84 



The Supplement to the Tropical Agriculturist 



" While dealing with this topic I may also 

 refer to the development of rubber cultivation 

 in Ceylon, the Straits Settlements and other 

 British Possessions, as well as in Africa, Central 

 America and Mexico. Up to this time little im- 

 portance has been attached to possible competi- 

 tion from these sources, but Brazilian economists 

 are beginning to view this matter as fraught 

 with more danger to the interests of this country 

 than was at first supposed. It has even been 

 argued that, in a period of not more than ten 

 years, the practical Brazilian monopoly in this 

 production may be at an end. Certainly ifc 

 appears to me that, other conditions being 

 favourable, the systematic processes observed 

 in the countries named, together with the 

 greater cheapness of labour, transport, and 

 other items affectiug the industry, will place those 



CULTIVATORS IN A VASTLY SUPERIOR POSITION TO 

 THOSE OF BRAZIL, 



where the expenses in every branch of 

 activity connected with the industry are 

 on an extremely high scale, and where the 

 process of collection seems, more often than 

 not, attended with risk to health, if not of more 

 serious consequences. 



"In any case British investors, when consid- 

 ering business of this class, should be careful 

 not to be impressed by the simple statement of 

 the possible production of an estate, without 

 considering the very heavy outlay required for 

 marketing the article. Another point is, that, 

 in my opinion, they should not attempt to work 

 such properties with British labour, or to place 

 their workers under British working overseers ; 

 the best labourers for such properties are the 

 natives, Portuguese, Spaniards and Italians, and 

 such men do not always agree with and work 

 well when held strictly to British systems. I 

 need not say that these remarks do not apply to 

 members ot the superior staff.'' — Board of Iradc 

 Journal, May 21. 



GREEN MANURING FOR YOUNG 

 RUBBER. 



Poilibetta, June 9. — The Cearas have made 

 good growth since the early rains. Many which 

 appeared to be dead have thrown out shoots 

 which have attained a length of from six inches 

 to one foot. The Para planted out last Sept- 

 ember-October in the field, though a goodly 

 proportion has survived, has not made such 

 good growth as the plants that have been 

 watered and tended in the nurseries, but they 

 ought to put on a spurt after the setting in 

 of the monsoon. The question as to whether 

 there should or should not be a green cover- 

 ing over the soil 'in rubber clearings, which 

 was discussed by your special planting corre- 

 spondent in the Madras Mail ot the 3uth May, 

 has been settled in these parts by allowing 

 grass and weeds — there are some legumes 

 amongst them — to overrun rubber openings, 

 an occasional grass-knifing being done to keep 

 down too exuberant growth. Lantana and 

 other thorny jungle stuff are dug out by the 

 roots, and a radius of two feet round young 

 plants is kept clean to protect them from 

 being choked out, and they are mulched. 

 This treatment has had no deleterious effects 

 on the Ceara rubber and would appear the 

 ptional method to adopt in the pase of what js 



a robust jungle tree which can easily hold its 

 own against puny weeds. Para rubber, too, 

 once it is given a start, ought to be well able 

 to look after itself with but little atten- 

 tion. Deep digging and drainage would pro- 

 bably accelerate the growth of both species, 

 and there can be objection to a clean digging, 

 as the land would soon be covered with a green 

 mantle again, but monthly weedings in rubber 

 would appear to be useless and unnecessary. 

 Your special planting correspondent, I see, 

 incidentally mentions that the Bihuara (Albizzia, 

 odoratissima) has not been found to be a good 

 shade tree for coffee in many estates in Mysore. 

 In this district it is taken as an indication 

 of good soil where it occurs, and coffee thrives 

 and supplies come on very well under it. On 

 the other hand, the Acrocarpus fraxinifolius 

 (Can. Hoioliqe) and the Albizzia moluccana when 

 they grow old are positively deleterious to 

 coffee.'— M. Mail, 



THE BRITISH GUIANA RUBBER 

 EXPERIMENT STATION. 



At a meeting on the 22nd ultimo of the British 

 Guiana Board of Agriculture held in the Court 

 of Policy Hall, His Excellency the Governor, 

 Sir F M Hodgson, K.C. M.G., presided, and the 

 members in attendance were Professor J B 

 Harrison, Director of Science and Agriculture, 

 Dr. Godfrey, A W Bartlett, Government Bota- 

 nist, Secretary, Mr E Christiani, and 10 

 others 



SALE OF ROBBER PLANTS. 



Professor Harrison said the rubber plants 

 sold last year numbered 47,000, yielding $1,487. 

 The amount of the vote by the Combined Court 

 or the introduction of the seed was $720, and 

 the cost of growing was 6507 approximately, so 

 that there was a profit of $260. 



PROGRESS AT THE RUBBER FARM. 



His Excellency invited Mr FoAvler's opinion 

 as to the state of affairs at the rubber farm. 



Mr Fowler said he had visited the farm and 

 thought very great progress had been made. 

 Mr Mansfield had got between eight and ten 

 acres em poldered, there were good dams and a 

 good koker, a nice he use had been erected, also 

 a good range for the labourers. The cultivation 

 looked very flourishing indeed. He was very 

 satisfied with what he saw. The experiments 

 so far as they had gone were, he thought, 

 successful. The people in the district 

 were planting up their grants and he was 

 glad to see a large number of Heveas 

 and Sapiums, and that the people took advan- 

 tage of Mr Mansfield's presence. Mr Mansfield 

 advised them as to cultivation and they re- 

 alised the assistance he rendered them. The 

 experiments so far were very satisfactory. 



His Excellency : How many trees planted ? 

 About 3,000 or 4,000? 



Mr Fowler replied in the affirmative, adding 

 that they were varieties. 



His Excellency said the idea was not that 

 Mr Mansfield's attention should be confined to 

 rubber cultivation, but that it should be ex- 

 tended to other cultivation. 



Professor Harrison ; We are going to make 

 other experiments.— Demerara DaUy Ghrwiify 

 May I, 



