AGRICULTURAL BULLETIN 



OF THE 



STRAITS 



AND 



FEDERATED MALAY STATES. 



No. 5.] MAY, 1907. [Vol. VI. 



AFRICAN RUBBER-VINES. 



The story of the African Rubber- vines is the subject of a paper by 

 M. E. de Wildeman in the Notes sur les plantes ute de la Flore, 

 du Congo, Vol. II, fasc. p. 5. He gives an account of the discovery 

 and exploitation of the rubber-vines of the Cameroons from M. 

 Waldan, Extinction of African Rubbers {India Rubber World 

 Jan. 1, 1905). M. Waldan discovered Landolphias wild in abun- 

 dance in the mountains, and taught the natives to collect the rubber 

 warning them against destroying the vines. 



As might be expected they paid no attention to this latter 

 recommendation and in three years all the vines in the mountains 

 were destroyed. The same thing has happened in other parts of 

 Africa, and M. Waldan thinks that in 15 years the exportation 

 of rubber from Africa will be trivial, the forests being destroyed. 

 M. Wildeman does not agree with this because many young vines 

 and Funtumias will be left which will develop later, and also many 

 °' the vines cut down will shoot up again. This may be so but 

 one must remember that the destruction of the upper parts of the 

 Landolphias must destroy the fruit and prevent the rapid repro- 

 duction of the plant. Exactly the same thing would happen to 

 the Landolphias as has happened to rattans in many places near a 

 Populated district. The rattans being constantly cut before fruiting 

 h aye practically disappeared. Willughbeia firma the Akar Ge- 

 S n P of the Malays represents the African Landolphias and 

 Produces rubber quite as good. What has happened to this plant 

 £ ef e? It has by no means been exterminated though in time gone 

 ov the vines were sought by Dyaks and Malays for the rubber. In 

 ormer years Malays used to take passes to collect this rubber in 

 We Government forests, but in spite of the high price of rubber 

 2" e hears of very little WUlughbeia rubber being collected now. 

 *he pl ant is by no means rare, but it is too scanty to be worth 

 whll e seeking f or . 



Wildeman quotes M. Booth's paper Eoniges Uber Landol- 

 aVt?J nt i e Tro P«npflanzer (Dec. 12, 1905), in which he proposes 



We only way to preserve the vines against irrational exploitation 



