270 



The Supplement to the Tropical Agriculturist 



RUBBER BN BORNEO. 



First Tapping on Beaufort Estate. 

 On January 4, fays the B. N. B Herald, the 

 first tapping of cultivated rubber on the west 

 coast, took place on the B. Borneo Para Rubber 

 Co.'s Beaufort Estate. According to a promise 

 of long-standing Mrs Horton, wife of the late 

 District Officer, Beaufort, tapped the first tree, 

 wishing suceets to the estate and the manager 

 Mr J R Watson whose guests she and Mr 

 Horton were. The tapping took place early in the 

 morning and abuut 60 trees were operated on. 

 Messrs. Horton and Mulygan took photographs 

 of this historic scene. The Judicial Commis- 

 sioner, Mr R Bryett Turner, Me; srs. J Hatton 

 Hall, H G Hill. C Ashton Pryke and P C Brack- 

 en bur}'. Acting D.O., were also present. After 

 the tapping had been done the party repaired 

 to Mr Watson's house and drank success to him 

 and his estate. This tapping is preliminary only, 

 and it will be a month or two before regular tap- 

 ping starts when it is hoped that His Excellency 

 the Governor of B.N. Borneo will inaugurate 

 the tapping on a business scale. 



RUBBER IN SUMATRA. 



A friend, formerly of Singapore, who has been 

 for nearly a couple of years on a rubber estate 

 in Sumatra, appears to be charmed with the pro- 

 spects of rubber planting there. He writes: — 



"Rubber here is booming and from the estate 

 results they are getting or should in time, for its 

 acresge, knockout a great number of P.M. S. 

 estates. The soil up here, 600 feet above the sea 

 is grand ; black, rich volcanic stuff. I hope to 

 start tapping here from 4,000 to 5,000 trees in a 



month or two, and S (the same Company) 



about 8,000 to 10,000 trees this year. Coffee 

 will give a 5 per cent, dividend on 1909, and 1910 

 will be rather better without counting in the 

 rubber at all. So we have a good future.'' — S. F. 

 Press, Jan. 29. 



PARA RUBBER IN FRENGH 

 INDO-CHINA. 



We take the following notes on the cultivation 

 of Para rubber in the experimental station of 

 of Ong Yem from the " Bulletin de la Chambre 

 d'Agriculture," October, 1909, p. 455. The trees 

 were planted in 1898, and thus are nearly eleven 

 years old. The average diameter of ten trees 

 is given as -843 ram, in 1908 and 895 mm. in 1909. 

 The biggest tree measured 1*26 metre in 1908 

 (3ft. 3-71 in. about) and 1-35 next year. This 

 may be considered a good growth. These trees 

 were tapped everyday for a year and gave 14 

 kilos 497, or 1 kilo 449 each, (2 lb. 3 oz. 4 drs. 

 about), the rubber was not quite dry when 

 weighed and allowing for a further loss of 20 ptr 

 cent, this gives 1 kilo, 160, per tree of ten years 

 old a year. One must not generalise too much 

 on this, as only a small number of trees were 

 tapped. Vernet's method of tapping every two 

 days in a special or half spiral gave distinctly 

 inferior results, but comparison is difficult be- 

 cause of the different sizes of the trees experi- 



mented with. The plot at Ong Yem are sandy 



and poor in fertilising elements, and the growth 

 in such a soil is very satisfactory. The trees 

 produced very vigorous shoots in the dry sea- 

 son in a soil where water is met, with only at a 

 depth of 10 to 12 metres at the end cf April. 

 The plantations in Cochin-China are increasing, 

 the larger ones are established on the red sands. 

 The other planters, with smaller areas, prefer 

 the sandy lands near Saigon. — Straits Agricultu- 

 ral Bulletin for January. 



THE ANTWERP RUBBER TRADE. 



According to an Antwerp report on the rub- 

 ber trade, the 



REDUCED IMPORTS OF CONGO RUBBER 



into that port last year (772,813 kilos; against 

 1,119,026 kilos in 1908), is due chiefly to the 



ALTERATIONS MADE IN THE LABOUR TAX. 



This has been removed from certain classes of 

 natives, who have, therefore, no longer any ne- 

 cessity to collect rubber with which to pay. It 

 is further stated that considerable alterations 

 will be made by the Bolgiau Government with 

 regard to the rubber trade. The trade will be 

 worked by private interests, the change being 

 made gradually, but to be completed within 

 three years from July 1, 1910. Considerable 



CHANGES ARE ALSO TO BE INTRODUCED IN THE 

 SYSTEM OF PLANTING, 



as the present arrangement, whereby rubber 

 collectors are supposed to plant a certain 

 number of trees each year, has not worked 

 satisfactorily. A tax ol from 20c to 40c per 

 kilo, according to the nature of the rubber, 

 is to be paid on all exported, and this tax is 

 to be applied solely to the planting of new trees 

 which will become Government property. About 

 5,000 acres of new land will come under culti- 

 vation each year, and it is anticipated that this 

 will presently prove a very good source of re- 

 venue. Reference is made to the progress made 

 with rubber cultivation in the Far East, land 

 under cultivation in the Malay States and the 

 Straits being estimated at 240.000 acres, in 

 Ceylon at 180,000 acres, and in Java, Sumatra, 

 and Borneo at 50,000 acres, a total of 470,000 

 acres. — H. & C. Mail, Jan. 21. 



1909 TEA AND RUBBER CROPS. 



Yatiyantota, Ceylon Tea Co. 

 The Managing Agents in Ceylon cable that 

 the Crops secured were as follows : — Tea — 1909 

 1,588,393 lb , Against in 1908, 1 555,055 lb. Rub- 

 ber— 1909, 14,000 lb. (Approximately), Against 



1908, 7.52L lb.— T. A. Williams, Secretary, 

 8th Jan. 



Fana watte Tea and Rubber Estates. 



Pana watte and Yogama Estates. — Tea — 



1909, 718,374 1b. Against in 1908, 695,094 1b. 

 Rubber— 1909 (approximately) 13,300 lb. Against 

 in 1908, 1,102 lb. 



Perth Estate.— Tea— 1909, 212,4801b. Against 

 in 1908, 240 670 lb. Coconuts— 1909, 805,000 

 nuts. Against in 1908, 875, 159 nuts. Rubber— 

 1909 (approximately) 19,9001b. Againstin 1908, 

 lC,355lb.— T. A.Williams, Secretary, 8th Jan. 



