94 



'Hie Supplement to the Tropical Agriculturist 



Sir William Thiseltou Dyer writes in answer to 

 the Director of Gardens on Dec. 1, 1896: — 



" I am Rlad Para rubber is going ahead ; I always said 

 the Straits would be the place for it," 



June 19, 1897. — "There is a tremendous boom in India, 

 rubber planting. Most of the schemo, are simply insane- 

 Your result from a nine-year-old tree is very good." 



Dec 28, 1898. —"Para rubber seems at last fairly estab- 

 lished iii the Native States ; Dairy's report is very pro- 

 mising. Beautifully prepared is only a broker's teim. It 

 means that the rubber is clean and free from excessive 

 moisture. I can't imagine why your Para rubber is only 

 quoted at 3/3. I can only suppose it is because it was not 

 smoked." -, , ^ 



The reader is also referred to the June 

 number of the Bulletin, 1899, but probably by 

 the time he has read this account he has had 

 enough evidence laid before him that the art 

 of making saleable rubber by tapping into tins 

 and preparing the resulting latex in a clean and 

 pure form of Para rubber had been invented in 

 the Singapore Gardens some 



YEARS BEFORE CEYLON HAD GOT BEYOND THE 

 MUD AND COCONUT-SHELL STAGE . 



and that the discovery by Mr Parkin in 1899 of 

 the method of making clean rubber was anti- 

 cipated by nearly ten years, and was perfectly 

 well known as was wound-response, to hundreds 

 of people in the Straits Settlements and other 

 parts of the East long before Mr Will s or Mr 

 Parkin ever came to the East at all. As previously 

 remarked history, if worth writing at all, is worth 

 writing accurately and completely. The stories 

 of the origin of the industry as given by Messrs 

 Willis and Parkin are inaccurate and misleading. 

 While on the subject of the historj of the rise 

 of the rubber industry in the East, it may be as 

 well to print here some 



LETTERS DEALING WITH IHK KUBJKCT IN ITS 

 VERY EARLY INCEPTION, 



as we think they will be found of considerable 

 interest. 



Royal Gardens, Kew, April 17th, 1878. 



Sir, — I am desired by Sir Joseph Hooker to 

 acknowledge the receipt of your letter of April 

 6th, transmitting an extract from a letter from 

 the' Government of India, and requesting the 

 transmission to Oeylon of certain stocks of 

 Hevea and Castilloas. In replying to this letter. 

 Sir Joseph Hooker thinks it will be convenient 

 that I should review the whole operations of 

 this establishment in effecting the introduction 

 of India-rubber plants into India : — 



1. Hevea Brasiliensis Para— Rubber.— On June 4th, 

 1873, we received from Mr Markham some hundreds of 

 seed's obtained from Mr Jas Collins. Of these seods less 

 than a dozen germinated and six (fi) of the plants so ob- 

 tained were taken out by Br, King, Superintendent of the 

 Botanic Gardens, Calcutta, in the same year to India. 

 The Climate of Calcutta did not prove very favourable to 

 the Ueveas which require the conditions of growth met 

 with in hot and moist tropical forests. It was, there- 

 fore, decided in consultation with Mr Markham that in 

 the event of more Heveas being raised and sen! out from 

 Kew, they should be received at the Botanic Gardens in 

 Ceylon, which should then be regarded as the depot for 

 supplying young Dlants to such parts of India as were 

 found to be suitable for its growth. 



On June 14th, 1876, we received from Mr Wickham about 

 70,00ii (seventy thousand) seeds, of which about 4 per 

 cent, germinated. . 



On August 9th, we despatched 1,919 plants raised from 

 these seeds to Ceylon in 38 Wardian cases, in charge of a 

 gardner. Of the whole consignment 90 per cent reached Dr. 

 Thwaites in excellent condition. All subsequent accounts 

 have been satisfactory, and no difficulty is found in multi- 

 plying the plants by propagation to any extent. 



On August 11th, 50 plants were sent to the Botanic Gar- 

 dens at Singapore. Owing to the delay in the payment of 

 the freight these plants all perished. 



On August 23rd, 50 plants were sent direct to Major 

 Seaton in Burmah. These reached their destination in bad 



condition. 



