300 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[June i, 1904. 



SATINWOOD BRIDGE, PERADENIYA. 



most of the experts seemed to 

 think that it would be better 

 for the government to sell the 

 plantations as near cost as 

 possible. For further infor- 

 mation he referred me to Mr. 

 F. Lewis, the assistant conser- 

 vator of forests, Colombo. 



The following morning we 

 crossed the Mahaweli river, a 

 deep swift muddy stream flow- 

 ing by the gardens, to visit 

 the great experiment stations 

 that are under the charge of 

 Mr. Herbert Wright, a. r. c. S. 

 There is no bridge, so one is 

 ferried across in a very narrow 

 wooden dugout, with the usual 

 outrigger one side to prevent 

 upsetting. This experiment 

 garden is new, and contains 

 about 1200 acres I believe, and takes in the native villages of 

 Gangaruwa and Yatiyalagala. 



Mr. Wright kindly piloted me over the sections devoted to 

 rubber planting. Just to see what the Castilloa and the Ceara 

 rubber will do in that climate under varying conditions, he has 

 many different plots, both in the shade and in the open. Per- 

 haps the most interesting is the planting the former where it is 

 shaded by cocoanut trees. All of these rubber plots were small 

 of course, and the trees very young, so that at the present it is 

 impossible to say what results will be attained. 



As we walked about the place it occurred to me to learn just 

 how hot it was, and I found that it was 127 F. in the sun, and 

 the guess was that it was about 85° in the shade. As we were 

 in the sun most of the time, we had no reason to feel a chill. 



In the afternoon, Director Willis having returned, we had a 

 look at the Ficus elastica trees planted some 75 years ago. They 

 are huge growths, and unlike the Straits trees of the same name, 

 do not send down aerial roots, but instead form great root but- 

 tresses. They produce little if any latex, as my own tapping 

 experiments abundantly proved. Further than that, they are 

 dying, so that every now and then it becomes necessary to fell 



HEVEA" AT EDANQODA. 



[Government Forest Department plantation, 8 years old. Mr. F. Lewis, 



assistant conservator of forests.] 



one of them, for if it unexpectedly dropped its 1 50 feet of length 

 across the carriage road, a serious accident might result. 



Speaking of the Hevea plantings in the island, Mr. Willis said 

 that at that time there were about 11,000 acres, and as the an- 

 nual production of seeds was about 3,000,000, he thought that 

 the planting increase would be about 5000 acres annually. He 

 said that the Hevea could undoubtedly be planted in sheltered 

 valleys, up to 4000 feet altitude. In many situations the trees 

 would mature more slowly, its growth depending upon the rain- 

 fall, and the richness of the soil. At Peradeniya those that had 

 matured more slowly had produced latex as good and abundant 

 as had the others. The Castilloa had proved itself more tender 

 than he could wish, and the general sentiment among the 

 planters was that it would not be as profitable a venture. Speak- 

 ing of rainfall at Peradeniya, they could always reckon upon 90 

 inches quite well distributed. Labor of course is very cheap, 

 10 cents a day being the regular wage, shelter being furnished, 

 but not food or clothing. 



As an incident to this visit, I walked over the gardens, by 

 well kept roads, shaded by magnificent trees, and visited the 

 "hot house" for orchids. As there is also a tea factory near 

 the gardens, Mr. Willis was good enough to take me through 

 it, and show me every process, the plucking, withering, rolling, 



drying, sorting, and packing, 

 all of which was most interest- 

 ing. After taking leave of Di- 

 rector Willis and his good 

 wife and Mr. and Mrs. Carru- 

 thers, and all who had made 

 my stay so pleasant, I took 

 the train for Kandy.four miles 

 away, where I planned to 

 spend the afternoon with a 

 steamer friend, and do a bit of 

 sightseeing. As I waited for 

 the train I was conscious of 

 careful inspection on the part 

 of a man near me. He was a 

 nice, wellfed, self satisfied old 

 gentleman, who sat by my side 

 in one of the three cane seated 

 chairs that stand on the depot 

 platform for the use of the 

 white patrons of the railroad. 



RUBBER TREES KILLED BY FLOOD. 



[Part of a Forest Department Hevea plantation in a valley subject to flood, 



showing the way in which the flooded trees died off. 189S.] 



