JtJLY i, 1882.] 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



15 



Trimen says this is still the only species which has 

 flowered. "Seed has been supplied, during the jear, 

 to the Coverniiipnt gardens iu India (Calcutta, Saharun- 

 pore, Ootacaniund), and distributed as witlely as 

 possible among tlie planters in the colony, 24,550 

 seeds having been thus dispoeed of, as widl .is 1,879 

 rooted cuttingf*. We have also sent small quantities 

 to the Biitanic Gardens of Singapore, Mauritius, .Jamaica, 

 British Guiana, and Kew, the Acolimutisation .Society 

 of Qut-euslanil, and iMr. Lowe, Her Brittauio Majesty's 

 Resident in Perak." 



Dr. Trimen adds: — "This pUnt is now flourishing 

 in Ceylon in suitable places, and proves very hardy ; 

 in the new estates in the Trincomdee di.stric' it is 

 reported to be thriving, but to have .shown itself 

 intolerant of wet. In the Nil!<iris, I am informed, 

 it is doing well at 2,400 fe>-t ; and Major Seaton 

 reports from British Burma that there are 500 and 

 upwards set out, and well established in the Mergui 

 plantation." 



Jamaica, — Mr. Morris reports: — "This plant is 

 evidently of a very hardv character, and adapts itself 

 readily to thp exigencies of culture. Plants ntCastleton 

 (600 feet) and at tlie Parade Garilen, Kingston (50 

 feet) are doing well. At the former gardens, young 

 trees, when about 9 to 12 feet high, were beginning 

 to flower, but the hurricane deprived us of the hope 

 of procuring seed this year. Judging by reports from 

 South America, it is possible that tracts ol' dry, 

 stony — almost worthless — lands, in the plains, may be 

 turned to good account by means of this cultivation." 



Parn Rtibhfr ( hevea brasilieihtls). — On the cultivation 

 of this rubber plant in Ceylon, Dr. Trimen reports 

 that " it will be probably found to be satisfactory 

 only in rich land, not much above sea-level, where 

 the temper:iture is high and equable, and the rainfall 

 large. At Peradeniya, the trees are making but 

 slight progress, and suffer from wind, especially in 

 the dry north-east monsoon. At Heneratgoda, their 

 progress is all that could be wished. Our largest 

 trees are now, at three feet from the ground, IG inches 

 in circumference. During the year, 062 cuttings were 

 raised and distributed. Ifevea has proved completely 

 unsuited to the climate of Calcutta, but is doing well 

 iu Burma and Perak. In the latter place, a tree has 

 flowered sparingly, at 2^ years old, and 35 feet high." 



African Rubbent ( Landotphia spp.). — On this point 

 it is stated that all the present commercial sources 

 of African caoutchouc belong to the above genus, 

 which is a group of woody climbers, all of which 

 probably jield caoutchouc peculiar to tropical Afiica 

 and the adjacent islands. African caoutchouc comes 

 inio commerce, both from the west and the east coasts, 

 and only one of the rubber vines is common to both. 

 Three species of Landolphia are described as pro- 

 ducing c.iontchouc on the West Coa»t of Africa. Tiie 

 form in which West African rubber comes into 

 coaimerco is somewhat peculiar : it is accounted for 

 by the method of collection, which has been described 

 as follows ; — Every piirt exudes a milky juice when 

 cut or wounded, but this will not run into a vessel 

 placed to catch it, as it dries so quickly, and forms 

 a ridge on the wound, and stops its flow. The blacks 

 collect It by making long outs in the bark with a 

 knife, and as the milky juice gushes out, it is wiped 

 oft continually by the lingers, and .-imeared on their 

 arms, shoulders and breasts, till a thick covering is 

 formed. This is peeled off their bodies and cut into 

 small squares, which are then said to be boiled in 

 water. The three species referred 10 above are Lan- 

 dolipha owariemis, L. Monnii, and L. jlorida. From 

 the E.ist Coast of Africa four speeies are referred to 

 as furnisliing rubber of commerce, namely. L. flar. 

