March i, 1883.] 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



751 



Department, Agricultural aud Oommerce, N. W. Provincos 

 aud Oudli, dated Dth November, forwardiujj sample of c/oor 

 manufactured at tho Uowaporo Experimental i'arm from 

 amber colored Sorglio, also specimen of Pulp prepared at 

 the Liicknow Paper Mills from the refuse of the stalks, anil 

 soliciting opinion on those samples. The following report 

 kindly prepared by Mr. W. H. Cogswell, with reference, to 

 the above was submitted to the meetings: — The samples 

 above referred to are worthy of consideratiou, both being 

 products of some value, if properly and carefully prepared. 

 The plant is well knowu. Sorgho or Sorghum, the seed of 

 which yields a hard food-grain, capable of being ground 

 into good white flour. It is also used for cattle feeding pur- 

 poses, the greeu fodder of the plaut being highly 

 nutritions and sweet. The .sample of i/oof said to have 

 been prepared from the expressed juice of this plant is 

 very soft, pasty, sticky, and devoid of all granulation. 

 In its present hard dry condition it would be saleable 

 in the baz.ir at about Ks. 2-8 to Es. 3 a bazar maund, but if 

 subjected to a damp atmosphere or kept during the rainy 

 season, it would quite change its character and become dis- 

 solved in the form of molasses, in which state it would be 

 suitable for distilling into spirit only, and be worth about 

 Ks. 1-8 a bazar maund. I am however of opinion that with 

 care aud cleanliness in boiling the e.vpressod juice and better 

 manipulation generally, this plaut is capable of yielding a 

 gooil marketable </oor, th.at further efforts should be made to 

 improve upon the sample now under consideration, and in 

 doing so that details should be given of the cost of pro- 

 ducing it, and th,at a larger sample be furnished. The 

 samples of tho caue-like stalks after pressing, prepared in 

 the unbleached and bleached state for paper material, are 

 too small, insignificantly so, to admit of a very reliable 

 opinion being given. They would be suitable as short stuff 

 or filling in the " Pulp," at a low price, and as much would 

 make fair raw material for paper manufacturing ; but the 

 main questions for consideration are what would be its first 

 cost, then the cost of transport to the consuming market or 

 paper mill, and whether the supply would be constant and 

 to what extent. I submit it wouM be well in all such re- 

 ferences as tliis one that lai'ge samples should be supplied to 

 enable experts to give reliable opinions, and that full details 

 of cost, &c., should be furnished, so that with such data 

 at hand it might be seen if aud good practical results 

 would be the outcome of further investigation and trials. 

 The subject is one of much interest and importance in 

 the increasing demand for paper making materials with 

 which this country abounds." 



INDIARUBBER. 



(J/adras Ayvi-Horticultural SocieU/.) 

 Read the following letters which appeared in the Madras 

 Mail of 1st and 10th November 188'i :— 



•* OE.\Ti.\ KuuBKit Trf-es. — Information on the following 

 points would oblige : — l.^Wh.at size do Oeara trees, (or 

 plants ?) attain ? 2. — At what age are they ready for 

 tapping (* 3. — Are the trees deciduous, or evergreen ? 4. — 

 Are they surface or deep feeders ? 5. — What is the most 

 suitable distance apart at which to plant them ? 6. — About 

 what quantity of rubber may each tree be expected to yield 

 annually ?" 



" At a time when the Oeara Kubher tree is attracting so 

 much .attention in Oeylnn an<l elsewher, 1 think a few lines 

 about its cultivation in Southern India, may be interesting 

 to some of your readers, and I hope you will be able to find 

 space for them in your viluable paper. About six months 

 ago, some gentlemen imported Ceara rubber seed from 

 Oeylon. The produce of these trees may now be seen 

 flourishing in a wonderful maimer at the foot of the Neil- 

 gherry Hil's, by any one curious enough to look out of the 

 tonga, just before reaching Kallar. Being much interested 

 in the introduction of this comparatively new, but very 

 valuable product, I gladly availed myself of an invitation 

 to inspect these trees more closely. The rapid growth of 

 the Oeara rubber tree is marvellous : some, measured six 

 months old from seed, were fnlly eight feet high, and a 

 cutting, that I was told had been put down scarcely six 

 months ago, was quite eight feet high and in blossom. 

