and Magazine of the Ceylon Agricultural Society*— August, 1912. 



~vl87 



RUBBER TAPPING IN MINDANAO 

 THRIVING. 



Mokos Industrious and Rice and Othee 

 Chops Encouraging. 



Mr A W Prautcb, who holds the reputation 

 of being the greatest rubber enthusiast within 

 the boundaries of the Philippine Islands, ar- 

 rived in town on the steamer "Neil Macleod," 

 yesterday, from Lebak, Mindauao, where he is 

 now nursing along a budding para rubber plan- 

 tation. Lebak, is about 70 miles from Ootabato. 



"The rubber plantation is corning along nicely, 1 ' 

 said Mr Prauteh at the Bulletm office. "The 

 trees are now a year old and have reached a 

 height of twelve feet. In the Straits Settle- 

 ments para rubber trees grow only 10 ft. a year. 



"The plantation borders on a perfectly land- 

 locked navigable bay and extends five nules in- 

 land, sloping toward the mountains. A swarm 

 of locusts visited the plantation recently but did 

 not leave the slightest trace of havoc behind 

 them. I examined as many of the leaves as I 

 could but did not find even a tiny hole in any 

 of them. This proves conclusively that Para 

 rubber trees are immune from the ravages of 

 locusts. 



"The Moros in our region are very indus- 

 trious and hardworking people. They raise lots 

 of rice, both the upland and lowland varieties. 

 The upland rice fields were visited some time 

 ago by locusts when the crop had reached a 

 height of about i inches, The insects totally 



destroyed it. But the Moros at once planted 

 another orop, which promises to be a bouuoer. 



" Cotabato valley is ideal for lowland rice cul- 

 tivation. The river like the Nile, overflows ior 

 several months each year, during the heavy tains, 

 in July, August and September. The alluvial 

 deposits ot the river make excellent rice soil. 

 Cotabato raises enough of this staple to export 

 the product to other provinces. There is a 

 steam rice mill in the district. 



'Major Heiberg, the Governor of Cotabato, 

 some tune ago, in anticipation of a shortage, 

 enforced a prohibition again.it the exportation 

 of rice from the province, but it was soou lound 

 that the supply was far above the requirements 

 of local consumption, and the prohioition was 

 removed. — Manila Bulletin, July 24. 



THE LANGUAGE OF THE AIR. 



Napoleon boasted that he had abplished the 

 Alps. The moilern aeroplane may be credi ed 

 with having abolished frontiers. The question 

 is, what lauguage is to be spoken by these new 

 citizens of the air, who start a voyage in one 

 country and complete it in another. M Henri 

 Farman, t han whom no one has a better right to 

 be heard on the subject, in a latter to a London 

 mori iug paper advocate i Esperanto. The ad- 

 vantages to airmen of obtaining at least an 

 acquaint** tice with this international language 

 are obvious. Wheruver he descends, the flying 

 man is likely to find some local schoolmaster, 

 railway official or other intelligent person who, 



