which commercial calculations of the profitableness or 

 otherwise of the business might be based. 



From the standp(jint of a profitable industry there is 

 a good hope in rubber, especially as, although the trees 

 recjuire good soil, they can be grown to advantage in many 

 places, dry or wet, upland or lowland, or in patches. Iluliber 

 jdanfcing would not only be of value in creating a new and pnifit- 

 .able industry, but would incidentally as-sist in reatlbresting 

 the more select lands. 



In regard to suitable varieties, it has been advised that 

 Manicoba rubber is best fitted for certain dry [larts; Virgen 

 rubber (Xaj'iitm sp.) for certain select parts ot the mountains, 

 and Castilloa and Para for moist lowland.s, up to 1,800 feet. 

 The last-named may also grow up to 2,000 feet, but this 

 would reiiuire test. 



PLANTATION RUBBER IN 1907. 



The following particulars are taken from a review 

 of the plantation rubber industry during 1907, i.ssued 

 by Messrs. Lewis & Peat, rubber brokers of London : — 



During the year the imports of jilantation-grown 

 rubbers to London have amounted to about 1,100 tons, 

 .against .500 tons during 1906 and 150 tons in 190.5, of which 

 -about "250 tons came from (Vylon and 750 tons from Malaya. 

 Only comparatively small parcels have so far been sent from 

 {southern India, Burmah, Mergui, and from .Java, Sumatra 

 and Borneo. We have good reports of the ])lantations in the 

 West Indies, Honduras, Nicaragua, and parts of Me.\ico, but 

 no Para has been tapped in those countries as yet, and only 

 small parcels of C!astilloa have come to hand. An interesting 

 parcel, but only of a few hundredweights, of Para from Brazil, 

 prepared on the Ceylon system, was sold recently at a fraction 

 le.ss than Eastern lots. Thi.s was from old trees, and was 

 ■certainly excei)tionally .strong but very dark in colour. Prices 

 now show a. very serious decline from the high rates ruling 

 in 190('i. This fall has taken place in sympathy with fine 

 Para from Brazil, and has been caused chiefly by increased 

 supplies and the financial crisis in America and the conse- 

 •qucnt temporary closing of many of the factories. At the 

 opening sale of the year [ilantation-grown Para stood at .5.<. iS(/., 

 and after touching ox. \()d. in March fell right away to .Ss. Srf. 

 in November, with one lully of Grf. per lb. in .June. At the 

 clo.sing .sale. No. 1 was selling at 3.>i. 10</. after having touched, 

 4.'--. 2(1 in the previous auction. The exports of rubber from 

 Brazil during 1906 amounted to nearly 42,000 tons, against 

 the previous crop of 3S,000 tons. 



Very little Castilloa rubber was sold in London during 

 the year, but shipments are increasing from the West Indies, 

 Central and South America. The preparation has improved, 

 and some lots have been very nearly ei|ual to ordinary 

 plantation bi.scuits. A few kits from .Java and Sumatra have 

 arrived in a very low heated condition, making them almost 

 un.saleable. Supplies from Mexico, which [iromised a few 

 years ago to come in large (piantities, have up to now been 

 very small and unimportant, and many large estates that have 

 been planted for from ten to twelve years so far .seem failures, 

 and we hear of many estates being abandoned in certain 

 district*. 



RULES FOR MILKING. 



Some rules worthy of note by milkers appeared 

 in a recent number of Farm Life, and are given 

 below, with a few alterations and additions; — 



Be careful to draw of}' all the milk to the last drop, 

 because the last milk extracted is the richest in cream. [\\ 

 may also be added that unless the animal is milked dry on 

 each occasion, the daily yield tends rajiidly tfi fall off]. 



Milk at the same time every day. 



h\ ndlking use all five fingers and not merely the thunil) 

 and fore-finger. 



To milk successfully young restive cows, keep one of 

 the fore feet raised. Never strike the animals or be rough 

 with them. [The foolishness of being rough will bie recog- 

 nized when it is remembered that the cow herself has control 

 over the ndlk-yielding system, and regulates at will the ease 

 with which the milk is drawn. When subject to fright or 

 ill-treatment the difficulty of extracting the milk is at once 

 very much increased, and the full tjuautity is never obtained 

 in such cases]. 



-Vlways keep the han<ls clean, and also the cow's udder 

 and tlif dairy utensils. 



NOMENCLATURE OF EDDOS AND 

 SWEET POTATOS. 



As a result of the publication in the Aijriculfurnl- 

 NaiVH (Vol. VI, p. 405) of a list of the eddos and sweet 

 potatos cultivated at Barbados on land under the care 

 of Mr. J. R. Bovell, Agricultural Superintendent of the 

 island, an application for tubers of several \'arieties 

 was re<reived by the Imperial Commissioner from 

 Mr. U. W. Barrett, of the Bureau of Plant Industry. 

 U.S. Department of Agriculture. 



The following notes on the nomenclature of a few 

 of the eddos mentioned in the list in question, are 

 given as the result of suggestions otfered by Mr. Barrett, 

 in reference to varieties with which he had consider- 

 able experience while engaged at the Porto Rico 

 Experiment Station : — 



Mdldnt/a JUdwa. — This is a Cuban variety and 

 is [irobably identical with ' Rolliza,' as also is ' Trinidad 

 Yellow." 



(J III! 1/(1 Ultra. — The name ' Ouayamera ' is a, local one, and 

 the term ' Colorado' (which means n'd throughout Spanisli 

 America) is preferable for this variety, which is one that is 

 easily confused with the ' Prieta ' eddo. 



}fa/,rii;/a {/Ifii Ciilia). — This should read ' .Malanga (via 

 Cvdia).' 



Aimirilla and dili Ainarilhi. Foi' the purpose of 

 avoiding confusion these varieties have been re-named. In 

 the case of the first, the term ' Amarilla ' has been drop])ed in 

 favour of ' Martinica. " The word ' Gris ' lias also been 

 dropped from tlie old name of the second, which is now 

 known simply as ' Amarilla. 



lull mlw. — This variety does not produce tubers, Ijut the 

 leaves when boiled have a better flavour than those of the 

 common eddo. 



Tai-o Japamsc. — This eddo is of tlie dasheen tyiie, but it 

 ajipears to be inferior to the West Indian da.sheens. 



In reference to the li.st of sweet potatos, Mr. Barrett 

 suggests that the proper name of the variety known locally 

 as ' Van Ness Red ' is ' Van Nest Red ' and similarly that the 

 name ' Vineless Beech ' should read ' Vineless Bunch.' 



