4M 



lu the Chairman of Agriculture ( ailing attention to the importance 

 of this exhibit. 



Ceylon planters seem to know the way to advertise their pro- 

 duce and get a good reputation for it. We wonder when the 

 Federated Malay States planters will follow suit. It does not 

 appear that any samples were sent to the Exhibition by them, 

 although there does not seem any reason why a big show should 

 not have been sent from this country. Meanwhile Ceylon with a 

 smaller area of plantations and rubber which is certainly no better 

 than that of the Native States is getting its rubber well known all 

 over the world by persistently and thoroughly advertising, and 

 no one hears much about Malay Peninsula rubber. 



A new Tapping Punch. — Mr. FREUDWEILER of Bila, Sumatra, 

 .has invented an useful punch for tapping trees. This tool is a 

 cast steel instrument about eight inches in length. With a round 

 handle, and an enlarged portion at the other end flattened and i \ 

 inches across which is narrowed to a double cutting edge of strong 

 steel something after the manner of a compressed wadpunch. The 

 instrument is used with a hammer so that a strip of bark three- 

 sixteenths of an inch wide and an inch long can be punched out 

 readily and cleanly, and can be removed through a square space 

 behind the cutting portion. One advantage of this tool is that the 

 cutting edge does not penetrate the wood, which can readily be felt 

 when the handle of the tool is struck. It can be used very quickly, 

 and with a little practice makes a good clean cut of the size re- 

 quired. It is especially suitable for old trees which have thick 

 or rough bark but can be used for any younger ones. 



Messrs. Jaeger & Co. are agents for this tool. 



RUBBER IN THE MALAY PENINSULA. 



The fame of the rubber planting industry of the Malay Peninsula 

 is spreading, and we find letters and information on the subject in 

 various quarters. We cull the following notes from home papers, 

 the second letter being in the Aberdeen Free Press. Of the first 

 notes the writer is presumably a Ceylon planter who has recently 

 visited the Federated Malay States. He signs himself "Peripate- 

 tic Planter/' and says: "Now that a good deal of attention is being 

 drawn to this part of the world and its rubber producing capabili- 

 ties, a few impartial words on the subject from a planter of another 

 country who has been visiting the place may be of interest. The 

 industry is quite in its infancy. Only one estate to my knowledge 

 has yet started sending rubber to market in commercial quantities ; 

 many important points relating to the real value of the business 

 are so far merely matters of conjecture. Still, if things turn out 

 right, and prices only remain as they are, the planters are 

 justified in the great expectations they have for the future. 

 The best rubber has recently been selling at $s. and more 

 per lb., a truly phenomenal price, when one considers that ivory 