 Being of such wonderfully rapid growth, the tree is natur- 

 ally very susceptible of winil, and liable to be blown 

 over, until it gets firm hold of the ground, consequently 



a sheltered position is most necessary. It seems to thrive 

 on poor soil, requires no .shade, and very little rain. 'With 

 such moderate reipnrements we may expect to hear before 

 long, that this valuablo tree, the demand for the produce 

 of which seems to bu unlimited, aud whicli is now being 

 so ruthlessly du-stroyed in its natural home, is being largely 

 planted in India, where there is so much land likely to 

 suit it. Dr. Trimeu of the Peradeniya gardens, Ceylon, 

 recently said in one of his reports, that the Oeara" tree 

 thrives in Oeylon up to at least a level of 3,00d feet, and 

 I believe on the Assaniboo Hills, Oeara rubber trees are 

 to be seen flourishing on abandoned coffee land. How 

 ranch of the unprofitable coffee land wo hear of in South- 

 ern India, might be utilized in the same way? At pre- 

 sent, in these parts, men seem to have scarcely a thou^!ht 

 for anything but Chinchona, and doubtless the man who 

 has a promising Chinchona estate coming to maturity is 

 much to be envied, but, in Oeylon, where Chinchona is 

 quite as much the rage, if not more so, than in Iiulia, 

 the planters, do not forget to have more than one string 

 to their bow, so that, as well as Chinchona, Cocoa, Card- 

 amoms and Liherian coffee, rubber is being largely planted 

 out. All these I was stioivn Hourishintr both in nursf-ries 

 and in the open, at the place to which 1 refer, at the fo.ji 

 of the Neil^herries. Hut to return to the rubber, " The 

 Tropical Agriculturist" tells us that some samples of rubber 

 recently taken home by Dr. Trirnen from youu?- Oeara tree- 

 in Ceylon, has been valued by the India Rubber, Guita 

 Perchi, and Telegraph Works ('ompany, at from 2/9 to 3/u 

 per lb. Besides the Coara variety, I was shown some plants 

 of the Hevea Brazilinims^ African and Singapore Rubbers, 

 much finer kinds, but tjiking- longer to come tom.aturity, and 

 requiring gird land and a moist climate. There is al^o the 

 Castelloa Rubber, .a cutting of which was tried but tailed. 

 This variety only thrives at a low level, and is very difficult 

 to propagate fro-o cuttings, whereas the Ceara seems to he 

 most easily p'opagated either from seed or cuttings, aud 

 rea'lily adapts itself to any locality up to quite 3,01)0 Icet ; 

 ittherefore seems to be the best for general cultivation. 

 I was informed that a considerable quantity of seed has been 

 sent to the S. E. Wynaad, where it is to he tried on some 

 of the unprofitable coffee binds of the various gold companies. 

 Unfortunately the unusually heavy monsoon ha^ been rather 

 ag-ainst the experiment. From what I could gather, it 

 seems that it would be bettor to plant out the young Cear.as 

 after the first, heavy burst of the monsoon, say iu thenioiiths 

 of August or October, when the ground is thorotighly satur- 

 ated, and the showers only occasional with bursts cf sun- 

 shi.ie between. The germination of the seed seems a very 

 siuple process, and generally occurs in ten days, and some- 

 times lesp, from the time the seed is placed in the damp 

 sand. The S' ed eoat, being extremely hard, requires 

 very careful filing, so as to enable it to burst mere 

 ea-sily ; if this is not done the seed may t:ike months 

 to germinate. The gentleman to whom I am indebted 

 for much of the above information, and under 

 wh'pse fostering care tho rubber, I refer to on 

 "Chelmsford" has been so successfully reared, told me 

 hat he would be delighted to show any visitors over his 

 small plantation, who, as well as myself, might be inter- 

 ested iu this new industry." — Jfadras Mail, 1st Xooeinber, 

 1882. 



"Having some knowledge of the subject of the Ceara 

 Rubber tree and experience in its cultivation, I beg to 

 reply to "0. F." 's enquiry in your issue of the 1st instant. 

 Trees at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Peradeniya, Oeylon, 

 in 1880, had attained in two aud-a-half years a height 

 of from 25 to 30 feet, with a stem of 1 foot 9 inches 

 in circumfitrence at yard from the base, and supposed to 

 be about half the size of a fully grown tree. Mr. Robert 

 Cross (who brought the tree from Brazil) remarks in his 

 report that the tree can be tapped on attaining a diameter 

 of 4 or 5 inches, or, as is tho case in Ceylon, after about 

 two years' growth. The tree is deciduous. Like its re- 

 lative the Mandioc, it has large tubers on its spreading 

 roots. Six feet apart * is, I behove, considered the most 

 suitable distance to plant. The yield per tree is uot yet 

 positively ascertained, but as much as 1| lb. yetirly per 

 tree is expected, which at 2s 9d to 3s per lb. (as quoted 

 by an "occasional correspondent" in the same issue of 



* Ferguson's "Indiarubber and Guttapercha" seems to 

 prefer from 10 to 20 feet apart. 



