OCTOBEH I, 1906.] 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



9 



PROGRESS OF RUBBER CULTURE. 



CbNsUS Oh KbBHhK PLANIIMi IN CtYLON. 

 A^I^IIR proprietors of the Ceylon O/isen'ir. havinji finislied 

 I tlio compilation of tlieir "Ceylon Handbook and 



-*- Directory " for 1906-07, give out the figures relative 

 to the great progress which has been made in rubber 

 planting in that colony, the acreage now under rubber, or to 

 be planted in the sinnmer just closed, figuring at 104,000. 

 As recently as May, 1S98, rubber planting in Ceylon v\as 

 represented by an estimate of 750 acres. By May, 1901, tlie 

 Ctyloti f^/wd'/i'tv estimated 2500 acres, while the return to the 

 middle of 1904 gave an etpiivalcnt of 1 1.000 acres. I'laiiting 

 has gone on very rapidly witliiii llie jiast two jears. and es- 

 pecially the past twelve nioiilhs, duiiiiL; which nearlj 64,o( o 

 acres appear to have been added to the rubber aiea ol the 

 colony. 



These compilations have aUvaj's been made with great 

 care, the " Handbook " giving in detail the names and loca- 

 tion of plantation owners, with the acreage of each, thus 

 making their figures capable of verification. Since the.se 

 figures were made public in Ceylon, it has been suggested 

 that the rubber not included on the systematically laid out 

 plantations — in gardens and small fanns, and paiticuhirlj' 

 on native estates, would amount to 15.000 to 20,000 acres 

 more than the first published figures, which relate onlj' to 

 the estates of Englishmen. 



RUBBER PLANTING IN MALAYA 

 Tiiic first annual report of the department of agriculture of 

 the Federated Malay States, by Mr. J. li. Carruthers, states 

 that the number of acres thus far alienated for rubber cultuie 

 is about 100,000 acres, of which 38,000 acres are already 

 planted (mainly with /fcrea), as follows: 



Acres. Acres. 



l'"ive years and over 6,000 One year 6,(xx) 



Four jears 2,500 Under one year 1(1,000 



Three years 3,000 



Two years 4,500 Total 3S 000 



Most of the rubber five years old or older is planted 200 

 trees to the acre, and in some ca.ses 300 trees, but more re- 

 cently the practice has been to limit the planting to 175 

 trees per acre. The number of planted rubber trees of all 

 ages in the Federated Malaj' States is appro.xiniately between 

 6,000,000 and 7,000,000. 



The department has made arrangements to take over from 

 the conservation of forests an excellent plantation »[ J/i:r/i, 

 seven years old, adjoining the public gardens, and this will 

 be used to carry on a continuous and e.xhaustive series 

 of investigations and e.xperiments into various questions, 

 physiological and economic, in regard to latex and the best 

 methods for its extraction and preparation. The j'ear's pro- 

 duction of rubber in the Federated Malaj- States is estimated 

 at 300,000 pounds — all the result of cultivation. 



RUBBER PLANTING IN J^VA. 

 Thiv British consul at Batavia reports that considerable 

 attention has been given to the cultivation of rubber trees in 

 Java during the past few years, and at the end of March, 

 1905, the Netherlands Indian government had 9626 acres 

 planted out with 610,665 trees, while 309,404 plants were at 

 that time being tended in nurseries. The culture of these 



trees would appear, says the consul, to give every promise 

 of satisfactory results, and it is reported that orders have 

 been given to bring a much larger area under cultivation. 

 = - It is known from other sources that the varieus prob- 

 lems l)earingupon rubber culture and the collection of rubber 

 are receiving the most thorough attention at the gardens at 

 Bnitenzorg, Java. This is particularly true witli regard to 

 the studies under way in regard to the nature and treatment 

 of late.x. 



HIGHLANDS AND LOWLANDS ESTATES. 



Im i(Tiii;u details can now be given in regard to the High- 

 lands and Lowlands I'ara Rubber Co., Limited, the formation 

 of which was reported in the September issue of Thk India 

 Ki'HUivR WoRLn (page 386). The acres of the three estates 

 combined is 14,669. of which 2f)86 aie under tultivalicn, tl t 

 amount jilanted in rubber (with or without other crops) be- 

 ing 1958. The number of rubber trees standing at the begin 

 ning of the year was reported as follows : 



Kiglil years 26,023 One year 23 765 



Five and six years 58,2 '5 Under one year 92,650 



Tliree and four yeans 20,046 



Two years 101,862 Total 322,611 



The older trees are already productive and it is proposed 

 to tap extensively during this business year. Al.so to plant 

 5000 additional acres to rubber in the ne.xt six years. The 

 secretaries and offices of the company are Messrs. 'I'homas 

 Barlow & Brother, 28, Fenchnrch street, E.G., London. 



'■ CEARA ' RUBBER FROM INDIA. 

 A uicciCNT circular from Win., Jas. and Hy. Thompson 

 (London) reports : " We have received a small consignment 

 of smoked cured Ceara rubber taken from trees growing on 

 an estate in South India. The rubber is in-'tlre form of verj' 

 thin wafers and realized 55. grf. [=$1.39?,] per pound. 

 Although very tightly packed the parcel showed not the 

 slightest trace of heat. The rubber was of a very strong 

 inture, stretching almost transi);irent. " 



MEXICAN IM ANTATION NOTES. 



St. Paul Tropical Development Co. (St. Paul, Minnesota) 

 was incorporated sometime ago under the laws of Delaware 

 to engage in rubber growing in Mexico. About Maj' i la.st 

 they began the sale of their acreage, with a vi'->w to develop- 

 ing what they consider an exceptionallj- good piece of rubber 

 land on the isthmus of Tehuantepec. The president, M. P. 

 Ryan, and other officers are business men of position in St. 

 Paul. The plantation manager is L. A. Ostien, sometime 

 with the Utah state agricultural college and familiar, by 

 .stud}-, with tropical planting problems. 



PLANTING "CASTIILOa" IN CI BA. 



The Ocean Beach Fruit Lands Co., organized a little over 

 a year ago at Milwaukee, Wi.sconsin, w'ith $25,000 capital, 

 is developing a tract of 1000 acres at Ocean Beach, the Amer- 

 ican town on Ouardina bay, in Pinar del Rio province, Cuba. 

 The purpose is to plant oranges, rubber, and tobacco. This 

 year the company planted 10,000 seeds of Castilloa claslica, 

 from trees growing in various parts of Cuba, where the}- 

 were introduced from Mexico. The officers of the company 

 are representative business men of Milwaukee, and the man- 



