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THE f KOPidAL AGRICOLTURIS'I'. 



[JUNli 1, 1886, 



aud as .m)01i as tlie expurimcut proved successful, private 

 planters ut once sbowod tlieir willingiu'ss to expend 

 their money in tlie same uuilcrtaking. .So has it proved 

 iu a minor degree in the preseot instance. 



Anotl]er fact is also wortliy of remenibrai\ce, uaiucly. 

 that aceliinatcil trees invariably improve, and tiicir 

 products, frinn the caro and attention paid in their 

 preparation, acipure a much higlicr value than spon- 

 taneous or uDcared-for ])roduce. As instances, mention 

 !nay be made of the much higher percentage of 

 quiuiiu' yielded iu India from cultivated trees than 

 from those of So-uth America ; anil also that a specimen 

 of Assam rubber, prepared according to my suggestions 

 (1 think by the late Mr. Leeds) was valued by one of 

 the highest authorities in London, Mr. Kdward Till, of 

 the (irm of Messrs. -Jackson and Till, at from 8d. to lOd. 

 per pound more than ordinary Assam rubber. * 



Fortunately, with respect to the special question of 

 guttapercha trees, some of these ditbculties do not 

 exist. There, iu their natural habitats, aud iu territory, 

 too, under Imperial rule and influence, are numbers of 

 these trees ready for conservancy aud cultivation, and 

 where nurseries of plants can be started for acclimation 

 elsewhere. Although some twenty-five years will have 

 to elap^e after planting before the trees are ready for 

 tapping or the axe. yet, in the interim, a revenue could 

 be secured, to pay working expenses at least, from the 

 trees already existing, by "farming" them, or by 

 royalties on the outturn. A stringent rule in all such 

 contracts should be that four to six trees slioidd be 

 planted in place of every one cut down. 



As to what species should be cultivated on the spot, 

 or to be introduced, gutta-taban, gutta-durian, gutta- 

 waringan. gutta-kalapeieh, and gutta-mukas, stand in 

 the frout. i\rany others, although passing under other 

 designations, n\ay prove etjually valuable. 



Amongst pseudo guttaperchas, or substitutes recom- 

 mended as supplementary to the true gutta, I would 

 certainly single out the balata gnm [Mhiii':<opii Indata^ 

 Gaertner), as it would prove a most valuable addition to 

 our trade supplies. As to the Indian varieties of this 

 group, I would strongly recommend that the pauchontce 

 should receive careful attention, and its product coUect.cd 

 and prepared in proper nnunier. Such specimens so 

 prcpaicd would then allow of the question being, pro- 

 pably, set at rest. I have not much hopes of cattiman- 

 doo, nuulali, and some other substances, but other uses 

 might be fouud for them if good samples and guaranteed 

 qualities were available. 



As to the climatic conditions necessary for the cultiv- 

 ation of guttapercha trees, Borneo, Labnan, Sarawak, 

 Singapore, aud, more especially, the Southern States of 

 the Malayan Peninsula, being the natural home of these 

 trees, present the first locahties in which cultivation 

 should be essayed. Ceylon, like some localities in 

 Assam, aud, possibly, the IS'icobar islands, would form a 

 congenial home for these plants. 



On the whcde question of Indiarubber, guttapercha, 

 aud pseudo-guttas, there is much still to be learned. 

 There may be yet many improvements to be made in 

 the collection and preparation, but these factj can 

 otdy be gleaned by one somewhat conversant with 

 market and niaimfacturiiig reciuiremeuts, added to some 

 iitntuuit of botanical and chemical knowledge. Such 

 a t.isk undertaken on the spot, if well executed, would 

 tlear iqi m.uy a doubtful poiut, aud render great and 

 lasting service to commerce aud science. — Journal of 

 Hit Sucicty of Arts. 



