5GS 



The Supplement to the Tropical Agriculturist 



RUBBER IN BAHIA, BRAZIL. 



THE "MANIHOT DIOHOTOMA." 



Considering its hardness, early and large out- 

 put and the high quality of the rubber obtained 

 from this tree, it is surprising, writes a corre- 

 spondent of the Financial Times, how little is 

 known of it in London and the East. Indige- 

 nous in the forests of the State of Bahia, it has 

 been planted in various parts of the State and, 

 in almost every case, with complete success. The 

 tree is of the order Euphorbia, of the same 

 family as the Manioc, from which we obtain the 

 tapioca of commerce. In the early stages the 

 Mani hot and Manioc are very similar in ap- 

 pearance. On the plantations in Brazil the trees 

 are raised from seed. The seeds are planted 

 in a somewhat primitive fashion— a hole of 6 

 to 8 in. is made with a stick, and into 

 this a couple of seeds are dropped. The 

 seed is oval in form, rounded on one side and 

 flat on the other, and a dull, yellow-brown 

 colour. The seed is planted directly after 

 the first of the series of thunderstorms 

 that occur in October, and commences to shoot 

 in from 14 to 20 days. From this stage 

 onwards, until at three years cf age, whan 

 the tapping commtnces, there is iitile 

 work on the plantations beyond thinning out 

 and weeding and the keeping of the fences 

 in a state of good repair. The last work is of 

 the highest importance, as the cattle, which in 

 those parts are allowed to run wild, are very 

 fond of the leaves and young shoots, and would 

 soon play havoc with the finest plantations. At 

 four years of age the tree has reached a height 

 of 12 or 14 ft,, and the shade of the branches 

 effectually prevents any weeds from springing 

 up. The rubber is forthcoming when the tree is 

 three years old, and at that age the supply for 

 the season's tapping of dry rubber is 340 gram- 

 mes, or rather more than the third of a kilo- 

 gramme. It has been assorted that t he tree should 

 not be tapped until it reaches four years of age, 

 but the best planters in the country hold that a 

 tree tapped at three years will give more rubber 

 at four years than if left untapped till tiiat age. 

 The districts in which I found the Manihot flourish 

 to the greatest extent were 1,000 to 1,500 ft. 

 above the sea level, in a light-red clay soil of 

 good depth. I found a large number of these 

 trees growing wild in the forests, and iu every 

 case where they obtained respectable dimen- 

 sions and gave latex freely the conditions were 

 approximately the same as those existing on the 

 various plantations— a proof that the planters 

 had carefully studied the subject. It is pos- 

 sible to plant the Manihot successfully in 

 greater quantities to the acre than almost any 

 other variety. The plant sends out a single 

 vertical root and, so long as there is room for 

 the expansion of the branches, there is not much 

 else to be considered. 



A leading Brazilian authority gives the fol- 

 lowing figures :— 



Manihot.— Height in metres 3 to 10 ; shade radius in 

 metres i to 4; number of trees to be planted to the acre, 650_ 



I find that on the plantations this number is 

 exceeded, the usual space between the trees 

 b«ingt3m!30 by 1-65. 



One point that seems to me essential isa good 

 depth of soil. I have examined plantations at 

 the end of the dry season, and where this con- 

 dition existed there were invariably a free flow 

 of latex — a proof that the tree was drawing a 

 good supply of moisture for its sustenance from 

 the depths long after the surface moisture had 

 evaporated. One plantation I examined had not 

 this depth, and the lack of leaves and general 

 lifelessaess of the trees showed clearly what was 

 wrong. This tree, in its native surroundings, 

 appears to be free from insect ravages; whether 

 this would be the case in the event of its being 

 transferred to the East it is at present impos- 

 sible to say. I made very carefid inquiries 

 upon this point, with the results stated above. 

 The rubber from the Manihot is quite white, of 

 great tensile strength and, according to many, 

 quite equal to hard Para As shown in the fore- 

 going, it requires nothing more than ordinary 

 attention, and is produced at a much earlier 

 date than Para. It is almost unknown on Mincing 

 Lane, and yet finds a ready market in Hamburg. 



Rubber-planting in Brazil is quite a modern 

 industry. One finds very lew plantations there 

 over six years old, but it appears as if great 

 strides are to be made. The difference between 

 the export duties on wild rubber and plantation 

 is about 12£ per cent , anil the Government are 

 at the present time considering the advisability 

 of taking off the duty on plantation produce alto- 

 gether, with the idea of fostering the industry. 

 It is not, perhaps, generally known that, after 

 keeping the seeds he may require for further 

 plantings, the estate-owner sells the balance for 

 oil-extraction. — M. Mail, Nov. 23. 



BEEKEEPING IN AMERICA. 



Messrs A. I. and E. R. Root of the well-known 

 American apiarian house have just brought out a 

 new edition of thei'' exhaustive work entitled the 

 "A.B.C. and X. Y.Z. of Bee Keeping." It isa veri- 

 table Encyclopaedia of everything pertaining to 

 Honey Bee. The information, which is arranged 

 dictionary-wise, is easily available, and the pro- 

 fusion of illustrations assists in a clear expla- 

 nation of all the details of apiculture. The work 

 which covers no less than 576 pages, should be in 

 the hands of everyone of "the throng of eager 

 questioning brothers and sisters in the Art of 

 Bee Culture " to whom it is dedicated. 



PLANTING IN TRAVANCORE. 



Tea— Camphor— Sisal Hemp. 



A leading Travancore planter, we understand, 

 now on a visit to Ceylon, states that at the height 

 his estates lie, about 5,000 ft. high, taken in from 

 fine forest, the tea yield is over GOO lb. an acre. 

 They prune only once in three years. Camphor 

 grows well, but prices are not encouraging. 



Sisal fibre grows magnificently, and in a 

 year or so there will be considerable exports of 

 the fibre which will give good paying returns. 

 A wire tramway, three miles in extent, is 

 working splendidly. 



