ToL. VI [. Xo. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



415 



FORSTERONIA RUBBER FROM 



JAMAICA. 



A report lecently dbtained from iW Iinperiiil 

 Institute on a isample of rubber prepared in Jamaica 

 from tiie vine Ftirrteronia floriliuniJa leaves no doubt 

 that the rubber furnished by this vine is of good quaiitv, 

 and if obtainable in quantity, would be readily saleable! 



The Forsteronia plant gtow.s profusely in the limestone 

 •districts of Jamaica, and it was desirable therefore that the 

 commercial value of the rubber produced from the latex of 

 the vine should be known. The sample of rubber .sent to 

 London weighed about 1.3 oz., and consisted of two small 

 .sheets and one larger cake of rubber. The report issued by 

 the Imjierial Institute states that the rubber was clean, free 

 from stickiness, and e.\hibited satisfactory physical properties. 

 The results of analysis showed that it was of good (piality, 

 the dry material containing nearly 89 per cent, of true rub- 

 ber. Resin was present to the extent of 7-1 per cent. 



The rubber was submitted for commercial examination 

 to brokers who reported that it would probably realize 2.s. id. 

 per lb. in London with fine hard Para from South America 

 •quoted at 3.s. bhd. per lb. 



NEW RUBBER PLANTS FOR THE 



WEST INDIES. 



Reference w-as made in the A<ji-iiultii ml News 

 -of November 80, 1907 (Vol. VI, p. 3So), to the rubber- 

 yielding tree known as Jiquie Manitoba, which occurs 

 naturally in large quantity in the Brazilian State of 

 Bahia. This plant beloi/gs to the same genus (Mani- 

 ]((>t)i\s the well-known Ceara rubber tree, and the name 

 Miniilmt (iichiifomn, Ule, has been given to it. From 

 further information it appears that at least two 

 other valuable species of Manihot are found in Bahia 

 ami ill the adjoining state of Piaiihy. To these, the 

 names M. piaithi/ensis and M. heptapliylla, respective- 

 ly, have been given. Seeds of these new rubber plants 

 were sent to Kew Gardens, from which .seedlings have 

 been raised and distributed to portions of the Empire 

 within the tropics. A lengthy article dealing wdth 

 "the three species was published in the Kew BtillHtii, 

 No. 2, 1908. 



The Imperial Commissioner of Agriculture recently 

 received from Kew a consignment of seeds of both Jf. 

 ■dichotoina and M. piaulujemis, and these will be sent out to 

 the various Botanic Stations with tlie object of testing the 

 suita!iility of the two species for economic cultivation in the 

 AVest Indies. It .seems likely that these new varieties will 

 prove of considerable importance in the future, and .some 

 notes on their characteristics, therefore, may well be given. 



Mdiiiltof ihchotoiitn (Jiquie ifanicfJia) does not form 

 quite so large a tree as the Ceara, and is from 16 to 38 feet 

 in height. The stem also does not bi'come so thick, and the 

 bark is thinner, ami usually paler. The leaves are 3- 5-partite, 

 and are much .smaller than in the case of the Ceara. The 

 smaller leaves and- the large, long seeds afford the most 

 important characters for distinguishing this species from 

 M. Glaziomi. 



The ' Jiquie ' occurs more or less plentifully among the 

 forest growth, on mountain slopes in the south-east of Bahia. 

 It thrives best on red, loamy soil, and is found more rarely 



on sandy .soil. Dr. Ule, a German botanist, reports that in 

 some parts the ' Jiquie ' trees constitute .50 per cent, of the 

 forest. It seems probable, however, that the wild supply 

 will soon be exhau.sted. It has been found from experiment 

 that trees of .1/. <Ucli,,t<,i,Hi can be made to yield their latex 

 at from four_ to five years from planting, but that the ma.xi- 

 mum return is obtained from the age of eight years onwards. 



Maiulwt pi<iul(i/,nixli( is a tree with a short stem (no 

 more than from ,S-1(; feet in height), but with a broad, densely- 

 leaved crown, the branches being forked two or three times. 

 This species is found in the State of Piauhy, and grows on 

 the sandstone mountain ranges. The bark of ^f. pin iihi/' >!.■<;.■.■ 

 is not so hard as that of the Ceara. In collecting r'ubbi'i- 

 from the above two tree.s, the stem is cut in a wav^ line by 

 means of a knife, which is curved or rounded at the apex, 

 and a small metal cup is placed at the end of the cut intd 

 which the latex runs. The latex begins to coagulate as soon 

 as collected, and is then pressed by hand into lialls, wiiich 

 are afterwards compressed in cylinders and well dried. The 

 total outinit of rubber at present obtained from the wild 

 gro\\th of J/, dirhototiin amounts to over 400 tons, and from 

 J/. j«uii/ii/enxlit at considerably ovei- 500 tons. Plantation.s 

 of the former variety ha\-e lately been made. 



liubber from J/, dii-lwtuiiia has been valued at from S.v. 

 to 8.S. M. per kilo. (2-2 lb.) and that from J/. Plauhi/imix at 

 7.'.-. 6r7. per kilo., at a time when Para rubber was quoted at 9.s-. 

 per kilo. 



Although the quality of the produce is not quite so good 

 as that from Jfeivn /ii-axdieiixi.i, these new rubber trees are 

 undoubtedly well worthy of cultivation, more especially in 

 dry and less fertile districts. It is considered that Ijotli 

 J/, dn-hotiiian and J/, pimihi/ciisiti are likely to prove more 

 profitable than Ceara rubber. They not only give a far 

 higher yield of rubliei', but their bark is thinner and not so 

 hard, and they are less liable to injury in tap[)ing. .1/. dirhnUuini 

 is especially suitable for firm, loamy .soil, and M. jilmilit/tuidx 

 gives good results on light, sandy land. 



EDUCATIVE VALUE OF SCHOOL 

 GARDENING. 



The place of school gardening in a .system of iMhicatiori, 

 and the aim of such teaching are coii.sidered in an article Mhich, 

 appeared in a recent number of the Tropical AuriciiUnriM. 

 The writer emphasizes the fact, to wdiich it is often 

 nece.ssary to make reference, that agricultural teaching and 

 school gardening in elementary .schools are primarily valuable 

 on account of the training they afi'onl in habits of oliservalion, 

 and the added interest they create in agricultural life and pur- 

 suits. The actual amount of kn<iwledge g.une<l by the pupil.s 

 in regard to methods of cultivation is also of direct use, 

 but the accpiirement of such knowledge should not be the 

 main aim of the work. Prom this point of view, therefore, 

 school gardeiuiig should be regarded as an instrument of 

 education — a means to an end, and not an end in itself. 



In the article mentioned, it is urged that in any school in 

 which nature teaching and gardening are taken u[> thoroughly 

 they should form the main subject with children from six to 

 nine years of age, and continue to occu|)y a prominent place 

 with pu(iils of more advanced age. 



The author describes the gardening work at liis own 

 .school, in which the children are taken in small groiijis for 

 work. It has been founil that eight or ten children are as many 

 as one teacher can direct advantageously, unless it be in sudi 

 operations as weeding and wateiing. With a consideraldy 

 larger number, the work becomes over-organized, ami 

 developes rather into drill than nature teaching. 