 via (before referred to on the west), L. ' Kiriii, L- 

 Petersiana, new and undescribed species, and a species 

 though distinct, not yet sufficiently known to admit 



of scientific description. The following extract from 

 a report to the Foreign Office by Mr. Holmwood, the 

 Vice-Consul at Zanzibar, is de-onptive of the mode 

 of colleot'ug. the rubber :—" The process consisted in 

 cutting clean slices of bark from theirunk and branch- 

 es, from three 10 ten inches in length, and from 

 i to J inch iu bresulth. The cuttings were made some- 

 times fnun one side only, but generally they were 

 rscoed all over the tree, about lialf of its bark being 

 thus removed. The method of making the halls of 

 rubber — which average two inches in diameter— is as 

 follows :— A quantity of milk is dabb'd upon the 

 forearm, and being peeled off, forms a nucleus This 

 is applied to one after another of the fresh cuts, and 

 being turned with a rolary motion the exuding milk is 

 wound off like eilk from a cocoon. The affinity of 

 ihis liquid for the coagulated lubber is so great, that 

 not only is every particle cleanly removed from the 

 cuttings, but also a large quantity of semi-coagulat- 

 ed milk is drawn awaj from beneath the nnctit 

 bark, and during the process a break in the thread 

 rarely occurs. By working hard, one person can 

 collect 5 lb of rubber, per diem, though the average 

 is one half thisamount. I was assured, however, 

 that in the interior, where the trees weie large, it is 

 no uncommon thing for one man to collect 7, or even 9 

 lb. in a day. The regular season for the collection of 

 india-rubber lasts from about the middle of May 

 till the first week in December. This "has little 

 connexion, however, with the state of the tree, but is 

 owing to the natives being generally engaged during, 

 and for some time after, the rainy s.ason in cultivat- 

 ing their lands." He further reports, that, in the 

 districts of Mungao and Kilwa alone, india-rubber 

 " iias created anew trade, which finds profitable em- 

 ployment for all those classes whose means of sub- 

 sistence came to an end with the suppression of 

 the illegal slave trade. The total exports from thees 

 places now (ISSO) exceeds 1,000 tons annually. Since 

 last season the price has ri.sen from £140 to £150 

 per ton, and there seems no reason to' suppose it will 

 ever again fall to the former figure." With regard 

 to the destruction of the rubber vines by the collect- 

 ors, Vice-Consul Holm wood takes a somewhat 

 gloomy view. He says it is " admitted that, while 

 _three years ago the supply of india-rubber was alto- 

 gether derived from the country within 50 miles of 

 the coast, the great bulk was now procured from 

 Mahenge and Ubena, countries distant 150 to 200 

 miles from Kilwa ; the supply from the more ad- 

 jacent districts, having, moreover, greatly fallen off, 

 anil, in some instances, entirely ceased" Consul 

 O'Neill more recently remarks, in his report for 1880, 

 on the trade of Mozambique; — " It is curious to note 

 the marvellously rapid development of the india-rubber 

 industry. In 1873, only £143 worth of india-rubber 

 passed through the Custom-house of Mozambique; 

 in 1876, it reached the value of £22,198, and in 1879, 

 it exceeded £50,000. It would seem, now, to have 

 reached its climax, while the present rude method of 

 collecting this produce prevails, and until communic- 

 ations with the interior are properly opened up, for the 

 careless catting of the trees by the untaught hands of 

 th ■ natives has resulted in the destruction of enormous 

 tracts of india-rubber forests near the coast." 



From specimens of rubber-yielding plants received 

 at Kew from Sir John Kirk, it seems that one of 

 the Zanziliar plants is a .soecies of Landotp/da 

 hitherto unknown to science, and now proposed to be 

 called Landolphia Kirhii, in honour of Sir John 

 Kirk. With regard to the mode (,f culleoting the 

 rubber from Landolphia Petersiana, Sir John^Kirk 

 thus describes it in a report to the Foreiyu 

 Olfioe : — " The mode of prepai ation of this india-rubber 

 differs essentially from either of the other two kinds, 

 the juice being here gathered in a fluid state, by 



