272 The Supplement to the Tropical Agriculturis 



"Contrary to the anticipations of produ- 

 cers," says Mr. Pickerell, "the rubber pro- 

 duction of last year has been considerably 

 greater than that of the previous equal period, 

 and was almost reached the amount pro- 

 duced in 1907, the year of greatest production. 

 Notwithstanding this unexpected large yield 

 prices have shown an enormous tendency to 

 rise, and it would seem from present reports 

 that the end has not yet been reached ; 1"63 

 dollars per lb. f.o.b. New York is high when 

 one considers and just a little more than one 

 year ago the same article was selling in the same 

 market for 63 cents. It is too soon to tender 

 any opinion upon the coming season's crop, but 

 I feel sure that every effort will be made to take 

 advantage of the present high price. According 

 to later Brazilian trade figures the rubber ship- 

 ments from Brazil continue to increase although 

 more in value than in quantity. 



AN INTERNATIONAL RUBBER 

 TESTING COMMITTEE. 



comprising a number of independent nations, 

 sections united under a common President has 

 been formed, with the following objects in 

 view : — 



1. Collection of extra data regarding the 

 various official and unofficial chemical and phy- 

 sical tests applied to raw rubber and manu- 

 factured rubber articles at the present time. 



2. Consideration of the tests referred to from 

 the point of view of efficiency and expediency. 



3. To make recommendations regarding the 

 desirability of maintaining, modifying or aboli- 

 shing existing methods, of testing, and to suggest 

 if necessary, new methods, and to work these 

 out on a practical basis. 



4. To act as an advisory body in cases of 

 doubt or dispute concerning methods of testing. 



5. Similarly, if desired, to act as a Board of 

 reference or arbitration. — India-Rubber Jour- 

 nal, Dec. 27. 



STRANGE GROWTH OF A PARA 

 RUBBER TREE CUTTING. 



Mr. Bean sends the following curious note 

 on the behaviour of a Para tree :—" Eighteen 

 months ago on our estate (Puak, Borneo) a 3i 

 year old tree was blown down and the trunk 

 having been cut in two pieces by the Javanese 

 was used as corner posts for a rough fence. 

 One of these posts had been rammed in the 

 ground upside down and after a month began 

 to grow. In three months there were two 

 shoots eighteen inches long which flowered 

 heavily. No fruit resulted, but that was hardly 

 surprising; however, the cutting is still gro- 

 wing but very slowly." It is not of course an 

 uncommon occurrence for a piece of living 

 wood of almost any tree especially soft wood 

 trees to put out branches or shoots for some 

 time after the cutting is made, using up in so 

 doing all the food which happens to be stored 



at the time in the bit. After which unless by 

 that time the stick has been able to emit roots 

 and feed itself normally, shoots and stick dies. 

 It is, however, unusual for it to grow wrong 

 way up, or to produce Mowers. I have seen, 

 however, a low fence of crossed sticks made of 

 cuttings of branches of Ceara rubber, Manihot 

 qlaziovii flowering and fruiting quite heavily.— 

 Ed.,— Strctits Agricultural Bulletin for Feb. 



A SUGAR-CANE EXPERIMENT. 



In North Malabak : R400 Per Acre Profit. 



The Manager of the Talliparamba Government 

 Farm, North Malabar, recently experimented 

 with sugarcane on a 25 cent, plot of single crop 

 wet land, and the experiment having been re- 

 ported to have vielded a net profit that would 

 work out at R400 an acre, Mr R B Wood, ICS, 

 President of the District Agricultural Advisory 

 Council, called for a detailed report, in view to 

 placing the same before the agricultural public. 

 Planting was started early in February, the 

 germinated "sets ' being planted in parallel 

 trenches \\ ft. wide and one foot deep and 2 ft. 

 apart. In all, 1,000 lb. of lish manure and 1,000 

 lb. of ashes were applied, on three or foAr diffe- 

 rent dates. As the canes grew, the trenches 

 were gradually filled in, until by June the 

 ground level was reached. After that earth was 

 still piled on, creating channels that served to 

 drain off the water. On being planted, the 

 canes were watered first daily, then weekly, till 

 the monsoon set in. The chief pest was white 

 ants, and they were kept off by fish manure and 

 ashes. As the canes grew up, they had to be 

 propped up and all rotting leaves were removed. 

 The crop amounted to 5,100 good canes, 10 to 15 

 ft. long, and the total cost of cultivation was R50. 

 Some of the crop was sold to ryots for seed at R3 

 per 100, some were sold for eating at one anna 

 and 1| annas each and 1,200 were milled for 

 jaggery, each yielding on an average half a 

 pound of jaggery. The present price of imported 

 jacrgery is 1 anna 8 pies per pound, and at 

 this rate the price of 5,000 canes would work 

 out to R120. This would give a net profit of 

 R210, but the cost of making the jaggery will 

 have to be deducted. Mr. Wood expresses the 

 opinon that sugarcane in this district would 

 pay best if grown for the manufacture of jaggery 

 for local consumption. At present, sugarcane is 

 not regularly raised in this District, although 

 it is systematically cultivated on a consider- 

 able scale in the adjoining District of South 

 Canara. In Malabar, it is grown on a small 

 scale here and there, chiefly by Native Christians, 

 but the methods of cultivation are primitive 

 and the produce is inferior. Most of the sugar- 

 cane sold in the District is imported from Coira- 

 batore and other parts. A Calicut landowner 

 started a small plantation in the town a few 

 years ago, but does not appear to have met 

 with any great degree of success. However, 

 theexcelKnt results which have attended the 

 Talliparamba experiment may give an impetus 

 to the cultivation of this crop, for which the 

 general conditions seem to be very favourable 

 in many parts of the Malabar District.— M. 

 Mail, Feb. 7. 



