February, 1910.] 



105 



Saps and Exudations. 



The Supply from German Colonies. 



In conclusion, there remains the 

 question as to whether Germany will 

 ever be in a position to supply her own 

 demands in rubber from her own Colo- 

 nies. In answering this question, three 

 factors must be taken into consider- 

 ation: (l)Soil, (2) Climate, (3) Labour. 

 Regarding soil, the Colonies of Came- 

 roon and New Guinea alone possess 

 several hundred thousand acres of land 

 suited for the cultivation of the most 

 valuable rubber trees. The climate 

 there is also very favourable. Taking 

 the annual requirements of Germany 

 in rubber at 16,000 tons, this quantity 

 can be produced from an area of 150,000 

 to 170,000 acres exclusively plant3d with 

 Hevea, and from 200,000 to 250,000 acres 

 under^ cultivation with the various 

 species already planted, but with Hevea 

 predominating. Even if the demand for 

 the raw material should considerably 

 increase, the answer to this would be an 

 affirmative as regards soil and climate ; 

 whether, however, with the accompany- 

 ing development in the cultivation of 

 cacao, cotton, coconut and oil palms, 

 etc., the necessary labour will be procur- 

 able for such an extension in cultivation, 

 the question cannot be answered. 



PALO AMARILLO. 



Prom the Kew Bulletin, of Miscellaneous 

 Information, No. 9, 1909.) 



Palo Amarillo (Euphorbia fulva, 

 Stapf ; syn- E, elastica, Altamirana and 

 Rose, not of Jumelle). — Some parti- 

 culars regarding this plant as a new 

 source of rubber appeared in the Kew 

 Bulletin, No. 7, 1907, p. 294. The follow- 

 ing supplementary information upon the 

 subject is gathered from an illustrated 

 article on ' The Rubber Plants of 

 Mexico" by Dr. H. H. Rusby in 

 " Torreya," Vol. 9, No. 9, September, 1309. 



Prom this paper it appears that the 

 " Palo Amarillo " will not grow upon the 

 alluvial plains of Mexico but only on the 

 rocky hill-sides where the drainage is 

 good. The bark is described as being 

 thick and succulent, at first smooth and 

 of a light yellowish-green colour. That 

 of the trunk and large branches soon 

 excoriates in large, very thin, papery, 

 translucent sheets of an orarfge-yellow 

 or orange-red colour, which impart to 

 the tree a shaggy appearance, and a 

 colour that has given the trunk its 

 vernacular name "palo amarillo" or 

 yellow trunk. 



The flowers appear in January or 

 thereabout, before the appearance of the 

 new leaves, and the fruits mature in 

 June and July. 



As soon as the bark is wounded, a 

 milky juice exudes which is very irri- 

 tant and capable of producing violent 

 inflammation of the eyes if it enters 

 them, as it is quite liable to do in 

 spattering, when the tree is cut. 



The great value of this tree as a 

 rubber producer lies in its abundance 

 over large areas and the proximity of 

 the trees to one another facilitating 

 collection of the milk, as well as the 

 ease with which it can be propagated 

 and the rapidity of its growth. 



All that is necessary for propagation is 

 to thrust the newly-cut branches into 

 the soil, where they practically all grow. 

 Prom them the tree reaches its full size 

 in from 5 to 7 years. These consider- 

 ationsappear to incline Dr. Rusby to 

 the opinion that if all other sources of 

 rubber were to fail, this one could 

 probably supply the world's entire 

 requirements. 



The properties of the " palo amarillo" 

 rubber are peculiar. Taken by itself it 

 is of only medium quality, but mixed in 

 suitable proportion with other varieties, 

 especially with para rubber it markedly 

 improves them. 



J. H. M. 



FIBRES. 



THE INTERNATIONAL COTTON 

 FEDERATION. 



(Prom the Indian Agriculturist, Vol. 



XXXIV., No. 12, December 1, 1909.) 



The wonderful solidarity established 

 within the past few years among the 

 cotton spinners and manufacturers of 

 Europe has been strikingly illustrated by 

 the almost universal restriction of pro- 

 duction during the crisis with which the 

 14 



industry is faced. In all the countries 

 affiliated to the International Cotton 

 Federation short time working has been 

 in force for some time past, and an 

 intimation was recently received by that 

 organisation from the United States to 

 the effect that the leaders of the industry 

 there desired to co-operate in the general 

 movement. Subsequent reports by tele- 

 graph show that restriction of output is 

 being resorted to in the American mills 

 on an extensive scale, and an amelior- 



