40 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[October 1, 1913. 



NOTES FROM BRITISH GUIANA. 



By Our Regular Corrcsl^ondciit. 



11 IS Excellency the Governor (Sir Walter Egerton, K. C. 

 * ^ M. G. ) has departed upon a long delayed journey through 

 the interior of the colony to the Rupununi District on the Bra- 

 zilian boundary, the object of which is to prospect and survey 

 the land for the purpose of ascertaining its suitability or other- 

 wise for the building of a railway from Georgetown to Brazil. 



His Excellency is accompanied by Captain Napier, aide de 

 camp; Mr. C. W. Anderson, forestry officer; Mr. G. M. Bland, 

 an engineer from England, specially engaged by the Government 

 for this survey, and Dr. Wise. The party left Georgetown on 

 September 2 and will travel down the Rupununi Valley, calling 

 at Mr. Melville's station and afterward proceeding to the Brazil- 

 ian frontier. After visiting the whole of the neighborhood of the 

 Takutu and lower Ireng Rivers, His Excellency, Dr. Wise and 

 Captain Napier will return by the same route, Messrs. Bland 

 and .Anderson returning by way of Kaieteur. The trip is ex- 

 pected to last about sixty days and to do much toward revealing 

 the possibilities of the far interior, which are at present but 

 little known apart from what has been discovered by the pros- 

 pectors of the balata companies and a few others who have from 

 time to time penetrated the bush. 



Professor Harrison, Director of Agriculture, and Mr. F. A. 

 Stockdale, Assistant Director, have just published an interesting 

 report showing the progress of the cultivation of rubber in this 

 colony. It appears that there are now 2,250 acres under rubber 

 cultivation, out of which it is estimated fully 1,700 are planted 

 with Para rubber. This is but a beginning, says the report, as 

 there are fully 9,000,000 acres of easily accessible lands — much 

 of which is suitable for rubber cultivation — that are unalienated 

 from the Crown, and which can be leased from the Government 

 on very liberal terms. -Acreage returns collected by the Board 

 of Agriculture are given, indicating the progress of rubber plant- 

 ing in the colony, as follows: 1907-8, 416 acres; 1908-9, 556 acres; 

 1909-10, 995 acres; 1910-11, 1,740 acres; 1911-12, 2,250 acres. A 

 considerable portion of the report is devoted to the results of 

 the trials at the various experiment stations. "At the Botanic 

 Gardens, Georgetown, experiments in the growing of Hevea 

 Brasiliensis were conducted in the shelter belt, in the friable 

 soils of the nursery, in the very heavy soils in the Brichdam 

 field, and on the eastern side of the rice experimental field where 

 the conditions closely resemble those of the abandoned sugar cane 

 fields of the coastal region of the colony. The growth in all 

 these situations has been far from satisfactory. The effect of 

 wind upon Para rubber trees has been clearly demonstrated, and 

 it has been ascertained that the constant sea breezes that sweep 

 throughout the year across the coastal lands of the colony re- 

 tard their growth to a very marked degree. Spells of dry 

 weather, which usually occur in this part of the colony about 

 twice a year, have resulted in 'wintering' of the trees, and this 

 has further tended to retard their growth." The report pro- 

 ceeds : "From these experiments it has been clearly demon- 

 strated that the heavy clay soils of the coastal region, formerly 

 cultivated in sugar-cane, are not suited for the successful culti- 

 vation of Para rubber, and numerous observations on the trials 

 carried on by the sugar estates on such lands fully confirm the 

 conclusions drawn from the above experiments." It appears 

 that not only Hevea Brasiliensis, but Sapium, Castilloa and a few 

 other varieties have been found to be unsuitable for planting on 

 the heavy, wind-swept coastal lands. "The yields obtained from 

 these trees were not very good and the rubber had to be col- 

 lected almost entirely as scrap." The results of the experiments 

 at the Onderneeming station, which have been considerably ex- 

 tended, have been slightly better. "Para rubber, Sapiuin Jenmani, 

 S. Cladogyne, Castilloa Elastica and Fuitlumia Elastica have 



been experimented with. The growth of the Para rubber has 

 been generally satisfactory", and over 20 acres are now planted, 

 mainly as an inter-crop with coffee. Sapium Jenmani has done 

 fairly well on some soils, while Castilloa Elastica has generally 

 made unfavorable growth. Funtumia Elastica is healthy and 

 the majority of the plants are making fair growth. There are 

 over 200 trees of Funtumia Elastica at this station and some of 

 them have been tapped. The yields were poor, but the product 

 obtained was of excellent quality. The trees that have been 

 tapped continue to make satisfactory progress, and several more 

 trees have reached a size at which they can be tapped." As re- 

 gards the experiments at Christianburg, Demerara River, the 

 early growth of Para rubber on the heavier and on the lighter 

 soils was satisfactory, but on the lighter sandy soils the rate of 

 growth has steadily fallen off. The growth of the Sapiuiiis on 

 the light soil has been very unsatisfactory and their culture 

 will be discontinued except on the heavier types of soils. In 

 1910 and 1911 an area of slightly over five acres was planted 

 with Para rubber on the compact, alluvial clay land of the river 

 bank. This soil is totally different in physical and chemical 

 properties from other soils experimented on, but it is typical of 

 a large area of land in this and other districts. The drainage 

 of the land has received careful attention and the young plants 

 are making satisfactorj- growth. This soil also appears to be 

 suited to the growth of Sapium Jenmani, as the few trees grow- 

 ing on it have made promising growth." .\t the Issorora station, 

 .•\ruka River, the results were poor, altho some of the Hevea 

 trees are making better progress than they formerly did. At 

 the Bonasika Reserve, which contained a large number of in- 

 digenous Sapium rubber-producing trees, trials were made with 

 various methods of tapping and coagulation of the latex for the 

 purpose of investigating the value of these trees, but it was 

 soon evident that the amount of latex and cured rubber rapidly 

 decreased upon repeated tappings. "The yield," says the report, 

 "cannot be considered as satisfactory." .-^t the Pomeroon Ex- 

 periment Station about three acres of rubber have been planted 

 with Para and Sapium. The former is said to be thriving well 

 and making satisfactory progress, but the Sapiums are not doing 

 so well. 



In summing up, the authors of the report make the following 

 statement : "It has been successfully demonstrated, by experi- 

 mental plantings, that large areas of British Guiana are eminently 

 suited for the cultivation of Para rubber." To meet the demands 

 for rubber plants the government imports and germinates the 

 seeds and has a contract with the Botanic Gardens at Singapore 

 covering the next five years, for the shipment of 15,000 Hevea 

 seeds each year. 



While the report was being prepared, tapping was going on 

 at various points in the colony, and commenting on the samples 

 sent to the Second International Rubber and .Allied Trades Ex- 

 hibition, held in London, Prof. Harrison remarks : "The in- 

 dications at present show that returns equal to those obtained 

 in the East may be expected from rubber planted in the colony." 



Legislation is under consideration for the regulation of 

 the balata industry that will systematize the engagement of 

 laborers under contract, define more clearly the rights of em- 

 ployers towards the employed and between themselves and 

 establish better means of enforcing those rights on both sides. 

 It is intended to register and license only competent bleeders 

 or reliable men capable of acquiring the necessary knowledge 

 and to provide for their supervision while at work by govern- 

 ment officers, so that unnecessarv' damage may not be done in 

 the forests. It is also proposed to place the work of supervision 

 in the hands of the Department of Lands and Mines as better 

 capable of exercising the necessary control. 



The absconding evil, which was so prevalent among balata 

 bleeders here some time ago, has now abated considerably, but in 



