April 1. 1917.] 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



421 



Rubber Planting Notes. 



INSURING THE PURCHASE OF HEALTHY RUBBER SEED. 



A PRACTICAL means of ascertaining the proportion of 

 healthy seed in a large quantity is suggested by C. M. 

 Hamaker in the "Netherlands-India Rubber News." 

 Out of a shipment ready for transportation, 100 healthy 

 and 100 sickly seeds are taken, opened and weighed. The 

 latter are easily found by their much lighter weight, usually 

 about 2 grams. 



The seed for shipment is then placed in boxes or bags by 

 means of a measure containing 100 seeds. The number of the 

 measures thus packed into each box or bag being counted, it is 

 'an easy matter to ascertain the total. 



As the average weight of a healthy seed can be com- 

 puted, it is simple to determine what proportion of the total 

 contents is composed of healthy seeds. The difference be- 

 tween the calculated and the actual weight, divided by the 

 difference in weight of a healthy and a sickly seed, gives 

 approximately the number of the latter which must be in 

 the box. 



FIRE LOSS AND RESPONSIBILITY. 



.\ vcr\ considerable loss of young ruljber trees is reported on 

 the United Temiang ( F. M.S.) Rubber Estates, nearly a hundred 

 acres of four-year-old trees being damaged by a fire which 

 spread from a neighboring estate owned bj' Japanese. \ judicial 

 decision has been obtained finding the Japanese owner liable for 

 the damage done, the amount to be paid liy Iiim being referred 

 by the Court to an arbitrator. 



BRITISH NORTH BORNEO PRODUCTION INCREASES. 



While the exact figures for 1916 are not yet available, it is 

 estimated that the rubber production of Britisli North Borneo 

 increased 1,140,000 pounds over that of the calendar year 1915. 

 There are now 24 rubber producing companies, a gain of five 

 over the previous year. 



PROGRESS OF HEVEA PLANTING IN BRITISH GUIANA. 



-According to the government report for 1915 the planting 

 of Hcvca in British Guiana is increasing slowly. It is esti- 

 mated that at the end of that year nearly 5,000 acres had been 

 planted with Hrvca. The Department of Agriculture sold 

 23,000 young trees to planters that year. 



The report goes on to say that it has been conclusively 

 proven that this Para rubber tree grows well on suitable 

 lands in the colony and that tapping is just beginning, as the 

 majority of the trees in the planted area are young. These 

 initial tappings of five and six year old trees have shown 

 that the yields of dry rubber per tree compare very favorably 

 with those obtained in the Straits Settlements, Malaya and 

 Ceylon, and that the quality of the product is excellent. Tap- 

 ping operations will be on a far larger scale hereafter. 



The balata industry, which had suffered adversely at the 

 commencement of the war, had practically quite recovered 

 by the beginning of April, 1915, and bleeding operations were 

 pursued as hitherto during the period. The quantity of 

 balata exported during the year was 1,557,213 pounds. Four- 

 teen companies and individuals controlled this output. 



PERU'S RUBBER EXPORTS. 



The Peruvian Government recently published statistics of for- 

 eign trade for the calendar year 1915, which show that crude 

 rubber exports from that country during that period amounted 

 to $2,937,891, compared with $2,169,445 in 1914, 



LIMA BEAN AS A COVER CROP IN RUBBER PLANTING. 



In Java extensive use is made of the lima bean (Phasrolus 

 linuitiis) as a cover crop on rubber plantations. This legume, 

 locally called Kratok, is sown and allowed to run on the ground 

 between the rows of rubber trees, leaving a clean, cultivated 

 strip of land in which the trees are growing. The vines are 

 cut back from time to time so as not to interfere with the tap- 

 ping and collection of latex, and of course are not allowed to 

 climb the rubber trees. 



In addition to its value as a nitrogen gatherer, the lima bean 

 is valuable in preventing soil evaporation in the dry season, 

 and in impeding soil erosion during the wet season. It is also 

 of exceptional value for smothering weeds. The usual pro- 

 cedure is to plow and harrow, plant three seeds in each hill, 

 the hills being from 20 to 40 inches apart, and give one or two 

 hoeings to clear away weeds until the plants are well establislied. 



EUTCH EAST IKDIA PROSPEROUS. 



The Dutch East Indies are producing a steadily increasing 

 quantity of rubber. In 1916 this amounted to about 12 per cent 

 of the world's total production. Experts declare that rubber will 

 eventually head the list of agricultural exports from these islands. 

 Plantation rubber has gained so greatly over forest production 

 that even if prices drop con.siderably after the war, the planta- 

 tions can still sell at a profit, whereas work in the South Ameri- 

 can forests will have to be curtailed. 



The chances of competing successfully with the British East 

 Indies are held to be favorable. The plantations in Ceylon and 

 the Straits Settlements cover an area twice that of those in the 

 Dutch East Indies. The climates and soil correspond, and the 

 average yield per tree imder similar conditions is practically 

 equal. But labor is cheaper and more easily obtained in the 

 Dutch East Indies and the taxes and duties are lower than in 

 Ceylon and' the Malay States. Dutch planters are therefore able 

 to produce rubl er at a lower cost than their competitors. The 

 fact that British planters are highly taxed for war expenses 

 gives the Dutch planters an added advantage. 



The prospects for 1917 are very fatisfactory. The United 

 States was a lar,ge buyer in 1916, the total exports to that coun- 

 try being 9,500 tons. The figures for 1917 are expected to be 

 still more favorable. Numerous coinpanies have already sold a 

 great part of their 1917 crop to United States buyers at very 

 profitable prices. 



FUNTUMIA RUBBER IN THE CAMEROONS. 



Rubber luis become an increasingly important product of the 

 Cameroons. Until just previous to the European war the ex- 

 ports of this product formed nearly 50 per cent of the total ex- 

 ports, amounting, in 1913, to a value of $2,804,220. The first 

 attempts at rubber exploitation were made in the northern part 

 of the colony, where the Landolphia florida, which was then re- 

 garded as the greatest rubber-producing plant, was found. About 

 1901 the vast forests of Southern Cameroon were discovered to 

 contain great numbers of kick.ria trees, and the natives were 

 soon set to gathering the "silk rubber" therefrom ; but their 

 methods were crude, and resulted in the destruction of so many 

 trees that the movement soon fell off. The rubber crisis of 

 1912 also caused a decrease in the wild-rublier trade, but at the 

 same time it gave considerable impetus to the establishment of 

 rubber plantations. 



Realizing that the Piinliimia (Kickxia) Eldstica was indig- 

 enous to the Cameroons, the German planters commenced to 

 cultivate it about four of five years ago, and now there are 

 many plantations containing thousands of trees that will soon 



