321 
receive  a good  supply  of  nearly  pure  rubber  which  will  only  lose 
about  one  per  cent,  in  the  washing.  This  has  been  proved  by  sam- 
ples recently  sent  home  of  cultivated  rubber  both  from  Ceylon  and 
the  Straits  Settlements. 
The  Hevea  Brasiliensis,  is  not,  however,  the  only  variety  of  rub- 
ber that  has  been  introduced  into  Burma.  The  seeds  of  the  Cas- 
tilloa  elastica,  the  variety  now  planted  on  a large  scale  in  Mexico, 
have  been  successfully  introduced  into  Burma  by  Mr.  TODD.  who 
imported  the  seed  direct  from  !^an  Salvador  and  Mexico.  Some 
of  these  seeds  were  afterwards  forwarded  by  this  gentleman  to 
Samoa  in  the  South  Seas  and  are  reported  to  have  arrived  there  in 
good  condition.  This  latter  fact  is  all  the  more  important  consider- 
ing that  this  seed  loses  its  vitality  yttry  quickly.  Its  transmission, 
th.erelore,  from  one  place  to  another  must  be  accomplished  as 
rapidly  as  possible,  though  if  carefully  packed  it  is  possible  for  it  to 
travel  in  good  condition  for  a period  of  three  months.  This  year 
there  is  a considerable  demand  for  this  seed  in  Ceylon  as  it  has 
been  found  that  it  thrives  on  a wider  range  of  country  than  the 
Tara  plant.  'These  latter  considerations  naturallv  make  for  the 
popularity  of  this  seed  in  India  where  conditions  and  country  are 
so  varying.  That  there  is  money  in  rubber  planting  there  can  be 
no  doubt  and  we  are  so  far  informed  that  the  country  in  North 
Bengal  appears  to  be  specially  adopted  for  rubber  cultivation  so 
that  private  enterprise,  if  not  Government  interest,  should  be  aroused; 
and  that  the  results  will  be  satisfactory  will  be  the  hope  of  India’s 
well  wishers,  since  India  as  a country,  and  not  merely  private  enter- 
prise, will  benefit  by  this  industry. 
ENGLISHMAN. 
CHRISTMAS  ISLAND  PHOSPHATE. 
From  correspondence  published  in  Planting  Opinion  of  August 
29,  ^903,  it  would  appear  that  Christmas  Island  Phosphates  can  be 
landed  in  India  at  a moderate  price,  and  for  the  manufacture  of 
Superphosphates  are  probably  less  costly  than  the  indigenous 
material. 
The  Phosphate  of  Lime  varies  from  80  to  85  percent.  The  pro- 
duct is  shipped  from  Christmas  Island  as  a raw  material,  and  in  an 
unground  state.  It  is  used  principally  by  artificial  fertilizer  manu- 
facturers, and  is  shipped  largely  to  Japan,  Australia,  Germany  and 
Great  Britain.  The  price  c.  i.  f.  Calcutta  would  be  £2.  10.  o per 
ton  on  the  basis  of  80  per  cent.,  and  for  Bombay  £2.  12.  6.  per 
,ton,  on  the  same  liasis.  Phosphate  of  Lime  Analysis  shows:  — 
Moisture 
...  _ ■ 0.74 
Organic  matter  ... 
2. So 
Lime  ... 
• . . • • • 
Iron  and  Alumina 
2.01 
.Alkalies  &c. 
Phosphoric  Acid 
3.S.S9 
