488 



The Supplement to the Tropical Agriculturist 



reason for thinking so well of "" worms." By 

 his manufacturing process of lightly rolling the 

 fresh rubber, so as not to get rid of its porosity, 

 and then machine-cutting it in'to worm, he 

 turns out dry worm or crepe rubber in 12 

 hours without any vacuum drier. The cut 

 worms are placed in a current of air afc 

 about 85° F. on trays for a few hours 

 when they are turned out dry; they may then 

 be passed through dry rollers and turned out as 

 crepe. This, and the lace process, are the only 

 ways of turning out dry crepe in so short a 

 time without the aid of a vacuum drier. 



On Eagles Land there is a fine sheet of rub- 

 ber as well as on Glanrhos, some 400 acres 

 altogether, under Mr. Dove. The Kalutara 

 planters have wisely put up the names of each 

 estate along the main road. 



Vogan Estate 

 is doing well with a largely increased yield of 

 rubber during the first quarter of this year 

 against that for the same period last year. Mr. 

 Tisdall has no special Factory built yet, but one 

 will probably be erected next year ; and in ten 

 years a large crop will be secured from the trees 

 just now coming on well. 



DEVITURAI ESTATE. 



Gulunegoda, a rubber and coconut estate 

 owned by Mr C de Silva, was the last place 

 that day. On the Sunday a long morning was 



spent on Deviturai, where Mr Northway was 

 able to show his latest and much-improved 

 knife and pricker. On most estates 



PRICKING THE TREES 



is now being extensively taken up as a 

 means of extracting the latex without cutting 

 away the bark. Mr Northway only pares to pre- 

 pare a surface for pricking. At evening the 

 tree is lightly pared and little latex flows; in the 

 morning pricking is done, and the result is 

 highly satisfactory. On no estate seen by Mr 

 Wright was there better tapping, more even and 

 careful than on Deviturai; and Mr Northway 

 finds small podians the best tappers— and the 

 cheapest. 



Further, on this estate 



BASAL TAPPING 



has entirely superseded high tapping. Ladder- 

 tapping, and tapping to 6 f i. up the trunk are 

 no longer thought of ; yet the yields are quite 

 as good and even better. Some form of spiral 

 tapping is considered best. 



Growth in the Ambalangoda District is not 

 equal to that of some other parts, and where 

 planting is done in heavy drained soil 6 or 7 



years is required before tapping can be done. 

 Growth in parts, however, is very good, and one 

 tree, 3 years and 9 months, girths 24} inches. 



St. George Estate, 

 which lies partly along the Matugama road, 

 has a fine growth of rubber over a consider- 

 able acreage. The older trees are already in 

 bearing and are being tapped on the full in- 

 verted V. system. The trees show capital 

 growth, with good soil, and the Company 

 should do very well indeed when present 

 difficulties are got over. 



The road onwards from Matugama is bad, 

 and with heavy rain making it hourly worse 

 the further run to Dalkeith and Prince Lyon, 

 where Mr Dakeyno ie in charge of some 2,000 

 acres of rubber belonging to the Messrs. Far- 

 quharson, was abandoned. 



As regards Mr Wright's opinions and con- 

 clusions on the progress made and the present 

 condition of the rubber industry in Kalutara 

 in particular and the East in general, copious 

 notes of which were made en route, shall they 

 not be duly set forth in the India Bnbbe 

 Journal and the third edition of " Para Rub- 

 ber " ? So the present writer omits them. 



PARAGUAYAN RUBBER 



The principal rubber-producing trees and 

 plants of Paraguay are («) a species of the 

 Hancomia speciosa, called by the natives "manga 

 ice" or , 'mangaba, ,; (b) the Manihot glaziovii of 

 the mandioca species, and (c) many varieties of 

 "lianas" or vines, which grow in the forests of 

 the Paraguayan Chaco. The "manga ice" is 

 abundant in the northern section of Paraguay, 

 and is also found in the southern and central 

 parts of the Brazilian State of Matto Grosso. 

 It grows wild in open spots and in the clearings 

 round the edges of the forests (but never in the 

 forests themselves), and in the sandy soil so 

 widely distributed over Paraguay. According to 

 the United States Consul at Asuncion, the 

 tree attains a height of from 15 to 20 feet, and 

 bears a small fruit annually. This fruit contains 

 the seed, and attempts at cultivation have 

 shown that the entire fruit must be planted to 

 ensure germination. The wild growths of the 

 manga ice are widely distributed, but experi- 

 ments havo demonstrated that the tree responds 

 quickly to cultivation. Ground is prepared for 

 a nursery, in which the fruit bearing seeds are 

 planted, and where the young shoots may be pro- 

 tected and shaded. The trees grow rapidly, and 



