474 



The Supplement to the Tropical Agriculturist 



The demand for various economic plants and 

 seeds, including fruit trees, has been above the 

 average, but does not call for special remark 

 under the heading of rubber. Altogether 837,599 

 Para seeds were distributed. Of these 372,500 

 were garden seeds and the remainder purchased 

 or packed to order. 



The seeds were despatched as follows : — 

 Government of Nigeria 355,000, British Guiana 

 60,000, British Honduras 1,800, Uganda 54,000, 

 Papua 53,400, Sylhet 5,400, Mexico 2,400, Pore 

 Darwin 500, Saigon 10,200, Christmas Island 

 2,000, Kelantan 75,400. Destination unknown: 

 Messrs. Boustead & Co., 100,000, and C. Curtis 

 117,400. 



Packing of Rubber Seeds. 



Seeds consigned outside Malaya are packed 

 in special tins locally made; each tin is cap- 

 able of containing 600 seeds, and with the pack- 

 ing material (padi arang) rice husk burnt to 

 charcoal, comes under the 11 lb. limit of par- 

 cel pottage. Seeds are placed in the tins, one 

 by one, in 12 layers of 50 each and the rice 

 charcoal is carefully filled in so that the 600 

 seeds, in effect, lie in compartments. The 

 tins are then stitched in canvas coverings on 

 which the address is hand- printed and declara- 

 tion form affixed. In this way, after an interval 

 of ten weeks, good results have been obtained, 

 varying from 50 to 90 per cent of germination. 



It will be, however, apparent that the work 

 involved is considerable. Out of the seeds there 

 were 1,055 parcels posted (mostly distributed 

 via Brindisi) containing 603,000 seeds ; 262 

 parcels or 157,000 seeds consigned by freight and 

 77,400 seeds packed in boxes for despatch by 

 coasting steamers. The sale of Para seedlings 

 only reached 5,000 plants. 



Tapping different groups of trees was con- 

 tinued throughout the year except on very wet 

 days, but owing to loss of trees through floods 

 it may be necessary to rearrange the groups on 

 a new basis. During the year 2,326 lb of sheet 

 and biscuit were prepared, making a total of 

 3,230 lb. all grades including scrap, old and 

 new. Sales amounted to 2,415 lb. realising 

 5j!4,919.5]. The rubber obtained is slightly in 

 excess of previous years, but the value is 

 slightly less due to the fall in price of raw 

 rubber. Small quantities of rubber and some 

 latex were as usual supplied for analytical 

 purposes. An additional number of Para trees 

 were planted by an extra gang of ten coolies em- 

 ployed for this purpose —Straits Times, April 31. 



AFRICAN AND EASTERN 

 PLANTATIONS. 



During quite recent times there has been con- 

 siderable activity in East, West and Central 

 Africa in connection with plantation work. On 

 the West Coast comparatively large areas have 

 been planted with Hevea brasiliensis ; on the 

 East Coast, in much drier climates, extensions 

 have been mainly of Manihot glaziovii (Ceara); 

 and in Central Africa all kinds appear to have 

 been experimented with from time to time. The 

 cultivation of climbers or lianes, though these 

 plants abound only in many parts of Africa, 

 has not been continued even by those Govern- 



ment departments who were originally respon- 

 sible for much encouragement to natives in this 

 particular direction. It is true that rubber 

 plantations in Africa have not had so long a 

 life as in the East, but at the same time it must 

 be admitted that many African companies have 

 been in possession of a large number of mature 

 rubber trees, and have been drawing large sup- 

 plies of rubber therefrom. The experience has 

 been long enough to enable the investing public 

 and those who influence it to form some sort 

 of an opinion as to the probable results in the 

 near future. 



AFRICAN COMPANIES DISCOURAGING. 



We do not think that many investors would 

 care to take deep interest in African plantation 

 developments at the present time for the simple 

 reason that so many of them have experi- 

 enced bitter disappointment. It will, we think, 

 be admitted that most thoughtful investors 

 looked to the Mabira and Muhesa plantation 

 companies as among the best in Africa. The 

 management in these companies is above sus- 

 picion, and the directors are among the most in- 

 fluential and best known in the City. But even 

 with these companies considerable difficulties 

 associated with pioneeering, labour, and Euro- 

 pean management have been experienced which 

 have had a marked effect on the sources of re- 

 venue. Other African plantation companies 

 have not enjoyed the spells of prosperity which 

 those mentioned above have, and in many cases 

 we doubt whether some of them will not soon 

 be in very low water. This is particularly true 

 of several companies formed during the boom 

 of 1910. 



ADVERSE ESTATE CONDITIO!* S. 



The fault does not appear to lie in the soil or 

 the climate so much as in labour and European 

 management. There are large tracts of land 

 in East Africa which will grow manihot as well 

 as any other part of the world, and similarly ex- 

 tensive acreages for the cultivation of Hevea are 

 available in West and Central Africa. In some 

 areas labour is only too plentiful ; in others a 

 minimum wage of one shilling per day has no 

 attraction to the native who can live on much 

 less. As in Java and South fndia, there is no 

 lack of native population, but there is a distinct 

 aversion to anything like task work such as that 

 demanded on the average plantation. Then 

 again, in most African areas there are very few 

 organisations such as those in Calcutta, Col- 

 ombo, Penang, Klang, Singapore, Batavia and 

 Medan, which exist solely for controlling the 

 development of estates ; local agency work in 

 connection with African plantations is not in 

 the least popular, though in the East it is, with- 

 out doubt, indispensable. 



It may transpire that with a few more years' 

 experience the managers of African plantations 

 will be more competent to deal with estate pro- 

 blems and that our grumble is premature. 



LOW YIELDS IN AFRICA. 



We on the other hand cannot help feeling dis- 

 satisfied at the results so far obtained. It is 

 because we are anxious that every source of 

 supply shall receive the necessary technical and 

 financial support that we ventilate our griev- 

 ance in the hope that the difficulties will be 



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