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NOTES ON RUBBER IN TROPICAL, AUSTRALIA. 



By HOWARD NEWPORT, F,E. H. 8., Instructor in Tropical Agriculture 

 and Director of the Kamerunga State Nursery. 



To those concerned in the extension of rubber cultivation in 

 Queensland recently, the following figures may be of interest. Of the 

 plants imported by Mr. F. P. Logan, in January, 1907, 4,040 were 

 finally distributed ; of the Depatment's special importation in January, 

 1908, including plants raised from seed obtained at the same time, 

 7,434 plants resulted ; plants raised from seed at the Kamerunga State 

 Nursery, including seed distributed (allowing for a 52 per cent, gremi- 

 nation only), 4,726 plants. This gives a total of 16,200 plants distri- 

 buted up to the end of April, 1907, equal to an area of 81 acres if plant- 

 ed 14 by 14 feet (or 200 to the acre), and if all were planted in definite 

 areas, which, of course, they are not, many having planted but a few 

 trees in their gardens and along roadsides, &c, in their farms. 



The foregoing figures refer only to Para Rubber ( HevcaBraziliensis) . 

 Of other rubbers, mostly Assam or Rambong {Ficus elastica) ; Central 

 American (castilloa elastica) ; Ceara (Manihot (jlaziovii) ; and African 

 {Funtumia elastica), enough plants have been distributed to plant 

 about 7 acres, as well as some 11,000 seed. 



Of the Department's first importation in January of this year, the 

 seed imported resulted in a germination of about 37 per cent., and the 

 plants suffered a mortality en route of about 20 per cent. This was, 

 however, mainly due to the consignment having been unfortunately 

 carried on to Brisbane and returned to Cairns, involving an extra fort- 

 night at sea, instead of having been landed in the North. Of the plants 

 thus imported, some 2,500 are still in hand, but have all (and more) 

 been bespoken, and are awaiting despatch. 



The department is making another importation of some 10,000 

 seed or plants, and it would be as well for intending growers to bespeak 

 these as soon as possible to ensure getting the number they want. 



The Para rubber plants put out in banana plantations that are 

 still being worked, and in which the rubber can benefit by the clean 

 weeding and partial shade, are doing remarkably well in the vicinity of 

 the Tully River, near Cardwell, and Johnstone River, and Geraldton. 

 Many of these plants, barely 18 inches high, and as thick as fencing 

 wire when planted, now show 7 feet in height and a circumference of 

 3 inches at the ground for the year's growth. 



Having been planted among the bananas, they participated in the 

 cultivation, and thus the cost of upkeep has been practically nil. By 

 the time the bananas are, according to the Chinese ideas, worked out, 

 the rubber should be big enough to tap. 



Regarding the value of land so planted, it will be interesting to 

 note that the " Times of Ceylon " suggests that £100 per acre would 

 be a moderate price for six-year-old rubber. 



If only all the land that has been under bananas and subsequently 

 abandoned, or even the land now being cultivated with bananas, were so 

 planted, and became, with little or no cost, five or six year old rubber 

 plantations when no longer required for bananas, what an asset to the 



