MAfteu f, 1887.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



6t^ 



available information from all parts of the world. 

 Tapping and also felling and stripping are both 

 practised in South America. 



We now turn to the lowcountry of the Western 

 Province and from Kelani Valley we have the 

 following : — 



From Manager Mahalla, Muraloya and Dambuloya- 

 Those estates have neither acres nor trees of India- 

 rubber. I may mention that there are two or three 

 in Mahalla and Muraloya, but nothing is being done 

 to them. 



Pleasure Ground estate has 500 trees (? creepers) of 

 Landolphia Kirkiei India-rubber, eqaal four years' 

 growth. These are kept as show trees and are 

 very large, the largest was somewhat destroyed in 

 cutting thick stem for "Indian and Colonial Exhib- 

 ition.' They are being kept to see if they will seed. 

 [But why not send us raeasuiements'r' — Ed. 0. O.] 



More satisfactory is the following report of his 

 experience at Heneratgoda and Mirigama by Mr. 

 W. B. Lament : — 



Having reared about 100 plants of Ceara rubber 

 up to their fifth year and having given a good 

 deal of attention to them, I arrived through a long 

 course of experiments at the following practical re- 

 sults. One half of the plants turn out useless, either 

 from the inferior quality or small quantity 

 of their yield; that all such trees should be 

 eliminated as soon as their character is ascertained, 

 and replaced by others ; that no satisfactory result 

 will follow any attempt to obtain produce before 

 the tree is at least four years old ; that no system 

 of cutting or piercing the bark will give a satisfac- 

 tory yield ; that it is only iu the dry season, when 

 the tree is leafless, and the growth at a stand, that 

 a satisfactory result can be obtained, in the way of 

 harvesting. The plan of obtaining the rubber, that 

 my experiments led up to, was, as soon as the 

 leaves Degin to fall, remove the outer bark in vertical 

 strips of not more than two inches wide, and not 

 less than four inches apart. The tender inner bark 

 thus exposed to the sun breaks out, in something 

 like running sores, fiom which the rubber slowly 

 exudes and drips on the surface as fast as discharged. 

 In this process, the strip of exposed bark is des- 

 troyed, but a vigorous tree working from both sides 

 will close in on the bared part in the course of 

 the year, if the width is not more than two inches. 

 Ceara rubber planted at 100 trees per acre will, 

 after the second year, require hardly any expense in 

 cultivation, and for the harvesting I collected 301b. 

 last January and February, by one boy at 15 cents 

 a day, or say, 23 cents per pound, the local value 

 being about 80 cents. Supposing each tree equal to 

 an average yield of one pound per annum, and allow- 

 ing .SO cents for cultivation and collecting, 50 cents 

 would remain as profit, or R.50 per acre. It 

 is well to have the plant m the island, but 

 it is not likely to be largely planted so long 

 as there are other products that pay better, 

 or that are better understood, but a tune 

 may come when it will Irep a strait. 



"Fifty rupees an acre" is a return notto be des- 

 pised : indeed we doubt if the average from coco- 

 nuts for all cultivated plantations in the island 

 is so good, and, therefore, there ought to be plenty 

 of room for a systematic Ceara rubber industry 

 in Ceylon; but what is the use of speaking of 

 such returns as can be got here if we are to 

 accept the statement of a Java planter (already 

 referred to) conveyed to us by Messrs. J. P. 

 William & Bros, as follows: — 



The Editors Ceylon Observer. 

 Dear Sirs, — Many planters from different countries 

 had written us from time to time enquiring as to the 

 best mode of tapping the Ceara Rubber tree, and 

 we are glad to place before the planting community 

 the following letter sent us by a Ceara Rubber planter 

 in Java, dated 30th November 1836. We shall be 

 happy to give the name amd addrej^s of the planter iu 



question to gentlemen who may be willing to comma, 

 nicate with him. Newspapers please copy, — Yours 

 obediently, 



J. P. William & Bros. 



New Product Growers, Seedsmen. &c., 

 7th Jan. 1887. Heneratgoda, Ceylon. 



Letter referred to : — "■ From different papers I got 

 the knowledge that the tapping of the Ceara Rubber 

 tree (Manihot Glasioii) is very expensive and do not 

 give much results. I now beg to inform you that 

 by my manner of tapping even trees of nearly three 

 years age by once carving, produce four till five ounces 

 of guttah each, and this manipulation can be repeated 

 every two days during five or six months without 

 doing any harm to the carved tree, also supposing 

 every tree is carved 15 days a month, about five 

 months the production of every tree at, the end of five 

 months will be 300 ounces or 25 pounds. Besides that 

 my manner is not expensive, and the production is 

 of the first quality. If the different planters of the 

 Ceara Rubber tree hke to be acknowledged with my 

 manner of tapping I am ready to go to Ceylon in 

 order to show the manipulation if all costs of trans- 

 port and staying will be paid by the plant«rs, and a re- 

 munerntion according to the number of trees of every 

 plantation. As I do not know the planters of Ceara 

 Rubber and their number at Ceylon I cannot apply 

 to each of them directly, and therefore, call on your 

 kind assistance in this affair being ready to part with 

 you the remunerations the planters should like to 

 give for my manner of carving and tapping the above- 

 mentioned trees. Hoping to be favoured with any 

 answer of you." 



Messrs. William Bros., had better tell their corre- 

 spondent to patent his process for Ceylon and 

 then come here and lease the Ceara rubber groves 

 already fit for harvesting, while planting on his 

 own account. 



From the Southern Province we have two brief 

 reports : — 



Hurst-Pierpoint estate has five acres or 5,000 trees of 

 India-rubber, equal four years old. Nothing has been 

 done with them and no results can therefore be sent. 

 Trees are growing on bad soil at |an elevation of say 

 30 feet and are poor and scanty in growth. 



In Udugama district Rubber cultivation has been 

 dropped entirely. I asked some of the neighbours and 

 no one seems to have curried on experiments since 

 Mr. Dobree left the district, and I think he sent 

 you the result and particulars of his -experiment. 



We trust the above recapitulation of the present 

 stage of the Bubber Planting Industry in our 

 midst will have one good effect, namely, in stirring 

 up our planters to renewed interest in the subject, 

 and to experiments with the trees already available. 



JAVA AS A TEA COUNTKY. 



Java was, and notwithstanding the very con- 

 siderable ravages of leaf-disease, still is the second 

 coffee country in the world. Before the sudden 

 and mysterious outbreak of leaf -disease in 1869, 

 Ceylon promised to run the great Dutch Colony 

 rather hard for second place. As a tea country 

 Ceylon is, already far ahead of Java, although in 

 this enterprise, the latter had the start by a good 

 many years. Our export of tea in the past year 

 must have been close up to that of Java, while 

 there can be no question that in 1887, we shall 

 take rank as the fourth tea-producing country in 

 the world, in the following order : — 



Ist China ; 2nd India ; 3rd Japan ; ith Ceylon ; 

 5th Java. 



From a summary of statistics of Java tea issued 

 by Messrs. Gow, Wilson and Stanton, we observe 

 that against our hundreds of plantations only 

 thirty-three are shewn for all Java, a considerable 

 proportion of which sent little or no tea into the 

 London market. The leading estate is Mr. Kerk- 



