5" 



.THE TROPICAL AGlilCULTURlST. 



[July i, 1883. 



homes if the sugar-|)lanting interest had not turned out a 

 failure, owing to the dt'pressioD existing in the v»rious 

 markets of the world. Before long, he had no doubt, the 

 position of the company would be altered, and that British 

 North Borneo would be inoorporated in the British Em- 

 pire. Sir Richard Temple, in a long speech, urged the 

 development of the country by Chinese labour, which, he 

 said, was 50 per cent, better than Indian labour, and ex- 

 pressed a hope that at no distant date the country would 

 become a dependency of the Grown. Admiral Mayne, 

 Mr. de Miiller, who has recently returned from Borneo, 

 and Mr. J. Beaumont followed, and the discussion, after 

 lasting over one hour and-a-quarter, was brought to a close 

 by a few remarks from the chairman — the Duke of Man- 

 chester — who expressed his gratification at the advance the 

 colonial question had made during his absence in Australia. 

 This was the first appearance of His Grace at the Institute 

 since his return, and we need hardly say that he met with 

 a most enthsiastic recejitiou. — Eurojmin Mail. 



QUEENSLAND SUGAR PLANTERS AND THE 

 POLYNESIAN ISL4NDERS. 

 Brisbane, May 31st.— The steamer "Victoria," 

 which probably leaves on Tuesday, will take back 

 to their homes the islanders who were declared by the 

 Polynesian Commission to have been illegally re- 

 cruited. Mr. A. Musgrave, jun., goes with the 

 steamer as acting deputy commissioner for the Pacific. 

 The Queensland Government will be represented by 

 Mr. H. M. Cheater, Mr. M. C. Lawrie, and Dr. Smith. 

 The northern planDers are, however, taking steps to 

 prevent, if possible, the removal of the islanders, 

 formal protists have been entered with the immigra- 

 tion agents at Mackay and elsewhere, and also with 

 the Government. One planter at Mackay is said to 

 have flatly refused to give up his labourers at present, 

 and an injunction to restrain the Government from 

 removing them will be applied for, at the instance 

 of some of the Mackay planters, in the Supreme 

 Court tomorrow. The three Mackay firms who are 

 understood to be taking the chief action in the matter 

 are Messrs. Sloane and Co., the Colonial Sugar Com- 

 pany, and Messrs. Fanning, Naukivell, and Co. One 

 of the chief rr asons given is that if the labourers are 

 removed at the present time the sugar crop will be 

 completely ruined, 



♦ • 



INDIAEUBBER AND GUTTAPERCHA IN 

 THE DUTCH EAST INDIES. 



We have received a separate reprint of a paper 

 ftrm the February number of the Tijdschrifl ran 

 Nijve>'heid en Landbomo (Journal of Industry and Agri- 

 culture) published in Batav'a, the title of the pappr 

 being " Over de Toekomst der Caoutchouc-eultuur ' in 

 Oost-Indie " (On the Future of Caoutchouc Culture in 

 [Dutch] East India), being a notice of a "report 

 on planting experiments with caoutchouc yielding 

 trees during the (irst quarter of 1884, curried out by 

 the forester of the foreat di-trict of East Prfanccr, 

 A. H. Bprkhout." The review is dated " Batavia 

 19 h reccmbcr ISoJ," but there is no signature, ro 

 t! at wc cannot tell who the writrr's. He cimmcnces by 

 briefly skotching the history of 'udiarubb r and de- 

 tailing the u.'es to which it is put, and then 

 Jeals trparately wiMi the three commerciil vari- 

 etirs of East Indian, Sumatran, and American. 

 Under the first, he spe^iks of Uros'tgrnri ilasticuin 

 and Uroi'tiijmn knrd, bi't belorgirg to the family of 

 the Artorarpa''''.t. It seems that .lava has the oldest 

 plantati'^n in the world of knret t-ees, Messrs. Holland 

 having iu l>!f!6 formed an extensive plantation in the 

 eeijjjbbourliood of Sptbang. The writer goes on to 



i 



refer to the wasteful method of gathering the rubber, 

 and quotes from the Tropical AijriculturUt for Nov. 

