146 



[August, 1912. 



Plantation Tress. 



Number tapped ... 1,954 



Yield of rubber in biscuits 1,146 



Yield of rubber by weight 114 6 lbs. 



Average yield per tree - 96 ozs. 



Wild Trees, 



Number tapped ... 354 



Yield of rubber in biscuits 405 



Yield of rubber by weight 40 5 lbs. 



Average yield per tree 1*8 ozs. 



The total yield of rubber up to the 

 end of that period was 185 lbs. (this 

 includes 30 lbs. still in the drying shed at 

 Mamu) and the expenses of tapping 

 amounted to £15 lis, 4d., or at the rate 

 of Is. 8d., a pound — a not unsatisfactory 

 figure, but one capable of further reduc- 

 tion as the tappers become more expert. 

 A further sum of £6 was spent in pur- 

 chasing utensils, knives etc., but this 

 being of the nature of capital expendi- 

 ture has not been included in the cost. 

 With that sum added on the average 

 cost per pound amounts to 2s. 4d., or £21 

 lis. 4d. in all. 



If the rubber sells at 5s. per lb. ■ out 

 here, the 185 lbs. will realize £46 5s. 0d., 

 and the net profit will be £46 5s. Od. — 

 £21 lis. 4d=£2413s. 8d., or at the rate 

 of 2s. 8d. a lb. 



Preparation. 

 The rubber was prepared in the same 

 manner as in Benin, viz. by the boiling 

 method with subsequent smoking and is 

 of excellent quality. It should realize 

 good prices at home. On the whole it is 

 better prepared than that shipped to 

 England last year from the Benin Plant- 

 ations. 



Very little iujury has been done to the 

 trees that were tapped with the ' 1 Christy " 

 knife, and cuts a month or so old at the 

 time of my visit had nearly completly 

 nealed up. It also appears probable, 

 though the experiments have not yet 

 been concluded, that by using this knife 

 the trees can be tapped two or three 

 times in one year with but little diminu- 

 tion in yield as compared with the results 

 of th*e first tapping. 



An extraordinary feature of the Mamu 

 trees is the fact that the weight of the 



biscuits prepared from their latices has 

 been quite constant all through; ten 

 biscuits weigh almost exactly one pound. 



Consignment after consignment has 

 given the same figures. Of course 

 these results are mainly due to the same 

 percentage of water being used to dilute 

 the latex before it is boiled and to 

 the same quantity of this diluted latex 

 being used for the preparation of each 

 biscuit, but even allowing for this the 

 results show an extraordinary constant 

 proportion of rubber to latex which 

 appears to have been unaffected by the 

 state of the weather at the time of 

 tapping. 



Para Rubber Plantations. 

 The growth of this species is poor 

 compared with results obtained in the 

 moist districts close to the sea ; it is also 

 much exposed to damage from the large 

 rodent known as the "Cut grass," and 

 taking every thing into consideration I 

 think it will be unprofitable to continue 

 the cultivation of this species at Mamu. 



BICE IN TRAVANCORE. 



The Agricultural Journal of India for 

 April last contains an exhaustive account 

 of rice cultivation in Travancore written 

 by the Director of Agriculture. In that 

 progressing State 1,200,000 acres are 

 under cultivation, of which 500,000 repre- 

 sent rice fields ; and yet the output of 

 grain is insufficient for the local demand 

 of a steadily increasing population. In 

 1909-10 the imports of rice amounted to 

 Rs. 7,422,240. 



It is suggested that the output should 

 be increased by improved methods of 

 cultivation. 



Irrigation facilities, where the rainfall 

 is deficient, have been provided by means 

 of tanks and the damming of rivers. 



Where manuring is done, cattle 

 manure is generally applied to the first 

 crop, 10 or 12 cartloads being applied per 

 acre ; while the second crop is manured 

 with green leaf which cost9 from Rs. 3 



