THE SUPPLEMENT TO THE 



Tropical Agriculturist and Magazine of the C. A. 8. 



MAY, 1908. [Vol. II. 



No. 5,] 



RUBBER CULTIVATION IN GOA. 



Experiments in Portuguese Territory 

 Abandoned. 



Lieut.-Colonol J A Wyllie, f.r.g.b., i.a., the 

 author, along with Octariano Guilherrne Fer- 

 reira, m.r.a.s,, of " Notes on Rubber Cultiva- 

 tion" and also of a recent book dealing 

 with the cocoa industry of San Thome, 

 which has attracted considerable attention, 

 was in Colombo recently. Col. Wyllie, it will 

 be recalled, visited Ceylon some years ago 

 with Don Miguel de Alarcao, who contem- 

 plated promoting rubber growing in a fairly 

 extensive scale in Goa. Col. Wyllie, who was 

 a Cantonment Magistrate in Belgaum, proposed 

 retiring and going in for rubber cultivation. 

 Colonel Wyllie informs us now, however, that 

 the scheme has fallen through. The soil in 

 Goa it* very good and the conditions suit- 

 able for rubber. The difficulty, was with 

 the Portuguese officials. The Portuguese 

 do not trust each other and Col. Wyllie 

 and his colleague had great difficulty in 

 getting their concessions made definite. The 

 officials failed to give them any satisfaction. 

 Colonel Wyllie's friends worked the lands ex- 

 perimentally for a time and then he went to 

 Lisbon to seethe authorities. Ho succeeded in 

 getting the British Minister to take an interest 

 inth9 matter and by him Col. Wyllie was 

 presented to the late King, who was very much 

 interested and said he and his Ministers would 

 do all they could to promote the scheme. 

 When it came to a question of financing 

 however, the Portuguese capitalists said : " We 

 know our own affairs. We do not believe in 

 rubber growing for which we have to wait 5 

 years for a return on our money. We can 

 make money on short loans and we prefer to do 

 so." If the concessions were only under a Govern- 

 ment where matters were properly managed 

 tho scheme might have been very successful. As 



matters are, however, Colonel Wyllie has given 

 up the idea of rubber growing in Goa as 

 hopeless. As he had not definitely resigned 

 the service, the Colonel simply asked the 

 Government of India if they could give him a 

 billot for the time being and he will possibly be 

 going to Mandalay as Cantonment Magistrate. 



Colonel Wyllie also consulted London Finan- 

 ciers on the subject, but they knew the Portu- 

 guese Government and official ways and 

 would have nothing to do with the matter. 

 Now that the King Carlos is dead and a new 

 scratch Ministry in power Col. Wyllie thinks 

 things are more gloomy than ever. About 

 4,400 acres had been taken and nurseries formed 

 from which to plant up this area. The plants 

 were growing wonderfully well. A new Gover- 

 nor was recently sent out to Goa with instruc- 

 tions to promote the idea of rubber growing, 

 but as Colonel Wyllie has cot visited Goa since 

 he arrived he does not know if anything has 

 been done in the matter. 



RUBBER PROSPECTS. 



THE VIEWS OF MR. HERBERT 

 WRIGHT. 



Mr Herbert Wright, the author of " Hevea 

 Braziliensis or Para Rubber," and the well- 

 kuown expert on the rubber-growing industry, 

 paid a short business visit to Ceylon last month 

 and was seen by an Observer representative 

 on the subject of many immediately important 

 rubber questions. Asked as to the 



Outlook in London, 



Mr. Wright replied : "I don't think 

 there is anything to be startled at in 

 the present condition of the rubber mar- 

 ket in Europe at all. People seem to have got 

 an idea that we are passing through a terrible 

 period of depression. As a matter of fact the 

 price being paid for fine hard Pa ra today is 

 much nearer the normal than it has been since 

 tho year 1905." 



