THE AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. 



707 



tndia Rubber from Zuiuianti, 



ON paofe 579 of the issue dated Nov. 22, 

 1901, particulars were given of tests 

 of India Rubber from Zululand, by Pro- 

 fessor Dunstan. Some time ago the 

 Minister of Agriculture was favoured 

 ■with a visit from Mr. Hart, whose brother 

 is a Rubber broker in London, and, on 

 showing Mr. Hart a specimen of the same 

 Rubber as that sent to Professor Dmistan, 

 he kindly offered to send some to his 

 brother in Loudon, not saying where it 

 came from, and ask his opinion as to its 

 value. The reply received from his 

 brother is to the effect that the Rubber, 

 according to the sample sent, was worth 

 at current rates 3s. to 3s. Id. per lb, if 

 gathered in the same clean condition as 



the sample sent. Mr. Hart's brother 

 found the s imple sent to be exceptionally 

 clean, an I stated that, if the little bark 

 which was in it were kept out, it would 

 be quite pure, and perhaps bring Id. per 

 lb. extra for its cleanliiies.-s. Ihe Rubber 

 was, he stated, of exactly the same (quality' 

 as tiae Mozambique spools or sausuges ; 

 and, if wound oa a smal! twig, and the 

 resulting sausage cut open and the twig 

 extracted, would be sold in London on 

 the same footing. If the Rubber could 

 not be BO gathered, it should, stated Mr. 

 Hart, be made up into small balls about 

 the size of fairly large marbles, and be 

 kept pure and gathered quite dry. Both 

 kinds could be readily sold. 



District Reports, 



INGWAVUMA, 3rd December.— At the be- 

 ginning of the month ihe weather was intensely 

 hot, with diy winds from the north, buttowprds 

 the middle of the month ii changed, and we had 

 fairly good rains. It rained on 8 da s. The 

 mealies which bad been burned by the hot and 

 dry wilds at the b ginning of the month have 

 recovered their natural colour, and are row 

 locking well. The J atives are sti 1 planting, 

 and if the rains are favourable will continue 

 doing so until the end of January. Lungsick- 

 ness appn))s to have almost died out, and with 

 the exception of a cou( le of kiails, where ihey 

 each have about f c ur head of cattle, the Dis- 

 trict is free of it. The natives in loriuguese 

 t< rritory, and ali-o in this division, are great 

 trader;-, and are continually going to Southern 

 Zululand with cat skins, monkey skins, etc., to 

 trade for catile, and if Rindtrfest should cjme 

 tbis way it no doubt will be ntroduccd by these 

 people. 



H. R. Hewlett, Acting Magistrate. 



]XOPO, 11th January. —The weatl er has 

 been all that could be desirid as far as crops are 

 ccncerned, as rain has fallen for a considerable 

 period every day. Mealie and olhi r crops look 

 welt, es-pecially the millet, or raaiina. i^tock of 

 all kind is thiiving, and I have bad kss con - 

 plaints of sheep losses durinsr the past fort- 

 night. The meeting to decide whe her this 

 Magistracy is to be brought under the Grass 

 Burning Act, viz , 31 of 1895, is to be held here 

 at 10 a.m., on Saturday, the 18th instant.- 



Feank E. Foxon, Magistrate. 



LOWER UMFOLOZr, 2nd January.-Fx- 



cessive hfat was experienced duiing the past 

 month. Rain fell on eleven occasions. Two 

 sfcv^ re huiricanes blew over the Magistracy on 

 the 'Jth a:,d 21 st respectively, both followed by 

 rain. 'J hree Iccal thunderstorms occurr d ; 

 still nothing in the way (f a useful rainfall 

 took ) lacc unt 1 the 30tti and iilst, whtn several 

 ploughs, laid by owing to int^ nm draught, we; e 

 speedily brought forth, and set to work i repara- 

 toiy to the plantms of lata crops. On the 

 m' rning of the 2iid atuspected (aso of lun^- 

 sickness was reported among Mr. Ljf' hem's 

 cattle at the Magist acy 'J he beast was at 

 once isolated, and drenctic d on the sugges ion of 

 nativi s with s.me indigenous herb, and strange 

 to say, on ina( ection t e same evetiiig was con- 

 tentedly ch wing the cud, and evincmg every 

 sjmptom of a healthy beast, which it duly 

 tuin.d out to be. On tifie,12th, however, a bana 

 fi e cas^ of lungsickncsf, resulting in death, was 

 reported by Mr. H. J. Dunn, of Patane Store, 

 in one of four spans of oxen wh ch conveyed 

 goods thither for hira. Necessary actic^n was 

 taken to prevent tlie disease spieading, with the 

 resul': that no fresh outbreak has c ccurred dur- 

 the past three weeks. The noabele ciop now 

 holds its own against the noealie. parti' ularly 

 b tween the Okula and Uteleni s' reams, and 

 flowering, acd green eatable m alics are to be 

 found in the Regei.t Mage ndo's (Sokula) loca- 

 tion in the N.E. extremity of the District, along 

 the coast. Several small swarnos of ''hoppers" 

 (locusts) have been seen about ; but owing to 

 the greenness of the grass, and their diving iti- 



