S8i 



attack of insects, fungi and bacteria, which find a congenial home 

 in nearly all seeds. Most of the seeds, which do not grow, are 

 found by their appearance and odour to have lost their vitality by 

 the presence of foreign organisms. When the experiments, with 

 regard to the seeds of Para rubber, tea and other Ceylon economic 

 plants, have been concluded, the matter will be dealt with in one 

 of the Circulars of the Royal Botanic Gardens. 



Planting Opinion, 



ist November, 1902. 



PARA RUBBER" PROM CEYLON. 



Ceylon exported last year 7,392 pounds of rubber from cultivated 

 plantations, stocked with the " Para " variety, which was sold in Lon- 

 don at good prices, one lot bringing 4s. ihd. per pound, against 35. 

 ghd. paid for the " best Para " during the same week. Doctor Willis, 

 of the Royal Botanic Gardens in Ceylon, states in his annual report 

 for 1901 that " India rubber may now be regarded as established 



"as a minor product in the low country. Extension of plant- 



" ing continues in suitable districts, and probably 3,000 acres are 

 now in rubber. " 



An English rubber manufacturer writes to The India Rubber 

 World. "We have made several experiments with Ceylon rubber 

 " which have turned out satisfactory. There is little or no difference 

 "between it and the Para obtained from Brazil." What follows 

 from the same letter, is not so clear, in view of the information 

 already given in regard to prices realized for the Ceylon product. 

 "The difference in price makes it a useful adjunct to the rubber 

 " manufacturer's list of economical rubbers, but I do not know 

 " whether this information will, in the near future, render it less 

 " economical ; I hope not. " The India Rubber World. 



RUBBER AT THE HACIENDA AGUNA. 



In the Journal d'Agriculture Tropicale for September 30th, 1902. 

 Mr. Rene Guerin gives some further notes from Dr. Preuss as 

 to lie cultivation of Rubber (Castilloa) at Aguna in Guatemala, 

 hi lis plantation the Castilloas are irregularly scattered among 

 cacao trees, some of them having been wild there when the cacao 

 was planted, others planted later. The Castilloas arc found to be 

 not at all suitable as shade for the cacao. The preparation of the 

 rubber on this estate is effected in the following way. The latex is 

 poured into a barrel with a tap at the lower part. It is stirred up 

 with an excess of cold water and allowed to settle, the globules of 

 rubber float and form a creamy layer at the top ; at the end of about 

 18 to 20 hours, the tap is opened and the water mixed with serum 

 runs out. This washing is repeated several times. It may be im- 

 agined that on the care taken in these successive washings depends 

 the quality of the rubber and this is certainly the case. If the 



