344 



The Supplement to the Tropical A grtculturist 



GUANO FROM SEYCHELLES. 



Suitable foe Ceylon Soils. 

 The output of guaDO from the Seychllees was 

 21 910 tons in 1911, compared with 23,039 tons 

 in 1910 The output for 1912 and 1913 will pro- 

 bably (says the Governor in his annual report) 

 be larger, but after that there will be a gradual 

 diminution, and at the present rate ot exploita- 

 tion the supplies will probably last for another 

 ten years. 



The above from the leading paper on ferti- 

 lisers should be of interest to your planter 

 readers who would find this guano far more 

 suitable to Ceylon soils, than Basic Slag which 

 is a hard fused material, however finely it may 

 be ground. — Cor. 



ERADICATION OF FOfflES SEM1TOS- 

 TOS FROM HEVEA PLANTATIONS. 



Dear Sir, — With reference to an article on 

 root diseases which appears in T. Petch's book 

 "The Physiology and Diseases of Hevea 

 Brasiliensis " and the sentence in same statng 

 that " it is impossible to get rid of tomes semi- 

 tostus if the stumps which bear the fungus are 

 not removed ; neglect of that operation is the 

 chief source ot danger ; " it is generally 

 recognised, I think, that such a method is 

 far too costly to be undertaken with any degree 

 of completeness. Even the destruction of all 

 loose timber, which has escaped burning, involves 

 a hu<*e outlay, and Managers as a rule,are rather 

 shy of taking such effective, yet costly steps. 



What must, and can be done is, a system 

 must be devised on affected plantations, where- 

 by the thorough 'prevention of the disease is 

 aimed at. People who offer rewards for the 

 cure of the disease, are fairly safe with their 

 money but of little use to the planting com- 

 munity, considering how difficult it is to discover 

 the disease early enough to prevent serious 

 damage or death to the trees attacked. It 

 would be rather more beneficial to reward the 

 person who gave the simplest, cheapest and surest 

 idea for the thorough prevention of the disease 

 rendering the affected plantation and district 

 safe from attack. 



Let it be a matter of competition between all 

 planters in the East, anil let all ideas be sent in 

 to a committee of experienced men, who will 

 decide which is the best idea. Then let a 

 thorough trial be made and full particulars be 

 kept as a record. After a trial of say 12 months, 

 or some period determined on, let the full re- 



sults be published. Should the idea lea com- 

 plete success, then and only then, let the in- 

 ventor of the system be rewarded. 



Trusting that you will find this letter in- 

 teresting enough to afford space for it. — I am, 

 Dear Sir, Yours truly, 



«' Bode." 



British North Borneo, 8th August 1912. 

 — Grenier's Rubber News, Aug. 31. 



CONSULAR R EPORTS ON RUBBER. 



Sumatra : Ovek £8,0u0,000 Invksted — Thirty 

 Companies Producing. 



A British Consular report on the trade of Sumatiaby Mr 

 W J Stewart states : The cultivation of plantat on rub' 

 ber is already one of the must iinpor ant industries in 

 Sumatra, and bids fair to be a factor of very considerable 

 importance in future in furthering the development of the 

 East Coast. It is calculated that approximately five-eights 

 of the whole capital invested is British. One or two hitherto 

 unexploited di.-lricts have been opened up, and there is 

 little doubt that even more would have been done in this 

 direction had better means of communication by road 

 and rail been available. A large number of companies intend 

 to plant little or nothing further in 191', but several are 

 preparing to plant considerable areas. Reliable statistics 

 as to the amount of capital invested in the rubber indus- 

 try in Sumatra and the area unuer plantation rubber aie ' 

 unobtainable. Returns showat i he end of 1911 approximately 

 130,000 acres planted, of which over 125,000 acres are Hevea 

 Bra3ilieusis. It has been estimated that at ihe end of 

 1911 there were 50 .British rubber companies operating 

 in Sumatia with an issued capital of approximately 

 £5,000,00(J and a nominal capital of about £6,200,000! The 

 ollowing approximate statement of capital invested in the 

 cultivation of rubber in the Bast Coast has been compiled- 

 — Bri'ish, £."),OOU,000; Dutch, £3, 1 00,003 ; German, £30.00n ; 

 Belgian, £62,000 : Swedish, £20,00 i- total £s,162,0uO. The 

 above figures as indicated are admittedly only approximate. 

 Some 30rubber companies are now producing, but the 

 majority of them have only recently commenced tapping, 

 and that on a very small scale Official figures are not yet 

 available, but it is estimated that the quantity of planta- 

 tion rubber exported from the East Coast of Sumatra 

 during 1H11 amounted to approximately b',7 tons, of 

 which about 5S0 tons were shipped to London. 



Java Exports for 1911 Nearly 1,000,000 Lb 

 A British Consular Report on the trade of 

 Java by Mr J W Stewart, just issued, refers to 

 the rubber industry as follows : — 



A fair nuraher of the Java estates h >ve now reached the 

 productive stage, but the majority of these only began to 

 tap on an extended scale towards the end of 1911, and 

 so far no information on the subject of production, cost 

 &c, has been published. Some statistics of this nature 

 have been obtained privately, but as these refer mainly to 

 a few young estates situated in one part of the island, it 

 would be unsafe to use them as a basis for anything is 

 the nature of a prediction as to the future of the rubber 

 ind stry in Java. That Java estates can produce rubber ol 

 a superior quality is unquestioned, and, so far as 

 can be judged from the figures at present available, the 

 ou'look is iiy no means discouraging, returns from the 

 rnori advanced plantations showing a steadily increasing 

 production per tree, and low cost. A few estates complain 

 of labour difficulties, but as the industry develops 

 and the cultivation of rubber bucomes more fainiliir 

 to the natives, these trou des will no dou'ot gradually 

 disappear. Tapping is readily learnt by the coolies, and 

 managers generally express themselves as satisfied with 

 the daily task performed Exports of rubber from Java 

 during 1911 amounted to 982,6001b, as compared with 158,700 

 lb during the preceding 12 months, but some considerable 

 partof this represents wild rubber from outlying islands. 



— Financial Times, J uly 30. 



