12 



ing, especially w'heri contrasted with the dull linoleum or 

 ordinary flooning in other parts of the ship. I gather 

 that the item of expense is a serious one, and it is mainly 

 on account of this that the more extensive use of rubber 

 tiling cannot at present 'be entertained on our largest 

 passenger steamers. As far as I can ascertain from offi- 

 cials on board the N.D.L. steamers on which rulbter 

 tiling is nocv largely used are as follows : — Kaiser Wil- 

 helm II., Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse, Kronprinz Wilhelm, 

 Kronprinzess Cecilie, Prinz Edtel Friedrich, Prinz Fried- 

 rich \Vil'helm, and Prinz Ludwig. There are probably 

 other steamers on :the same line where tiling is in use, 

 but definite linformation regarding ithem is not, at the 

 moment, available; the foregoing royal group is, 

 however, quite important enough to arrest attention. 

 There is certainly a very big business to be done in this 

 direotion as some of our British ruttber manufacturers 

 already realise. At the moment it is in the, nature of a 

 luxury, though its usefulness, not only in ships, but in 

 our own offices, scbools, hospitals', hotels, etc., bas been 

 amply proved'. I must, however, leave this interesting 

 subject and proceed to deal with other paints of import- 

 ance which are daily cropping up. 

 Rambong in Sicily? 



We have just said good-bye to Italy and have passed 

 through the beautiful Straits of Messina ; this is always 

 the most enjoyable part of the journey. The scenery is 

 of the best, the rocky mountains on the Itailian coast, the 

 terraced and green slopes of Sicily, and the narrow 

 stretch of blue sea oomibining \to form a perfect picture. 

 The system of terracing adapted in the south of France, 

 Italy and Sicily is most useful for hilly districts, and is, 

 I believe, in vogue in parts of Java and Sumatra ; but to 

 what extent such lands are used by rubber planters I 

 have no knowledge. No traveller need feel surprised at 

 being unaible to distinguish Rambong rubber trees along 

 the terraced bills of Sicily, even though recent reports 

 from that part of the world indicated the flourishing exist- 

 ence of a few well-cared-for saplings of the real Fdcus 

 elastica. I remember giving an account, many months 

 ago, of the yield of rubber from some hot-house plants 

 of F. elastica grown in Sicily, and throwing cold water 



