Gums, Resins, 



102 



[February, 1910. 



Manihot Glaziovii, Ficus etastica, besides 

 various vines were brought into Came- 

 roon and some years later to New 

 Guinea, with the addition of Castilloa. 

 Further, in 1889, Funtumia elastica was 

 discovered in Cameroon and cultivated 

 there. Castilloa elastica arrived in 1899, 

 and in 1901 better varieties of Ficus 

 elastica than had previously reached 

 Cameroon. The first Castilloa planta- 

 tions were soon found to be useless in 

 West Africa on account of destructive - 

 ness of a species of cookcbafer, Inesida 

 leprosa, found there. Again experience 

 has shown that the cultivation of 

 Manihot Glaziovii does not pay in the 

 wet climates of Cameroon and New 

 Guinea, but gives better promise in the 

 drier district of East Africa. The value 

 of Hevea brasiliensis for cultivation first 

 became evident in 1898 and 1899 when 

 the correct method of tapping was 

 discovered and tested in Peradeuiya, 

 Penang and Singapore. 



Then the English in Ceylon, Straits 

 Settlements and the Federated Malay 

 States threw themselves with charac- 

 teristic energy into tbis new cultivation, 

 in which they were assisted by having a 

 good supply of the necessary seed from 

 many old Hevea trees already bearing 

 fruit in the botanical gardens and 

 individual plantations ; the Germans 

 could only proceed slowly, as the few 

 specimens of Hevea in New Guinea and 

 Cameroon only supplied seed sparingly. 

 On the other hand Ficus elastica and 

 Castilloa elastica in New Guinea, Funtu- 

 mia elastica in Cameroon, and Manihot 

 Glaziovii in East Africa increased freely. 



The present state of rubber cultivation 

 in the German Colonies may be illus- 

 trated by the following table of the 

 planted areas : — 



<£ - © 



2 2 Sg--a a! Ml II % 



5s 2« o Z « c-5 So is 



ffi | h % g-a | s S »£ | 



acrs, acrs. acrs. acrs. acts. acrs. acrs. acrs. 



Cameroon 190 7§ 11 ... 5,126 2J ... 6,336 



Togo ... H 1271 I60| ... 289 



German East 



Africa 37 25,155 ... 25,192 



German New 



Guinea 1,045 2,847 1,297 ... 17J .. 2§ 5,209 



Samoa 1,418 59 5 25 ... 1,507 



East Caro- 

 lines ... 10 26 6 .. 42 



2,653 2,865| 1,308 59 5,337| 25,349 2 J 37,575 



This gives a total of 37,575 acres planted 

 with rubber trees. Now taking the 

 production of the individual species 

 at the following averages :— 1 acre of 

 Hevea= 270 lbs., 1 acre of Ficus= 80 lbs., 

 1 acre of Castilloa= 180 lbs., 1 acre of 

 Funtumia= 180 lbs., 1 acre of Manihot = 



110 lbs., then the total yearly production 

 of the planted area, when the whole is in 

 bearing, will amount to close on 5,000,000 

 lbs. or about 2,230 tons, which is about 

 the seventh part of Germany's total con- 

 sumption in 1907. At present, however, 

 only a very small part of the land under 

 cultivation has reached bearing age. 



Hevea in Kaiser Wilhelm's Land. 



The New Guinea Company possesses 

 the oldest plantation in Kaiser Wilhelm's 

 Land and the Bismark Archipelago. 

 There the regular production of rubber 

 commenced in 1906-7, in which year the 

 yield amounted to 2,330 lbs. ; in 1907-8 to 

 6,320 lbs., and in 1908-9 to over 6 tons of 

 rubber. The greater part of this was 

 obtained from Castilloa elastica and 

 Ficus elastica, and only a small propor- 

 tion from Hevea brasiliensis. All three 

 sorts of rubber were considered to be 

 first-class quality on the Hamburg 

 market, and realised high prices. Hevea 

 supplies the most valuable product, 

 then Ficus elastica follows, and finally 

 Castilloa elastica. When Hevea rubber 

 was sold at 5s. 6d. per lb., Ficus realised 

 4s. 3d. per lbs., and Castilloa 4s. Id. per lb. 

 There is not the slightest doubt, there- 

 fore, that where conditions of soil and 

 climate are favourable for Hevea, this is 

 by far the most advantageous species of 

 cultivation. In cheapness and facility 

 of cultivation, in yielding capacity and 

 the quality of the product, Hevea sur- 

 passes all other species. Already the 

 difference is quite perceptible. It will, 

 however, be still more apparent when 

 the market is flooded with first-class 

 Hevea rubber from the British Colonies 

 and the prices begin to fall. As is 

 known by experience, de3reases in price 

 are felt by the lower qualities to a far 

 greater extent than by the higher 

 qualities, and when offers are plentiful, 

 the former are very easily left alto- 

 gether unsaleable. Wherever it is pos- 

 sible, therefore, Hevea should be planted, 

 since only the best product can sustain 

 prolonged competition, Most German 

 rubbers planters are probably aware of 

 this, and whilst, until recently, they 

 experienced a lack of Ficus Funtumia 

 and even Castilloa seeds, they have now 

 turned their attention very strongly to 

 Hevea. The oldest stock of this species 

 in Kaiser Wilhelm's Land can now 

 supply abundant quantities of seed for 

 the protected territory of New Guinea, 

 and young plants in the form of 

 " stumps " are transported to Samoa and 

 Cameroon from Ceylon. The question 

 of seed supply can therefore be regarded 

 as having been gradually solved. 



The cacao plantations in the Bismark 

 Archipelago have almost exclusively 



