4 



92- The Supplement to the Tropical Agriculturist, 



show at" present that results should not be as 

 satisfactory' in tjie'future as now. With conti- 

 riuous tapping " carried out with care the 

 Opinion I have arrived at is that we shall have 

 normal yields. 



" A correspondent " says he knows of cases 

 where trees have been allowed to go an extra 

 year " after the tappable age has been reached.'' 

 He does not say what the "tappable age 1 ' is? 

 He then goes on to say "Such action as this 

 can have but one effect, that of increasing the 

 yield in the future. This is a statement which 

 without "a correspondent's" arguments and con- 

 ditions is difficult to follow. You can tap say 

 anywhere on a tree where the girth is 18" at 

 any age and with very great care can, I think, 

 do good. Not, however, as in cases I have 

 heard of. with a view to getting large returns. 

 Latex here is not the primary point, but part 

 of the cultivation. 



The only " upcountry " — that is, medium 

 elevation — report, runs as follows : — 



In reply to your letter of 17th instant. 



(1) . 14-15 years old. 



(2) . Periodically, but not permanently. 



(3) . No. 



I tap a tree for three months; then give it 

 throe months' rest; hence each tree is only tapped 

 six months in the year. I have all systems of 

 tapping, the V, the spiral and the semi-spiral, 

 but I have no figures to show which method 

 gives the best results. Most of my tapping is 

 on the V system and comparing my yield per 

 tree with other places which adopt the 

 full or semi-spiral systems, I am in favour of 

 the V tapping and for the following reasons : — 



Firstly. — The V cut removes less bark than 

 any other methods. 



Secondly. — I get the same yield per acre at 

 a smaller cost. The following are my figures 

 for the last seven years. (This is as far as the 

 records go back.) 



1901 1,051 lb., 1902 2,902 lb., 1903 7,272 lb., 

 1904 20,6651b., 1905 27,008, 1906 32,156 1b., 1907 

 32,254 lb. I will bo glad to give you any more 

 information on the subject should you require it." 



Tendering our special thanks to our several 

 correspondents we think it will be admitted 

 that the tenor of each of the above reports will 

 have a decidedly reassuring and satisfactory 

 effect on the minds of all interested in the Ceylon 

 Rubber Industry. 



RUBBER CULTIVATION IN JAVA. 



TOTAL EXTENT ABOUT 58,000 ACRES. 

 AN OMISSION SUPPLIED. 



Java, June 10th. 



Dear Sik, — With reference to the copy of my 

 Notes on Rubber Cultivation sent to H.B.M.'s 

 Consul in Batavia and reprinted on page 486 

 of your issue of May, 1 much regret to inform 

 you that owing to an error in typing, 

 a line (see words in italics) was missed out 

 of the copy which was sent you. The sentence 

 commencing on the 19th line from the begin- 

 ning of my statement should therefore read : — 



"No statistics are available for the acreage 

 not represented at above Congress, but from 

 information taken this can be safely put at 



10,000 bouw.s, giving a total acreage in Java under 

 Rubber of 33,000 bouws or about 58,000 acres." 



I much regret that this matter was not re- 

 ferred to me again before my notes were put 

 into print, but trust that you will see your 

 way to make a note of the above correction 

 in a future issue of your paper. — I am, dear 

 Sir, yours faithfully, 



NOEL BINGLEY. 



[It gives.us special pleasure to insert this. By 

 the English mail we have the following: — 



Rubber in Java. — A good deal of interest 

 continues to be shown in the cultivation of rub- 

 bor-producing trees throughout Netherlands 

 India, and the suitability of the climate and 

 soil, togther with the labour advantages which 

 Java possesses over most tropical countries, has 

 resulted in considerable and increasing Euro- 

 pean capital being put into rubber enterprises 

 there. According to statistics lately compiled, 

 the capital of British companies interested in 

 rubber in the Dutch East Indies, but domiciled 

 in the United Kingdom, amounted to nearly 

 £1,500,000. This, however, d'oes not include 

 the numerous companies formed during the 

 last tew years, also with British capital, but 

 domiciled in Java, which may be estimated at 

 another £250,000. The first conference of rub- 

 ber planters was held in October last, at which 

 it was resolved to institute an experimental 

 station with nurseries, which Mr. Consul Ste- 

 wart, reporting upon the trade and commerce 

 of the island (Annual Series No. 3991) thinks 

 should prove valuable to rubber planters. The 

 area at present under cultivation is estimated 

 at some 58,000 acres in Java, 25,000 acres in 

 Sumatra, and 7,000 acres in Borneo, of which 

 most of the older rubber, and nearly all that 

 is in bearing (say one half of the whole acre- 

 age) must be Ficus elastica, as the cultivation 

 of the Para variety dates only from 19^5 on- 

 wards. At present exports are still inconsider- 

 able, but in the course of a few years the Dutch 

 East Indies are likely to prove an important 

 factor in the rubber markets of Europe. 

 Journal of the Royal Society of Arts, June 5. 

 —Ed,] 



PLANTING IN B.C. AFRICA, 



NYASSALAND NOT ADVANCING— COFFEE CROPS 

 GOOD — COTTON KISKY — TOBACCO GOING 

 AHEAD — TEA PROMISING — LABOUR 

 CHEAPEST IN WORLD ! 



"H.B.'s" letter reprinted hereafter gives some 

 interesting information. He advises that tea 

 grows well and that land and labour are the 

 cheapest in the world.— In connection with this 

 part of the world (though by no means so far 

 inland) we see that in a despatch dated December 

 17th last the Governor ot East Africa said : — 



There is a growing tendency amongst the 

 white settlers in the uplands to keep the Indian, 

 not only out of the uplands, but out of the 

 country altogether. The spirit is akin to that 

 prevailing in Natal and elsewhere, and is due to 

 the fact that the white cannot compete in the 

 east with the Indian shopkeeper for supplies of 

 provisions and articles in daily use, or as a 

 petty trader. 



