396 IhSxipTplement to the Tropical Agriculturist 



Over-tapping in Malaya. 



u There is," said Mr Maclaren, "a great 

 deal of over-tapping going on in the Malay 

 States. Trees of 18 inches and so on are being 

 tapped in a way they should not be ; and that 

 will have to be paid for later on. The trees 

 must get a rest. I do not think it at all advis- 

 able to tap trees under 20 inches and then not 

 above 2 feet from the ground where the bark 

 is fairly thick. When you get up to 3 feet or 

 over from the ground, the bark of a tree of that 

 circumference is certainly too thin. I know of es- 

 tates the bulk of the trees on which will certainly 

 need to get a rest. People have been pressing for 

 big returns this year to make a fair show but 

 they will have to suffer for it later on." 



The Passing of High Purchase Prices. 



"There is one thing sure in connection with 

 rubber," said Mr Maclaren, "and that is 

 that the day of high purchase prices and 

 big promotion profits is gone for ever. 

 My experience of Ceylon planters trying 

 to sell estates, and I have met a good few 

 of them, is that they want a higher value 

 for them than is given in any part of the world 

 and they do not seem to realise that an estate 

 is worth less per acre when rubber is at 2s 9d. 

 per lb. than when it is at 5s. Gd. They do not 

 seem to have awakened to the change that 

 has occurred." 



MR. J. L. SHAND'S VIEWS ON 

 RUBBER GROWING. 



Mr. J. Loudoun Shand after an extensive tour 

 in the Federated Malay States, visiting estates 

 notably in Malacca, Selangor and Negri Sembi- 

 lan, accorded an interview to a Ceylon Observer 

 representative, in the course of which the 

 following appeared: — 



"As to the growth of rubber,'' Mr Shand re- 

 marked, " I think it is rather quicker than in 

 Ceylon. Its appearance is good, too. On the 

 subject of expense, 1 think, Ceylon will produce 

 the cheaper of the two." 



The Weed Difficulty. 



" The weed difficulty ? I don't think this 

 will prove a permanent impediment at all. 

 It is ceitainly somewhat of an expense just 

 now, but as the trees begin to form a good 

 shade this will gradually disappear. Weeds 

 do not grow very strongly in a good shade 

 and there is every prospect of this developing. 

 There is no indication at all of weeds prov- 

 ing a permanent drawback." 



RUBBER PLANTS FROM CUTTINGS: 



Interesting Experiments by a Burmah Planter. 



Tavcy, Burmah, March 22nd. 

 Dear Sie,— The following may prove inter- 

 acting : — (i) After my planting in June I went 

 over the remaining 10,U00 or so plants (Para 

 rubber) in the nurseries and pruned all the 



"double headers" there were, leaving one 

 stem to each root stock. Most of these were 

 cut off just below the ground level. A 

 number of plants, too, with twisted roots were 

 cut down below the twist, hoping they would 

 send up a shoot from the root left, which, I 

 may say, they have done. I obtained 509 cut- 

 tings, about 250 of which had small fibrous 

 roots, but none had very much root develop- 

 ment. These were all put down in a nursery 

 near the bungalow and carefully looked after. 

 This occurred in August last. Now in March I 

 find I have 393 established plants all looking 

 well, (ii) Also in August Jasta family of porcu- 

 pines raided me, and in 3 nights bit off, and 

 otherwise destroyed, 715 2-year old plants put 

 out in the previous June. Supplying was done 

 atonceand one or two of my men brought to the 

 bungalow a lot of the bitten off stems. These 

 were left lying in a heap for 7 or 8 days when 

 I bethought me, in a spare moment, of stick- 

 ing them with the nursery, too, to see if they 

 would succeed as cuttings. These, too, were 

 well looked after and watered as required. 

 Altogether 85 stems were put in having first 

 had their gnawed and bitten ends cut off clean 

 with a sharp knife. Now in March I find I 

 have 56 of these alive and well and looking as 

 if they had thoroughly rooted themselves. The 

 shoots they have thrown up (pruned off to one 

 each) are vigorous and in full growth. 



How often one's best efforts result in failure 

 and things more or less carelessly done and 

 under adverse circumstances prove successful ? 



I am sorry that in the first experiment I did 

 not count exactly how many of the cuttings 

 had small fibrous roots and how many had none, 

 but to the best of my recollection certainly 

 not more than 50 per cent were, more or less, 

 generally less, rooted. 



J. G. F. MARSHALL. 



ARTIFICIAL SILK IN JAPAN. 



A factory is reported to have been estab- 

 lished recently in Japan to produce five tons 

 of celluloid and half a ton of artificial silk 

 daily. Celluloid, as is well-known, is made 

 by treating nitro-collulose with camphor, and 

 Japan, including Formosa, furnishes about 

 four-fifths of the world's supply of camphor, 

 which is, moreover, a Japanese State monopoly 

 for export purposes, and is constantly rising 

 in price. The best artificial silk is that pro- 

 duced by the Chardonnet process, which like- 

 wise makes use of nitro cellulose as a raw 

 material, and it is asserted that Japan, although 

 a large silk-producing country, has hitherto 

 imported a considerable quantity of the arti- 

 ficial silk, which is used in Kioto for making 

 tapestries, screens, and embroideries. It will 

 thus be possible for the new company to employ 

 its raw material either for the preparation of 

 celluloid or for artificial Bilk in accordance 

 with the state of the market.— Commercial 

 Intelligence, March 11. 



