4 6 



Result of work with Messrs. Hdgan & Co., Limited, Fibre 

 Scraping Machine . 



Karatas ... 



Abaca (Manila hemp) 



Pisang (common banana) 



Pineapple 



Aloes (Fourcroya) ... 



Wei out of 

 machine from 

 Gross weight 



of leaves 



Wet to dry 



29-l6% 



18-18% 

 1 1 49% 



2777% 



33 33% 



Dry fibre, 

 from Gros> 

 weight of 

 leaves 



2"37% 



o-6i% 



2-69% 



ON THE FRUIT USED FOR COLORING 



BEAN-CHEESE. 



Specimens of the fruit used in coloring bean-cheese as described 

 in Bulletin were sent to Kew for identification where they were 

 recognized as those of the Chinese Gardenia, Gardenia florida. 



Editor. 



CULTIVATION AND PREPARATION 

 OF PARA RUBBER, 



BY 



W. H. JOHNSON. 



This is a nicely got up little book of 96 pages by the Director of 

 Agriculture on the Gold Coast, and is illustrated with six plates. As at 

 present very little has been done in the Gold Coast in rubber plant- 

 ing, it is natural that this work should be mainly a compilation of 

 papers published in the Malay Peninsula, Ceylon and elsewhere. 

 With respect to the site for the plantation as to whether dry or wet 

 land is best, the author states that many failures have been ex- 

 perienced by planters endeavouring to cultivate the tree in swampy 

 land The critic does not remember to have heard of any such 

 cases. Recently, a statement has been published saying that the 

 assertion that wild Para rubber grows on swamp land is incorrect 

 and that it grows on high land, but all the best authorities who have 

 had much experience in Brazil, M. BONNECHEAUX, M. ClBOT and 

 others state that the low swampy flooded ground of the Botanic Gar- 

 dens rubber plantation is exactly similar to the habitat of the plant 

 in Northern Brazil. 



I do not think the time has come yet when we can say it thrives 

 equally well on dry soil. No plantations in such ground have been 



