THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



Jani'ary -26, 1918. 



COTTON. 



SEA ISLAND COTTON MARKET. 



The Report of Messrs. Henry W. Frost & Co., on 

 Sea J_Island cotton in the Southern States, for the 

 week ending December li, 1917, is as follows: — 



ISLANDS. There has been only a limited demand 

 throughout the week, the trade having temporarilj- withdrawn. 

 The factors continue unwilling to niai<e any concessions to 

 sell, as the orterings are not very large, and holders are not 

 urgent about selling, as they think that the cotton will be 

 required in time. 



As there is no freight room at present available (or 

 export, the buying is confined to the mills in this country. 



We quote viz: — 



Fine to fully Fine "3e. = 7.5c c.i.f. 



Fine to Fully Fine, otl' in preparation 71c. = 73c. c.i.f. 



<;eori;ias and floiiidas. The Savannah market has 

 remained quiet and dull, with apparently no demand, the 

 salts reported consisting entirely of cotton bought in the ' 

 interior towns, and only reported to the Exchange when 

 received 'at the port for shipment. The limited offering 

 stock is firmly held at prices last current, as Factors aie 

 still unwilling to make any concessions. 



We quote nominally: — 



Extra Choice to Fancy 74c. = 76c. c.i.f. 



Average Extra Choice 74c. = 76c. c.i.f. 



The exjorts from Savannah for the week were, to 

 Northern Mills 220 bales. Southern Mills 104 bales, and 

 from Jacksonville to Northern Mills, 900 bales. 



The United States Census Bureau estimates the total 

 crop as follows: — 



fSouth Carolina S 000 bales! 



Georgia 47,000 „ -Total 93.000 bales. 



Florida 3s,000 „ J 



f?^; This estimate is in accord with the general views of 

 the trade, except ihe South Carolina crop, which it is thought 

 may nnt exceed 7.000 bales. 



RUBBER CULTIVATION IN TRINIDAD. 



The Special Committee of the Board of Agriculture, 

 Trinidad and Tobago, appointed in April 191(> 'to investi- 

 gate and to report upon thf present position anl prospects 

 of rubber cultivation in the colony, and to suggest means 

 whereby tlie most effi'.-ient means of tajjping, and an uniform 

 method of preparing rubber may be introduced on each 

 plantation,' has presenteil its report, which is published in 

 the Jiulletin nf the D^'paitiiitnt of Agriculture, Triiiidud nnd 

 T'.i.ao;, Vol .\'VI, Part .3, 1917." 



The report is very thorough, reviewing in the first 

 place the history of rubber cultivation in the colony, then 

 giving its pre.sent condition, an(i ending by rei'ommendalions 

 as to cultivation of the trees, and preparing the product. 



The committee addressed a schedule of quw^lions to the 

 proprietor or manager of the l.">5 estates in the colony on 

 which there was auy pxtent of rubber cultivation. Only 

 fifty-two replies were received, 'onveying in some cases much 

 useful information. In addition, the committee visited some 

 twenty estates, and made p'Tsonal investigation into the 

 rubber cultivation on them. 



The two rubber-producing trees principally grown in 

 the colony are //cv.; hrasilicmU (I'ara rubber) and Casti/loa 

 elastica (Central .\merican rubber): these are dealt with 

 separately in the report. Some trees of Funtimtia e'nstica 

 (.\frican rubber) have also been planted in years past, and 

 this cultivation too is reported on. 



There are about 1,.500 acres of rubber cultivation in 

 the colony, and, besides, a larger area under mixed cultiva- 

 tion of rubber with other crops, generally cacao, but occa- 

 sionally coffee or limes. On the fifty-two estates which made 

 returns to the committee there are 130,-593 J/euea trees, 

 81,97-5 Caftillo.1, and 45,000 Funtumin. These totals 

 would of course be largely increased by the figures for the 

 103 estates not making returns. 



The export of rubber from the colony in 1905 was 

 .3,659 lb, of the value of £549, rising in 1907 to 27,505ft., 

 valued at £4,150, the highest output recorded. This 

 decrea.seil in succeeding years, with fluctuations, until in 

 1914 only 4,642 ft. were exported, valued at £500, but 

 in 1916 it had again risen to 10,170 lb, valued at £1,524. 

 Dealing first with He>'ea hrasilienns, the report states 

 that it WPS introduced into Trinidad in 1S7G, when two 

 plants were received by the Botanical Department from Kew. 

 In early days the weight of official opinion was on the 

 side of planting Cnstilloa in Trinidad. Mr. J. H. Hart, F.L S., 

 late Superintendent of the Botanic Gardens, in his report 

 on the Gardens for 1897, after enumerating the cultivated 

 species of rubber-producing plants, gave as his opinion: 

 'Of these, according to our experience, the most suitable for 

 growth in Trinidad is Castilloa elastica.' We apparently 

 based this conclusion on the following grounds: — 



'1st — It takes but few years before obtaining returns. 

 '2nd — It is e.isily tapped, and the latex is given uff in 

 good i]uantil}'. 



'3rd — The rubber can be obtained by mechanical means. 

 '4lh — The rubber is of the finest qualiiy." 



In consequence of this advice, the majority of planters 

 in Trinidad and Tobago who were taking up rubber culti- 

 vation planted ('Jn.<till'ii, while llcea, on the other hand, 

 was planted, except in a very few instances, only on an 

 fxpeiiinental scale, or among cacao. 



Further investigation, however, has not confirmed the 

 previous opinion as to the superiority of Caititl'H. Mr. .J. B. 

 Carruthers, who succeeded Mr. Hart, came to the colony with 

 experience of the plantations of Ih/'ei in Malaya and Ceylon, 

 and was very active in endeavouiing to build up a rubber 

 industry in Triniilad and Tobago. With this object he set 

 about 'obtaining accurate and reliable data by exact obser- 

 vation and experiments.' In the only paper he published 

 curing his short time of office before his death, ho stated 

 that fro)u general observation he was of the opinion that 

 the growth of Para rubber under the local conditions was 

 very little if at all inferior to that of trees, treated in tie 

 same way, of the same species in Malaya aqd Ceylon. 

 Although he did not apparently feel justified, before the 

 collection of more accurate data, in definitely pronouncing 

 in favour of J/nci, he was instrumental in causing the 

 (Jovernnient to arrange for the importation of 2,000,000 

 lle'f'i seeds from .Malaya, and in getting definite experimen- 

 tal work begun on an estate scale. The conunittee's opinion 

 is, that the results since then obtained demonstrate that 

 y/fW), under favourable conditions, gives in Trinidad 

 a return of rubber per acre comparable with that of average 

 •■states in Ceylon and the Federated Malay States. V<istillia, 

 on the other livtnd, has [roved a costly disappointnieul. 



The report gn?s on to make recommendations for the 

 cultivation of JJcven as u pure cmp. It is considered that 