 18S4, p. 3(11, an extract on this subject, the state- 

 ments in which, he says, are borne out by experience 

 in Java, and he quotes from Mr. Berkhoul's report 

 A instance of this, and then mentions the i-egulations 

 which are being enforced in Assam for the protection 

 of rubber trees. Details are given of experiments 

 by Mr. Berkhout with karet trees, which seem to 

 promise success. The usual method of propagating 

 this tree is by cuttings, but the writer thinks that 

 the USB of seed would be cheaper and more efficacious. 

 Proceeding to speak of Ceara rubber (il/a«(A()< ijlauovii), 

 the writer quotes from Mr. Berkhout's report details 

 of experiments with seed obtained from Ceylon iu 

 Dec. 18S3 through Messrs. John Prycc &, Co. Two 

 ditlerent methods were employed. A portion was 

 simply put out in the open air between gunuy bags 

 and kept constantly moist. To guard against the attacks 

 of auls, which are very foud of the kernels, the bags were 

 placed on rough trestles, the legs of which were 

 put into tins of earth and these into kerosene tins 

 tilled with water. Three days afterwards some of 

 the seeds had sprouted, but a large portion after 

 the expiry of a month showed no signs of germin- 

 ation : recourse was therefore had to filing, and the 

 seeds were once more placed between the gunny 

 bags. Many then showed that they possessed the 

 power of germination, but, filr. Berkhout adds, 

 filing is a difficult operation and if not done care- 

 fully causes harm instead of good : if the germ 

 is injured the cotyledons swell but soon rot and 

 no roots are produced. Mr. Berkhout adds that as 

 soon as the seeds begin to germinate they should 

 be planted with the root downwards 1 centimeter 

 (say ^ inch) deep. Seedlings should not be planted out 

 directly in nursery beds, as many would fall a prey 

 to ante, but should be put into pots Irlled with 

 sand aud placed on trestles. When the plumule 

 begins to develop the plant can be placed with the 

 ball of earth in the nursery bed, and for the 

 first few days shaded. The differences in the 

 growth of the plants Mr. Berkhout thinks 

 are to be explained by a portion of the 

 seed being from young trees. Figures are then 

 given of the growth made by plants at different eleva- 

 tions. Experiments were to be tried with cuttings, 

 but Mr. Berkhout considers these doubtful of success, 

 judging by experience with cassava, which is closely 

 allied to Ceara. The writer of the review then 

 quotes from the T. A for last Nov., p. 354, an extract 

 from the report "f the Agricultural Society of 

 Madras, giving part of a letter from Messrs, J. P. 

 William & Bros, of Henaratgoda on CearA cultivation, 

 aud directions for the germination of the seed, which 

 he compxrcs with those given by Mr. Berkhout, 

 Passing on to spe k of Ccifli/Ioa daalica the reviewer 

 fives an extract from Mr. Berkhout's Report relating to 

 the planting of seeds from a tree in Java all of which 

 germinated, the plants growing wel', Mr. Berkhout 

 ndd':— "The Btatenient of Dr. Trimcn, that the 

 Caslilha etnflica is destined, u' der cvreful culture, 

 to he a source of revenue, aj pears to me, in view 

 of what I have stated, perfect'y correct." luform- 

 atinn on the .Milject is .igain quoted from the 

 T. A., and then the rcvirwrr proceeds to 

 rotioe certain indigenous caou'chouc yielding tree«, 

 v'z. Liucouitcs cvijcnifu/iii, Biamnontia iiranili- 

 llora Wall., B. riiitUijlora F. fr. B,, B. spec. Jin:, 

 and Vahrii gummiferei, and finally Para rubber. 

 Figures for rainfall at various p'ates in Java are 

 then given, .ind a tab'e showing the growth of the 

 various varict'es of caou'chouc planted. The last 

 plant referred to in the Re( ort s a tree calleii 

 by the Malays hamharanij (F'cus /'"■l^a), which fleldii 



