Fibres. 



394 



[May, 1912. 



The German Colonies. 



The German Consulate in London has 

 checked the following statement of the 

 exports of rubber from the German 

 Colonies in Africa. 



The figures do not include a very small 

 output from German South-West Africa, 

 amounting to about 25 tons in 1909. 



1909. 1910. 



J Kilos. Kilos. 



Togoland ... 146,786 134,919 



Kamerun ... 1,517,6J5 1,961,756 



German E.Africa(wild) 255,880 329,811 

 G.E.Africa (plantation) 228,468 413,895 



Total Kilos ... 2,148,769 2,840,381 



Total English tons... 2,114 2,800 



Here, again, a considerable increase in 

 the exports is to be noted, but, as 



shown, it is largely due to the increase 

 in the outputs from cultivated plant- 

 ations. 



The value was returned at about 

 £550,000 in 1909, and £898,000 on 1910. 

 Summary. 



Summarising the above figures, we 

 find that the French Colonies, the Congo 

 State, the Portuguese, British and Ger- 

 man Colonies exported respectively 6,647, 

 5,217, 3,161, 1,974, and 2,114 tons in 1909, 

 total 19,113 tons; in 1910 they exported 

 7,340, 5,000, 3,504, 2,818, and 2,880 tons, 

 total 21,462 tons. The production of the 

 remainder of Africa, i.e., Abyssinia, 

 Somaliland, Anglo-Egyptian Soudan. 

 Liberia, Spanish Guinea, etc., would 

 probably bring the figures up to 22,000 

 tons or thereabout in 1910. 



FIBRES. 



KAPOK AND ITS CULTIVATION. 



(From the Bulletin of the Imperial In- 

 stitute, Vol. IX., No. 2, pp. 121-123, 

 London, 1911.) 

 (Bulletin of the Bureau of Agricultural 

 Intelligence and of Plant- Diseases. 



2nd Year— Numbers 8, 9, 10. 

 August— September — October, 1911.) 



The Kapok tree, Eriodendvon anfrac- 

 tuosum, occurs in the Dutch East Indies, 

 India, Ceylon, the West Indies, Mexico 

 and Central America. 



The Kapok tree grows at the sea-level 

 and up to an altitude of 3,000 or even 

 4,000 feet, but gives the best yield and 

 quality of fibre when situated at less 

 than 2,000 feet above the sea. It is said 

 to flourish best on a porous, loamy soil, 

 in a climate with a dry east monsoon, 

 and to be capable of withstanding heavy 

 rains and resisting long periods of 

 drought. 



The propagation of the tree can be 

 easily effected by means of either cut- 

 tings or seed. In the latter case the seed 

 is sown in nurseries and is only lightly 

 covered with earth. If the soil is poor, 

 it is recommended that stable manure 

 should be applied about ten days before 



sowing. The seed should be planted 

 in rows at a distance of 10 to 12 in. 

 When the young plants are about 5 or 6 

 in. high they should be no longer shaded 

 but exposed to the sun. If the plants do 

 not obtain plenty of sunshine, they grow 

 thin and lanky. The seedlings are 

 planted out when from 8 to 12 months 

 old. In Java, Kapok trees are commonly 

 planted about 12 to 15 feet apart, along 

 the roads, in the coffee and cocoa plant- 

 ations, When the trees are grown in 

 special plantations, they should be 

 placed about 18 ft. apart, for if planted 

 more closely they soon interfere with 

 one another. The trees commonly 

 attain a height of 30 feet, or even more. 



Before transplanting, it is advisable to 

 strip off all the leaves and to cut the 

 stem down to a height of 1$ to 2 ft. ; and 

 also to cut the chief roots so as to make 

 stumps of them. If the top is not cut 

 it will usually die down to the ground. 

 The trees subsequently require very 

 little attention; but the soil must be 

 kept free from weeds. 



During the early years of growth 

 other plants can be cultivated between 

 the young trees. In Java it is a common 

 practice to grow pepper in this way, 