* In a paper on Indiarubber, delivered at the Society 

 bf Arts (Jiiiirnal of Iht Hocicly of Arts, December 17th, 

 iStiP), aud again iu niy report on the same subject to 

 the Indian Government iu 1872, I strongly recommend- 

 (id the rultivalion of the native Ficiie ikisticii, and the 

 acdin'atiun of the Ucrm BrasUitnsl.i, yielding I'ara 

 rubber, and also other species from which are obtidned 

 valuable commercial varieties. Backed as I was by 

 Mr. Clements It. Markham. CI!.,and Mr. Gubtav Maun, 

 of the Indian Forest Department) the Indian Goveru- 

 mcnt took the matter in hand, 



TEA CULTIVATION IN THE ^VESTEKN DUABS 



is thus noticed in a visit to Kuch Behar, the Bbntau 

 Duars and Assam, in the Indiiin Forester: — 



Jalpaiguri, on the banks of the Tista river, is no 

 longer a Military station, as it was for several years 

 after the Bhutan war. but is beconung a large centre 

 of trade, aud tea cultivation has spread over a large 

 extent of country at the foot of thir hills. It is 

 worth notice that 3,IJ00 strawberry plants which I 

 sent therc^ last October from Mussoorie, have grown 

 most vigorously, and have borne a fine crop of fruit 

 from February to May, as the damp clin>ate and 

 sandy soil when well manured suits them admirably. 

 Here I visited a tea garden belonging to the Tundoo 

 Tea Company, and had a day's mahsir fishing in the 

 .Jaldoka river, but only succeeded iu hooking one fish. 

 It was at tliis garden last year that a must elephant 

 killed sixteen coolies in one day, and -yet I hear that 

 no compensation was paid to their families by the 

 owner, who is the most influential Zamiudar in Berar, 

 but perhaps has never rightly understood what occurred. 



The tea seed for these Western Duar tea gardens 

 is imported from Assam, and it is an important question 

 whether tea seed is good when the testa or skin is 

 separated from the embryo inside the shell. I referred 

 this (juestion to Mr. Logan of Dhubri, who for 

 many years passed tea seed on its way from Assam, 

 opening the boxes and testing a certain proportion 

 of the seeds, but his opinion was that provided the 

 embryo was all right, that the separation of the testa 

 was not prejuilicial. Mr. Peal also says that opinion 

 is divided on this point, but does not consider it 

 prejudicial provided the seed is fully ripe, and he 

 has promised to test the question thoroughly by 

 planting two lots with and without the testa. From 

 -Talnaiguri, 1 went by the Northern Bengal Kailway 

 anci steamer to Dhubri, and thence by the new daily 

 steamer service to Tezpur, the civil station of the 

 Darraug District iu Assam. The best tea gardens in 

 Darraug are on a plateau of forest land which 

 approaches within 10 miles of the Brahmaputra, 

 and except for the clearings for tea cultivations is 

 covered with virgiu forest, known as the Oharduai 

 forest, up to the Akha hills. A large area consists 

 of pure forest of Mesua fcrrea, the Assam nahor 

 and Bengal nageswar, the timber of which might 

 surely be utilized for railway sleepers, for which there 

 is a lai'ge demand at present, as I hear that the 

 creosoted Norway pine sleepers imported for one of 

 the Bengal Kailways have proved a complete failure. 

 The jutili, Aliiiigiii c.rculsa, is another .social species, 

 and the amari, Amoorn specta!ii/is, the sania, Artocarpus 

 Chtiplaxha, the poma, VeiJrda Tooiia, and the gond- 

 soroi, CinnamonHiii ijlandidifcrmn. also yield fine tim- 

 bers and are disseminated through the forest. Whilst 

 old tea gardens with bad jhat of plant are being 

 abandoned in parts of D.u-rang, the fine young gardens 

 of high dasss hybrid and Assam indigenous plant 

 ou the forest plateau land, and eveu on grass land 

 below it, are doing very well, ev.-u at the present 

 low price of tea, and I hear thit Ee. O-lO-ti per lb. 

 was the best average price realized in the Darraug 

 district for la^t year's crop. The dark Assam hybrid 

 plant is now preferred iis more hardy than the light- 

 leaved indigenous. These forest gardens, on undulating 

 plateau land surrounded by a wall of Mtsuti ftrrca 

 trees, have a singular appearance^ but are said to be 

 more healthy than the grass laud gardens. As 

 formerly, the 1 ibor question is a great difficulty, but 

 machines arc now largely used everywhere, Davidson's 

 Sirocco iloiug the work of a large range of cliuliis. 



To lake an example of a fine tea estate, that of 

 the Boil Hi Company has 7,500 acres of fee siuqilu 

 forest, and uses up .annually 35.000 mauuds of fire- 

 wood iu its engines, and tlie wood for 4,500 boxes, 

 each containing IS superficial feet, or ij cubic foot 

 with .'.-inch planking, or taking in waste in sawing, 

 we may allow 1 cubic foot per box. A quantit.v of 

 timber is also used annually iu repairs to buildings, 

 so that perhaps we may some day hear of the large 

 tea companies managing their forests seieutifically. 

 Many gardeus which have no private forests still 