On September 29th, a further supply of 100 plants was 

 taken out to Dr. Thwaites, in charge of Dr. Duthie, Super- 

 intendent of the Botanic Gardens, Saharumpore. These 

 reached Ceylon in good order. 



On June 11th, 18'7, 22 plants were sent to the Botanic 

 Gardens, Singapore. The Superintendents reports that the 

 climate appeared suited to their growth. 



On September 7th, 37 plants were sent to the Botanic 

 Gardens in Mauritius, and reached the destination in good 

 order. 



On September 15th, ion plants were again sent to Dr. 

 Thwaites and 50 to Calcutta, in charge of Mr Morris, Dr. 

 Thwaites' assistant. Both consignments reached their 

 destination safely. Of those sent to Calcutta a portion was 

 immediately despatched by Dr. King to Major Seaton, 

 with whom they are now doing well. It appears, therefore, 

 that while upwards of 2,000 plants are safely established in 

 Ceylon, smaller parcels are also growing in Burmah, 

 Calcutta, Mauritius and Singapore. The plant is now 

 therefore to be regarded as definitely established in the 

 East Indies, and with ordinary horticultural skill, in the 

 course of a few years, in raising an indefinite number of 

 young plants. 



Beyond keeping a small stock for occasional distribution 

 it does not appear that this establishment is called upon 

 to take any further steps for the propagation and distri- 

 bution of this plant to India. 



I should add that, on November 21st, 1876, Mr Cross 

 reached Kew with about 1,000 young plants brought direct 

 from South America. Only about three per cent, of these 

 plants survived, and thay therefore, contributed but little 

 to our resources for distribution. 



2. Castilloa Elastica— Rubber of Central America. 

 —Sir Joseph Hooker has already stated, in a letter to the 

 India Office, dated Apiil 1st last, what has been done with 

 respect to this kind. I quote the following passage : "The 

 cuttings brought home by Mr Cross were received on • 

 (jctober 3rd, 1875 (The seels 7,000 received pieviously 

 failed to germinate). Steps were immediately taken to 

 establish and propagate them, and on August S^h, 1876, 32 

 healthy plants were forwarded to Dr Thwaites, 28 of which 

 he subsequently reported were well established in Ceylon 

 and doing well." 



On September 15th, 1877, a further consignment of 24 

 plants, was transmitted to Dr. Thwaites in charge of Mr 

 Morris. A few plants have also been sent to Mauritius and 

 Singapore. The propagation of this species will for the 

 present be continued at Kew, and during the ensuing sum- 

 mer a further small consignment will be sent to Ceylon. 

 Cuttings do not strike so readily as those of the Hevea, and 

 the multiplication of plants is therefore necessarily slower. 



3. Manihot Glaziovu— Ceara Rubber. -Mr Cross 

 brought to Kew, on November 21st, 1876, seeds and cuttings 

 of this plant from which a stock of 55 individuals was 

 eventually obtained. 



On June 11th of last year, four plants were sent to Singa- 

 pore and on September 15th, at which date our stock had 

 increased to 30 i plants of all sizes, 50 were sent to Dr. 

 King at Calcutta, and 50 to Dr. Thwaites in Ceylon, both 

 in charge of Mr Morris. All the stems collected by Mr 

 Cross were divided between those two recipients. At the 

 end of the year our stock amounted to about 450 plants, 



There will be no difficulty therefore in seeding 

 a supply of plants of this species to the Conser- 

 vator of Forests in Madras in accordance with 

 the wish of the Government of India. It will, 

 however, probably be most convenient to treat 

 Calcutta as the depot for the Ceara rubber 

 plants, as Ceylon must be for Heveas and 

 Castilloas. With respect to plants of the 

 Copaiba Balsam, nothing can be done. From 

 the five (5) seeds brought to Kew by Mr Cross, 

 November -Jlst, 1876, only two plauts have been 

 raised, and these grow with excessive slowness. 

 Nothing can therefore be done at present in 

 propagating them. 



Recapitulating, I have therefore to state that 

 Sir Joseph Hooker is of opinion : — 



1. That it is unnecessary' to transmit any more Hevea 

 plants to India, and that application should be made for 

 them to Ceylon when required for experimental cultivation. 



2. That as the stock of Castilloas at Kew increases, fur- 

 ther consignments should continue for the present to be 

 made to Ceylon. 



