rtrm Magazine of the Ceylon Agricultural Society, 



95 



production to one shilling per pound ; while 

 those who give special attention to uniformity 

 and excellence in the preparation of their rub- 

 ber will always be rewarded by securing the 

 best prices. So far as it is possible to judge 

 the future by past results, British Malaya offers 

 a good opportunity for sound investment in 

 alluvial tin-mining and in the cultivation of 

 rubber and coconuts as permanent industries. 

 Sugar and tapioca have both been used as catch- 

 crops with satisfactory results ; and, in Johore 

 especially, Chinese planters have made fortunes 

 out of the combined cultivation of gambier and 

 pepper, using gambier as the catch crop. So 

 much depends upon good management that suc- 

 cess cannot be expected unless that condition is 

 secured-; with the right men in charge of mine 

 and plantation, a property combining these two 

 industries might prove a very successful under- 

 taking, for the tin-mine should be able to return 

 good dividends while the rubber was being plan- 

 ted and brought to the producing stage. 



SUMATRA COFFEE. 



Evils of Fkee Cultivation Demonstrated. 



The Malay Coffee growers in the Province of 

 West Sumatra were relieved lately of the bur- 

 den of the compulsory delivery of their pro- 

 duce to the Government at a fixed price, which 

 was far below the market value, and were 

 allowed to sell the berry freely, there being 

 no longer any official supervision in the matter. 

 The results of this freedom have been disas- 

 trous in several districts. The coffee is plucked 

 green for the sake of greed. The berries are 

 boiled, scraped and dried over a tire. The 

 coffee thus treated keeps its colour well for a 

 few days, but, afterwards, the berries become 

 spotted or whitish in appearance. Yet. such 

 is the competition among dealers that this bad 

 article fetches good prices. With such prac- 

 tices, Padang coffee will surely lose its good 

 name very soon. — Straits Times, Jure 16. 



JAPAN TEA EXPORT TRADE. 



This year's tea manufacturing industry con- 

 tinues to present a good prospoct though 

 owing to somewhat stagnant transaction in the 

 American market the quotation generally has 

 fallen by 10 per cent, compared with last year. 

 The situation is considered not to be improved 

 and consequently the manufacturers in Shizuoka 

 and othor tea producing prefectures have 

 adopted measures to produce more of middle 

 and inferior articles which can be produced at 

 less cost and in larger quantity than com- 

 paratively unremunei'ative superior tea. This 

 tendency is denounced by some as likely to 

 damage the trade. However, reflecting on the 

 condition of the general consumers in America, 

 this is thought rather unavoidable, as the 

 superior Japanese tea is too costly to meet 

 the general demand and is no rival to the 

 cheap Indian tea, so that the demand in America 

 is naturally in favour of the inferior article. 

 A decrease of 10 per cent or so is anticipated 

 in this year's crop. In view of the reduction 

 of 10 per cent, in the price and the decrease 

 of 10 per cent in the production, the total 



export for this year is estimated as something 

 like 8,000,000 yen, a decrease of 2,000,000 ;yen 

 in comparison with last year. The export 

 markets in Yokohama and Shizuoka are active 

 as both places are making energetic efforts to 

 attract the trade to their respective ports. 

 This is in truth a very influential factor in main- 

 taining the market price of export tea. The 

 result of direct export from Shimizu has proven 

 a great success, the total amount of export 

 during last year reaching 12,633,700 odd catties. 

 Tins year's figure is exported to be even greater 

 than last year so that it will compete with 

 Yokohama as far as the tea export is concerned. 

 — Japan Times, June 6. 



RAMBONG AT THE RUBBER 

 EXHIBITION, 



The Dutch Indies' Display. 



To ensure a representative display of Nether- 

 lands India products, a committee has been for- 

 med under the presidency of Professor Treub, 

 the Head of the Agricultural Department. 

 Shipping companies have been written to in 

 order to secure freight reductions on rubber 

 exhibits by the Syndicate. Planters are urged 

 to interest themselves most in Ficus Elastca 

 exhibits, on the ground that this kind of rub- 

 ber which has been found to be useful for 

 various purposes needs to have gerater public 

 attention focussed upon it. The Syndicate 

 dwells upon the merits of the Ficus which i3 

 better known under the name of getah rambong, 

 aud the advantages of so preparing the speci- 

 mens of it, as to show at a glance the good 

 qualities of the article. Success in this 

 line will be of enormous benefit to the 

 planting community, and to the Colony 

 generally. The Ficus is indigenous to Java, 

 and thrives there, beside having the addi- 

 tional advantages of requiring -but little care 

 and attention. The Syndicate points out 

 that Para rubber is a foreign plant, the culti- 

 vation of which is hampered by diseases costly 

 and hard to check. This is not the case with 

 Ficus, so that its cultivation is not only remu- 

 nerative, but is just the thing for the natives 

 because of the little care needed. 



Planters are urged finally by the Syndicate 

 to do their very best to show that Ficus Hevea. 

 and other kinds of rubber flourish in Java, 

 and that labour there is cheap. Another point 

 dwelt upon is the need for bringing forward 

 the claims of Sumatra as a rubber producer. 

 There, large stretches of fruitful land are lying 

 idle awaiting capital and labour for develop- 

 ment, with exceedingly bright prospects of 

 fabulous profits. — Malay Mail, June 19. 



NEW K1ANGO SUPPLIES. 



A correspondent writes that, as the result of 

 importing grafts of the famous Alfoos Bombay 

 mango into Florida through the United States 

 Consul in India, the Florida fruit-tree propa- 

 gators claim that in a few years time they will 

 be enabled to ship quantities of these fruits 

 to London. The great difficulty experienced 

 hereafter with the Bombay mangoes consisted 

 in the inability of shippers to get the matured 



