329 



Cost of Tapping. 

 I consider that a man capable of using a knife and chisel smartly, 

 after sufficient practice, could tap 4 trees in an hour, and suppos- 

 ing the hours best suited for tapping be limited to 5 hours per 

 diem, say 6-9 a. m. and by 4-6 p. m., an average of 15 to 20 trees 

 could be tapped in a day. 1 his would leave 3 hours for collecting 

 and other details. At an estimate of 2 ozs. of dry rubber per tap- 

 ping, and price and exchange at 2/-, the cost of tapping and 

 collecting would be about 16 cents per lb. at a rate of pay from 30 

 to 40 cents per diem. 



Ficus Elastic a (Rambong). 



Two trees of this rubber were tapped in the manner described 

 in last year's report and 20 lbs. of dry rubber obtained. These 

 trees are about 12 years old, but one is growing on hard laterite 

 soil and is not a robust tree. There are only 4 large trees of this 

 rubber in the garden and these have now yielded 70 lbs, of rubber 

 between December, 1900 and January, 1901, 



A few hundreds of seedlings have been raised but so far I have 

 not received an application for any. It would be an easy matter 

 to produce thousands if required. There has been some enquiry 

 for seeds 



R. DERRY. 



19 April, 1902. 



PRODUCTION AND CONSUMPTION OF 

 COFFEE. 



The French Consul in Brazil, in a report on the state of trade in 

 that country, states that there is an over-production of coffee 

 throughout the world, and that in Brazil there is a tendency to 

 restrict the area of cultivation. He says that in the year from July 

 1, 1900, to June 30, 1901, the total production of coffee throughout 

 the world was 15,460,000 bags of 132 lbs. each, and that of this 

 quantity 1 1,500,000 bags were grown in Brazil, 1,150,000 in Gua- 

 temala, Costa Rica, Mexico, and Nicaragua, 1,050,000 in Venezuela, 

 Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru, 480,000 in the Dutch Indies, 450,000 

 in Hayti, 315,000 in British India and Ceylon, 200,000 in Puerto- 

 rico and Jamaica, and 90,000 in Padang. He estimates the con- 

 sumption at 14, 1 1 7,620 bags, leaving an excess of production at 

 1,342,380 bags. 



Ex. Weekly Edition, " Times" . 



April 1 1 , KJ02, 



SOME REMARKS ON RUBBER PLANTATIONS. 



We are inclined to look upon the rapidly increasing interest 

 which is being taken in the rational exploitation of rubber districts, 

 and in the starting of rubber plantations as a sign of hopeful augury 



