538 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[July 1, 1914. 



The Editor's Book Table. 



PLANTING IN UGANDA— COFFEE, PARA RUBBER, COCOA. BV 

 E. Brown, F.L.S., and H. H. Hunter, LL.D. London, 1913. Long- 

 mans, Green & Co. [Cloth. 8vo, 176 pages. Price 10s. 6d. net. For- 

 eign postage, 8d.] 



INTO this interesting volume has been condensed all that re- 

 quires to be known about Uganda and its three chief products : 

 coffee. Para rubber and cocoa. Uganda, it may be recalled, 

 is a protectorate in British East Africa, in the heart of the con- 

 tinent, bordering on German East Africa on the south and the 

 Belgian Congo on the west. Its southern portion is traversed by 

 the equator and it chiefly lies between 30 and 35 degrees of lon- 

 gitude, east from Greenwich. Uganda has an area of about 

 117,681 square miles (being somewhat larger than Arizona). The 

 population is estimated to e.xceed 3 millions. 



The authors of this work have had special advantages for its 

 compilation, Mr. Brown having been manager of the Kivuvu 

 (Uganda) Rubber Co., Limited, while iVIr. Hunter was director 

 of that and other Uganda companies. 



While other parts of the protectorate doubtless possess equal 

 natural advantages, they have not been opened up ; planters hav- 

 ing been attracted to the Uganda Province (or Buganda), and 

 the Central Province (or Busoga), lying along the northern and 



northwestern shores of Lake Victoria Nyanza, on a plateau about 

 four thousand feet above sea level. 



The introduction, by Professor Dunstan, C.M.G., of the Im- 

 perial Institute, while likewise dealing with the other products 



.V . ^ ^^ »^ 





Par.\ Rubber Trees 4 Years Old, 



Garde-n's, Entebbe. 



Herring-bone Tapping to 6 Feet, Botamc 

 Gardens, Entebbe. 



of Uganda agriculture, emphasizes the practical experience of the 

 authors in the cultivation in Uganda of Para rubber {Hevea 

 hrasilicnsis) ; the work being intended as a guide to planters 

 attracted by the natural advantages of the protectorate, as well 

 as by its prospective increased facilities. Unqualified success has 

 sci far attended the introduction of the Hevea: the trees having 

 furnished a satisfactory yield of rubber of good quality; it being 

 predicted that Hevca Bmsilii'iisis will supersede Funtiiinia cla- 

 stica, becoming the chief, if not the only variety of rubber e.x- 

 piirted from Uganda. 



In the text of the volume data are given as to the history of 

 rubber cultivation in Uganda, from which it appears that it was 

 first introduced through a single tree, received from Kew in 1901, 

 which by 1904 had attained the height of 21 feet. Early in 1904 

 one thousand seeds were imported from Ceylon, from which 

 about 300 plants were obtained ; the latter being planted out in 

 the gardens at Entebbe, and affording in 1911 a basis for conclu- 

 sions as to growth and yield. Trees from seeds planted early in 

 1904 had attained by 1909 a height of 33 feet, with a girth of 

 l.S'4 feet. These figures are considered to show that the tappable 

 size of 16 inches girth 3 feet from the ground, is reached in 

 Uganda in five years. The average girth of the whole field in 

 1912 was 22y2 inches. The accompanying illustration shows the 

 growth of Para rubber at 4 years at the Entebbe gardens. 



The details of cultivation are dealt with, covering the choice 

 of land for plantations, cleaning and planting, weeds, weeding 

 and upkeep. 



The collection and preparation of Para rubber and other prod- 

 ucts are then taken up, with special reference to tapping ; details 

 are likewise given regarding the erection and arrangement of 



