and Magazine of the Ceylon Agricultural Society, 



609 



RUBBER CULTIVATION. 



Castilloa Robber in Cuba. — Casjilloa rub- 

 ber trees appear to do well in Cuba, although 

 their value does not seem to be recognised by 

 many planters on whose estates the young trees 

 grow wild. The chief of the Botanical Depart- 

 ment at the Agricultural Experiment Station 

 has recommended that Castilloa trees be grown 

 as shade for tobacco plants in place of many 

 worthless trees that are now used for this pur- 

 pose. — ( Cuba Review ). — Agricultural News, 

 April IS. 



* * # # 



Rubber in Malaya. — The following appears 

 in the Second Annual Report of the Kuala Selan- 

 gor District P. A. for the year ending February 

 '29th, 1908 Cultivation.— The following is a table 

 showing the cultivated area and the acreage of 

 land held by Europeans in this district. This 

 includes estates which are not on the membership 

 of the Association and is, therefore, a thoroughly 

 comprehensive statement: — 



Para Rubber. 



Under 

 1 year. 



Under 



i years. 



Under 

 3 years. 



Under 

 i years. 





on 

 a 'E 

 o 



Total. 



8,357 



y,47B 



778 





60 



35 



12,706 



M 



a 



o 

 a 



a 



■ S3 

 K 



Coffee. 



Coconuts. 



Rubber & 

 Cotfee. 



u 



& 9 



o£ 



Unculti- 

 vated. 



Total Area 



127 





382 



165 

 * * 





23,286 



36,666 



Rubber in South Cookc— Pollibetta, April 

 24. The rain has set all fears of fires both 

 in the Government reserve forests and in 

 the rubber clearings at rest. The (Jearas have 

 begun to throw out shoots and will all soon 

 have tine heads of leaves. Plants put out 

 during the last S W Monsoon in low- lying 

 swampy land, which has been subsequently well 

 drained, have made surprising growth, having 

 attained heights of 15ft. and over. On raised 

 land the growth has not been so rapid, but is 

 certainly quite satisfactory. It is a pity that 

 the superior species of Manihot mentioned by 

 your Special Planting Correspondent in the 

 Madras Mail of the 20th instant as having been 

 discovered in Bahia, in 1901, were not known 

 to planters in India before, especially as the 

 tapping is said to present no difficulties as it 

 does in the case of Ceara rubber (Manihot glazi- 

 ovii) but it is not too late to plant up existing 

 Ceara bearings with the better species of Mani- 

 hot. Manihot dichotoma would appear to be best 

 suited to the soil of these parts, as it is said to 

 thrive on heavy clay. As the Ceara is planted 

 15 ft. by 15 ft. the above species, as it is a tree 

 of smaller growth, could be planted Ih ft. apart 

 between the rows of Ceara, and 15ft. apart in the 

 rows of the latter, that is one betwoen every two 

 existing Ceara trees. These may eventually be. 

 got rid of by severe tapping or be put down and 

 dealt with by a rubber-extracting machine, and 

 their places be supplied up with the superior 

 species. The latter would be then at 74 ft. by 

 11 ft. and over, which would be amply sufficient 

 if the yield was anything near what it is stated 

 to be in Bahia. 



Rubbjbr in British Guiana. — On the 10th 

 inst. Messrs. Smith Bros. & Co. Georgetown, 

 received by the s s " Massaruni " from the 

 North West District 5,534 lb of balata and 

 539 lb. of rubber from the B. G. Rubber Corpo- 

 ration, Ltd., the largest quantity yet received 

 for export. 



Permission has been granted to the Baraoia 

 Syndicate, Ltd., under the Crown Lands Or- 

 dinance, to collect rubber plants on the right 

 bank of the Barima River on the tracts held 

 by them under licences ; and a similar per- 

 mission has been obtained by the B. G. Rub- 

 ber Corporation, Ltd., the area including the 

 right bank of the Barima, the left banks of 

 the Waini, and the right and left banks of the 

 Aruka River. — Demerara Chronicle, April 18. 

 * * * * 



Rubber in Colombia. — Extensive plantations 

 of Castilloa rubber are reported by the U. S. 

 Consul at Cartagena to be in course of forma- 

 tion in Colombia. At least 1,600,000 trees have 

 been planted in different river valleys, but these 

 are at preseut too young to have made much 

 return. At present the Colombian output of 

 rubber is chiefly from wild trees, and collected 

 chiefly by Indians. 



Rubber planters do not seem too sanguine as 

 to prospective yields. One grower reported an 

 annual return of 1, 121 lb. of dried rubber from 

 14,155 trees, of eight years old. The trees were 

 carefully tapped, and this yield would work out 

 at no more than 4 oz. of rubber per tree per 

 annum. Other planters, basing their expectations 

 on wild rubber returns, assert that at least 1 lb. 

 of rubber per tree per year should be obtained. 



The total shipments of rubber from Cartagena 

 in 1906 were 351,076 lb., and 300,696 lb. in the 

 first nine months of 1907. — W. I, Agricultural 

 Neivs, April 4. 



PERUVIAN METHODS OF RUBBER 

 CULTIVATION AND TAPPING. 



An American Consular report from Iquitos, 

 by Mr Chas. C Eberhardt, describes the methods 

 regulating the rubber industry in Trans-Andean 

 Peru. The laws of Peru governing the acquisi- 

 tion and working of rubber tracts are still in- 

 complete and undergoing constant amendment, 

 but at present the following steps are considered 

 to be necessary : — ■ 



•SELECTION Olf A TRACT Of LAND 



is made and the location, description, etc., of 

 the property advertised in the official 

 organ for 30 days, that^ any claims against 

 said property may be registered. At the ex- 

 piration of this time, no countercharges having 

 been made, the prefect of the department is 

 petitioned, and he appoints a surveyor to lay 

 out the land, furnish a plan of the entire tract, 

 etc. This plan, together with the original de- 

 scription of the land, petition to the prefect, 

 and all papers bearing upon the subject, are 

 forwarded to Lima for final action. If the 

 procedure in the earlier stages has been regu- 

 lar in every particular, the request is rarely 

 refused, though the difficulty of communication 

 between Lima and the department of Loreto 

 at present requires that from six months to a 



