Miscellaneous Useful Products. 122 



[February, 1912. 



Ingasaman does not need pruning to the 

 same extent, since it produces succulent 

 branches practically all the year round 

 which enables two crops of lac to be 

 taken in a year. 



The chief point in lac culture is its 

 inexpensiveness. The work takes up 

 comparatively little time, so that it need 

 not interfere with the growers' ordinary 

 occupation. Further, the necessary tools, 

 etc., are cheaply procured or made. 

 Again, only a short preliminary training 

 is necessary. 



When we come to consider the possi- 

 bility of cultivating lac in Ceylon, we 

 have to first compare the climate with 

 that of India. There are three distinct 

 seasons in the parts of India where lac 

 is cultivated, viz., a cold season, a hot 

 season, and rainy season. 



Hot winds and a temperature above 

 100° are injurious to the successful cul- 

 tivation of lac, while a moderate climate 

 is favourable, 



In India lac is cultivated in Assam, 

 Bengal. Central Province, United Pro- 

 vinces, Sindh, Punjab and Behar. 



At Pusa, where it has been grown 

 successfully for the last five years for 

 purposes of research and experimental 

 work, the seasons are as follows : — A 

 cold season which begins in October and 

 lasts till the middle of March, a hot 

 season of three months lasting till June, 

 a rainy season from July till the end 

 of September. The average annual rain- 

 fall is 45" and the temperature rarely 

 rises above 100 F. Two crops are taken 

 in a year, one called "Kartiki" in the 

 beginning of October (from inoculation 

 done in June and July), and the other 

 called "Baisaki" in .lune-July (from 

 inoculation done in October) correspond- 

 ing to our " Yala " and " Maha " seasons. 



In Ceylon where conditions appear 

 to be favourable we shall have to deter- 

 mine our own seasons after making 

 trials in several localities. These trials 

 might commence in June next when a 

 consignment of breed lac is expected 

 from Pusa. 



The following rough estimate of in- 

 come and expenditure will give some 

 idea of the financial side of lac cultiv- 

 ation. It is based on a low average yield 

 of 4 lbs. of stick lac per tree and a valu- 

 ation of 55 shillings a hundredweight of 

 Rain tree seed lac as quoted by Pro- 

 fessor Dunstan : — 



Rs. cts. 



Cost of inoculating 22 trees 

 (1 man 3 days) ... ... 1 50 



Removing incrusted bran- 

 ches or stick lac from tree 

 (1 man 2 days)... ... 1 00 



Scraping (1 man 4 days) ... 2 00 



Washing (1 man 4 days) ... 2 00 



6 50 



Yield of 22 trees at 4 lbs. per 

 crop 88 lbs. of stick lac pro- 

 ducing 56 lbs. (| cwt.) of 

 seed lac valued at 35 shil- 

 lings per cwt. ... ... 20 62 



Expenditure ... ... 6 50 



14 12 



The expenditure on brood lac will have 

 to be incurred only at the start. The lac 

 collected from the brood lac sticks may 

 come to about 20 lbs. which will cover 

 the cost of brood. To the above, the cost 

 of pruning trees other than the rain tree 

 will have to be added. This will be 

 about Rs. 2. The only other expenditure 

 for a beginner will be the value of a 

 couple of knives, say Rs. 2. 



In the above estimate twenty -two trees 

 have been taken as the number that can 

 be inoculated by one man without out- 

 side labour while attending to his ordin- 

 ary work, and the yield as | cwt. of 

 seed lac. The value of lac dye is nob 

 reckoned. 



There are over 3,600 miles of road way 

 in Ceylon, and along most of the roads 

 the rain tree has been planted foi shade. 

 Taking 3,000 miles of road and 132 trees 

 per mile (if planted at 40 feet apart) and 

 | cwt. of seed lac from 22 trees (one mile 

 of road yielding 3 cwt. of seed lac) the 

 3,000 miles would give 9,000 cwt. This 

 valuing at the rate of Rs. 40 a cwt. will 

 give Rs. 360,000 and when £ is deducted for 

 expenses, there should remain a profit of 

 Rs. 240,000. The trees may be leased out 

 in groups of 22 or by the mile. 



But, before these estimates can be 

 seriously considered, it is necessary to 

 ascertain by actual trials the feasibility 

 of carrying on lac culture in Ceylon ; that 

 is to say tc ascertain whether our insular 

 situation and climatic conditions are 

 likely to favour or retard the industry. 

 With a view to securing some definite 

 knowledge on these points, I am submit- 

 ting to the Secretary of the Ceylon Agri- 

 cultural Society (1) a proposal to carry 

 out trials under my supervision in the 

 Hambantota district, and (2) a memoran- 

 dum in which I have indicated full details 

 of the process of lac culture, according 

 to the trees available for the purpose, 



