^OL. XIII. No. 308. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



59 



RUBBER INDUSTRY. 



WEST INDIAN DEVELOPMENT. 



THE QUESTION OF VARIABILITY OF 

 PLANTATION PARA. 



Mr. 1j. J. Eaton, Government Agricultural Chemist, 

 F.M.S, in discussing this subject recently in the Agricultural 

 Bulletin of the Federated Mala;/ Stites (November 1913), puts 

 forward the opinion that the disparity in prire between the 

 plantation and Brazilian product is in all probability due to 

 ■variability, not amongst the rubber produced from one estate, 

 but amongst the produce from a large number. The principal 

 cause of the estate variability in question is probably due 

 almost entirely to variation in the methods of coagulation 

 and machining. The Malay Mail, we are told, has made 

 the suggestion that a general formula should be published 

 •which would enable any estate to turn out a standard rubber. 

 IMr. Eaton says that our knowledge at presect is not suffi- 

 ciently advanced to allow of a universal formula being 

 constructed, though in the paper under consideration, 

 a tentative scheme is put forward which is worth the consid- 

 eration of all those who are interested in the estate production 

 of plantation Para. Mr. Eaton contends, moreover, that 

 the general fall in price between the Brazilian product and 

 that of the Middle East has not probably been due to the 

 increase of the output of the plantation product. The question 

 jmay be raised, however, that if the fall has not been 

 influenced during the present year by the increased output 

 or by the prospects of increased output in the future, why 

 was there not as much disparity between the two classes of 

 prices in 1912 and previous years? An explanation may 

 lie, of course, in the circumstance that there were fewer 

 •estates in bearing in 1912 and previous years, and therefore 

 .less variability. 



The idea has been advanced that a cause of inferiority 

 of plantation Para has been the posbibility th;iL the rubber 

 trees of the Eastern plantations are not the genuine flevea 

 brasiliensis, which in the Amazons produces the best quality 

 of rubber. Mr. E. Bateson, Government Assistant Mycolo- 

 gist, F.M.S., discusses this subject in another article in the 

 same journal referred to above, and a> far as evidence is 

 available, shows definitely that the trees of the East and of 

 Brazil are identical species. The whole question, as will be 

 remembered, was investigated by Dr. Hiiber. This botanist 

 inspected the rubber trees growing in the district from which 

 Wickham originally collected seed for distribution to Ceylon. 

 Two species of Hevea were found, //. brasiliLnsi.i and 

 JI. rolliuii. The rubber from //. collina is not equal to fine 

 bard Para. The position then was: did Wickham's collection 

 consist entirely of seeds belonging to //. brasilie»sis, or was 

 some seed of J/, collina included' An extensive examination 

 of veteran trees in Ceylon showed that there were no speci- 

 mens of //. collina among them. But of the original trees, 

 which numbered about 2,000, only about sixty are now alive, 

 and it is possible that some of the non-surfivors belonged to 

 the species Collina. In that case their off-spring would be 

 found in rubber estates, mingled in smaller or greater num- 

 bers with trees of //. brasiltensis. It was therefore necessary 

 to pursue a more extended search in the different rubber- 

 growing countries of the East. After careful and extensive 

 inspection, no evidence could be obtained in support of the 

 existence of //. collina among the trees in cultivation. 



Since Wickham's consignment, no seeds or plants of 

 Hevea have been imported into the East from Brazil. 

 Therefore it is evident that there is no foundation for the 

 assumption that the variability of plantation Para is due 

 to the intermixture of different species of Hevea. 



THE TRADE OP BRITISH GUIANA. 



The following article has recently appeared in the 

 London Financial Times (.January 8, 191-t). It deals 

 with the export trade of British (Iniana during 1913, 

 and makes particular reference to Canadian and British 

 markets: — 



From an Imperial point of view the outstanding feature 

 of this colony has been the extraordinary development of 

 trade as between the Dominion of Canada and ourselves. 

 It seems difficult to realize that the sugar shipment tj 

 Canada is more than double that to the United Kingdom 

 and more than tenfold that to the United States, the figures 

 being, respectively, 53,430 tons to Canada and 20,310 tons 

 to the United Kingdom, while the United States, our former 

 market, run a bad third with the infinitesimal amount of 

 2,497 tons. Canada, despite its temperance laws is alsD 

 holding out the hand of friendship to the colony so far as 

 the market for our famous rum is concerned, 124,.537 gallons 

 being the total shipped from this colony to the Dominion 

 during the year. 



The coco-nut industry, on which so many hopes are 

 based, unfortunately shows a decrease in the quantity of 

 exports, 714,91.5 being recorded, as against 1,104,484 for 

 last year. There is, however, a possible explanation for this. 

 There has been hrst of all a most serious prevalence of a pest 

 attacking the coco-nut palm, which the Board of Agriculture 

 and its professional advisers have found great difficulty iu 

 dealing with, and, secondly, more and more local growers of 

 the coconut are recognizing the commercial value of the nut 

 and setting to work themselves to derive the profit entailed 

 by the production of copra and oil. 



The rice industry continues to hold somewhat more 

 than its own, the export being more than double that its 

 1912 The actual exports up to date are 15,821,878 lb., as 

 against 5,914,447 B). for the corresponding twelve months. 

 The importance of this industry to the colony cannot ba 

 underestimated. Although it may be said to affect our 

 undoubtedly limited labour supply seriously, still not merely 

 to ourselves but to the entire West Indies and our sister 

 Guianas, this industry is of incalculable value. So far as 

 Surinam and Cayenne are concerned, the exports amount to 

 1,1.50,000 Bt)., while 13,037,720 R. went to the Briti,sh We.3t 

 Indies. It will thus be seen that from an abstract point of 

 view to the political economist the rice industry constitutsp. 

 a valuable asset to the colony. 



Balata, vi'hich had fallen on evil times, has resumed its 

 position with more favourable weather, and the returns exhibit 

 an exportation of 1,172,501 R. as compared with last year'.i 

 exports of 639,729 lb. This industry is of special interest to 

 the United Kingdom, as practically all of this forest product 

 finds its way there and is utilized therein. 



The demand for Demerara timber, whose commercial 

 value is being universally recognized, is steadily on the 

 increase, the exports reaching 417,612 cubic feet as against 

 266,392 cubic feet. In the Manchester Ship Canal hati 

 been used our famous greenheart, and it is worthy of note 

 that quite recently a representative of the United States 

 visited the colony for the purpose.^of arranging for supplies 

 of this tipiber for the construction of lock gates in the 

 Panama Canal 



Lumber also shows a steady increase, and it seems likely 

 to increase still further with the manifestation of interesu 

 outside the colony in the vast potentialities of the forest. 

 The exports aggregated 507,719 feet, as against 214,336 feot 

 last year. 



