76 Timehri. 
ing areas on no mean scale, and our local scientific authorities have told us 
that a large proportion of our lands “is eminently suitable for the cultivation 
of rubber.” Companies are in existence which are steadily increasing their 
area of Hevea brasiliensis and though from our present knowledge of Sapium 
Jenmanni apparently it is unsafe for plantation purposes, nevertheless we can 
still have every hope of Para rubber being extensively planted. Unfortunately, 
so far as we know at the prevent time, our native species Hevea pauciflora and 
Hevea conjusa do not produce rubber on a commercia Iscale, but still the genus 
is represented amongst us and we can certainly claim to be nearer the condi- 
tions of the famous Para tree of Brazil (Hevea brasiliensis) than are the fortu- 
nate planters of the East. As rubber has thriven in the Hast we can have every 
confidence it will thrive nearer its own home. We can, too, learn lessons from 
the mistakes of the Eastern planters. Everything points to a hopeful view of 
the rubber industry in this colony. The growth of the Para trees planted in 
the three counties has so far proved at least as satisfactory as the records given 
for other prosperous, well-known rubber-producing countries. While, as to 
yield, the trees distributed from the Botanic Gardens by Mr. Jenman, in the 
early nineties have, on being tapped, not only given very satisfactory yields 
but a product that has been described as one of a “ high-grade ” quality. With 
satisfactory yields from the few full-grown trees and excellent growth of the 
young trees, and large areas of laud available eminently suited to its culture, 
why need we fear for the future of Para rubber-growing in this colony ¢ 
Coconuts—It has been accepted as an axiom that coconuts do well on our 
coastal lands, wherever the soil is light and porous. Unfortunately this 
industry has been neglected, in spite of the fact that our oldest colonists will 
tell us that coconuts “ pay ”’ better than any other product. It is an industry 
that has been sadly neglected and all around us we see signs of ignorant cultiva- 
tion or gross and wicked neglect. But now that agricultural light is being shed 
abroad more and more throughout the colony, and that various writers in the 
local press and elsewhere are persistently calling attention to errors in the 
cultivation of this the “ prince of palms,” and that the authorities are alive to 
the importance of keeping in check the scourge of what is probably a disease of 
bacterial orign—namely, Bud Rot, and that the havoe wrought in late years 
by the larve of the butterfly (Brassolis sophorae) has compelled coconut 
planters to be more alive to their own interests, we can, we feel confident, look 
forward to an enormous expansion of this industry. The value of the products 
yielded by the coconut palm has directed considerable attention to the possibility 
of this cultivation being extended, so that there are rumours of a forthcoming 
boom in coconuts, which, though it may be mild compared to that of the famous 
boom in rubber, will, nevertheless, have its effect on this industry in British 
Guiana. Already an English Company has secured options on several valuable 
properties ;—so that although we must feel ashamed at the small progress we 
have made there are not wanting signs that in the near future we may yet have 
a coconut industry forming a most valuable adjunct to the staple industry. 
Cacao and Coffee.—Of all industries we consider this the most suitable to 
the man of small means, We have large areas of land in this colony quite 
