Vol. VII. No. 165. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



263 



NEW YORK LIME MARKET. 



Lime groweis in Domiiiica who may he ihiiikiiit; 

 ■of making shipments of their fnnt to Ne.w York would 

 •do well to note the accompanying p.iragraph Irom the 

 Market Report of Messrs. GillespK', Urns. &. Co., dated 

 July 24. last : — 



The lime iiiarket (■ontinues liea\ily over-stiK-keil, and 

 while there is a little bu.sines.s doing it is of .such a small 

 character that it has no marked effect as lo reducing supjilies. 

 A further hindrance to any improvement that nnght be antici- 

 pated is the e.\trH large crop of Florida limes that has been 

 experienced. This has fully supjilied the iSonthcrn markets, 

 and receivers of the fruit are practically accepting any bids 

 they can get. Under these conditions we must again advise 

 shippers to refrain from forwarding further lots, and to-day "s 

 nominal ijiiotaliin is from -^STS to §4'50per l)arrel. 



WIND-BREAKS FOR ORANGE GROVES 

 IN PORTO RICO. 



Orange cultivation is an in(hi.sti'y of considerable 

 promise in Poitu Rico, and ninnln-rs of plantations are 

 now being set out. A pest which is causing a good 

 .(leal of trouble ill the citrus groves is the orange mussel 

 scale (L<'iiulo.<iuplieH Jicckii [.Mytilaspis citricola]), and 

 the 1907 Rt'ptirt of the Agricultural Experiment .Station 

 of the islanii mentions that e.xperiments are in progress 

 to determine the best methods of dealing with these 

 insects. Spraying with kerosene ii.is given lairly 

 satisfactory results. It is stated, too, ihat Porto Rican 

 planters now recognize that wind-breaks on the winil- 

 ward side of citrus gro\fs ])lay an iii;pnrtant. part in 

 cliecking tin; spread of the scales. The foll.iwing 

 notes on this point arc taken from the report: — 



Wind bre:iks are divide. I iiit;i two classes — permanent 

 .and temporary. IVrnriucnt wind-l.reaks are gener.dly jilanted 

 on the outer borders of the groves, while temporary wind- 

 breaks are planted between the rows of trees. There are 

 several plants which grow very quickly, and afford good 

 temporary wind protection, namely : bananas, sugar-cane, 

 l)igeon peas, and the China berry or Harbados lilacc (Me/in 

 Aieilnnir/i). Temporary wind-breaks should not remain be- 

 tween the rows more than three years, and in the case of 

 bananas a furrow should he ploughed on each side, thus 

 preventing'the roots from.saiipingthesoilaroundtheorange trees. 



For permanent wind-breaks at the present tinu' the 

 mango seems to be the best, but in setting out the young 

 trees they .should be headed as low as possible. Handioo is 

 also being planted, and if the cuttings are set out during the 

 rainy season they start much quicker. These slmuld be 

 planted close together, so as to form a hedge. 



When brush land is being <deared for planting, it is 

 .adyi.sable to leave a strip of uncut timlier 20 feet wide every 

 .3,00 to 400 feet. The results obtained from windd)reaks are 

 very marked, certain groves which were wind-swe[)t and were 

 not growing at all having been brought into excellent condi- 

 tion. In almost every grove on the island marked improve 

 ments have been observed as the result of planting wind 

 breaks. In certain areas there may fie found trees producing 

 from 1 to 2 l)Oxes of fruit, while trees not moie than '>0 to 

 70 feet away, and of the .same age as the former, but with 

 out wind protection are frecplently noticeabli:, which, from 

 their development, might not be more than a year old. On 

 the latter the branches are blown to one side and covered 

 with scale. Tiees protected from the wind require less spray- 

 dnjf, and the fruit is free from scars. 



THE COMING RUBBER EXHIBITION. 



The Internatiorjul Rubber Exhibition that is to be 

 held at the (Jlympia, London, from September 14. to 



20 next, is an important event in conne.xion with 

 a tropical agricultural industry that has of late years 

 become anmially of greater magnitude in many parts 

 of the world. In the Agricultural News of March 



21 last (Vol. VII, p. 21) full details were given id' i.lie 

 .arrangements then made in connexion with the 

 Exhibition, and a later note (Vol. VII, p. 1.53) gave 

 ftu'ther particulars. The following note, fi-oni ihe 

 India-ruhher TVorZiZ of Jidy 1 last, will give some idea 

 of the scope of the Exhibition : — 



Visitors t<:) the Rubfier Exhibition may be prepared to 

 see rubber plants growing, in every stage from the earliest, 

 t<igether with sections of mature rubljer trees aiul photo- 

 gi'a])hs of entire trees. Demonstrations will be given of all the 

 methods of tapping rubber trees that have been devised to 

 date, and .specimens of tajjping instruments will be on \ iew. 

 The variou.*; practice.s adopted in coagulating rublier wdl be 

 shoU'ii, and siiecimens of crude rubber in all known form.s, 

 whether ' plantation ' or ' wild ' will be exhibited. In other 

 <leparimeuts of the Exhibition, visitors will be able to see 

 a demonstration of modern factory processes for the conversion 

 of crude rubber into finished products, and an array of 

 manufactured goods into which rufiber enters. The rubber 

 manulactuier will there have an opportunity to study in all 

 its phases the development of the raw materials ; the [jrodncer 

 of rublier will be aide to see what the manufacturer wants in 

 the way of raw materials, and by what steps his pro luce is 

 turned into articles of commercial utility. 



COST OP RUBBER PRODUCTION IN 

 CEYLON. 



The editor of the India-rabber Joarnal has 

 latterly been making a tour in Ceylon and the East 

 Indies, for the purpose of visiting rubber estates in 

 that part of the world. In reference to the cost of rubber 

 production in Ceylon he writes : — 



I visited several rubber properties in the island possess- 

 ing a large number of Para rubber trees of different ages but 

 most of which had reached the tapping stage In practically 

 every instance the managers stated that they were able to 

 produce rubber at a proht when the market price was 3.s. per lb. 



The cost of production varies considerably in f'eylon, 

 e.speeially when the trees are of different ages. On one well- 

 known estate the rubber during 1907 was delivered f.o.b. in 

 (Jc.)lombo at l.<. 1'/. per lb. On the .same jiroperty it was 

 estimated tliat, in the future, when all the trees on the estate 

 had reached the tapping aj!;e, the cost would be reduced to 9(/. 

 per lb. On another property, the cost of producing rubber, 

 when dealing with young trees only, was Ls. 2rf. per B)., and 

 when the rubber was obtained from old trees alone this cost 

 was no more than Sd. per lb. The estate is a large one, and 

 the management hopes later to reduce the cost of ])roduction, 

 including frei.nhf to Lonilon, to from 9d. to 10'/. per )b. of 

 rubber. 



On yet another property, where the average daily wage 

 paid to the coolies was 6(/. per day, rubber was being produ- 

 ced from young trees aiul exported to London, the co.st, 

 including freight and London charges, reaching 2.«. per B». 

 The manager was of opinion that this cost would be reduced 

 to Is. id. per !b. as the trees matured. 



