286 



The Supplement to the Tropical Agriculturist 



MALAYA RUBBER EXPORTS. 



The exports of rubber from Malaya for the 

 seven months of 1908 are as follows : — 



Exported Previ- Total for 



in July. ously. 7 months. 



1908. lb. 1908. 



Perak ... 32,827 189,633 222,460 



Selangor ...164,428 866,567 1,030,995 

 Negri Sem- 



bilan ... 28,847 325,958 354,805 



Total 



.226,102 1,382,158 1,608,260 



The following are the corresponding figures 

 for last year (July and first seven montbs) : — 



Exported Previ- Total for 



in July. ously. 7 months. 



1907. lb. lb. lb. 



Perak ... 16,034 98,591 114,625 



Sejangor ... 59,206 554,324 613,530 

 Negri Sem- 



bilan ... 45,848 208,610 254,458 



Total. ..121, 088 861,525 982,613 



The net increase for the F.M.S. is 725,647 lb- 

 or by 74 per cent ; while Ceylon increased by 42 

 per cent only ! Ceylon Rubber Exports for 1908 

 to Aug. 3rd were 365,3141b. as against 256,762 lb. 

 to same date of 1907. In this connection we 

 have slightly different figures from Messrs. Bar- 

 low & Co's report dated Singapore, 31st July, 

 and comparison with Ceylon, as follows : — 



Exports Para Rubber from 1st January to 

 3lst July, 1908:— 



Prom Singapore. Penang. 



(To July 13th) lb. lb. 



To United Kingdom 959,949 467,733 



,, The Continent 50,181 74,01)0 



,, United States 400 — 



„ Japan 6,048 — 



,, Australia 13,569 — 



Ceylon 136,219 46,922 



Total lb. 1,165,366 



588,655 



For the same period, 1907 

 >> „ 1906 



723,701 76,961 



320,397 45,909 



Exports from Ceylon 1st January to 20th 

 July, 1908 :— 



To United Kingdom 

 ,, Continent 

 „ United States 

 ,, Australia 

 ,, India 



For the same period, 1907 

 >. „ 1906 



210,856 lb. 

 22,178 „ 

 98,133 ,, 

 12,834 „ 

 896 ,, 



Total 350,897 „ 



240,719 lb. 

 154,276 „ 



MR. HERBERT WRIGHT ON HIS TOUR 

 IN SUMATRA. 



The cultivation of plants in Sumatra is limited 

 to the lew-lying lands near sea-level, and 

 thereby resembles Malaya and differs from Java, 

 Ceylon, and Southern India. The soil is very 

 similar to that in Java, being light, fertile, and 

 mainly of volcanic origin. You never see any- 

 thing resembling the stiff blue clay of Malaya or 

 the rocky slopes of Ceylon ; everywhere the soil 

 is finely divided and porous, and grows most 

 magnificent crops. The sugar of Java, and the 

 tea and cacao of Ceylon, are replaced by exten- 



sive plantations of tobacco in Sumatra. Exactly 

 why Java takes so ravenously to sugar and 

 Sumatra to tobacco, though each country could 

 grow both products very well indeed, is difficult 

 to explain. The only product which is com- 

 monly grown on European plantations in Java 

 and Sumatra, to a large extent, is coffee. In 

 both the coffee estates are being rapidly 

 interplanted with Para and Ficus rubber trees. 



Rambong Rubber. 



I have seen more Ficus elastica (Gutta Ram- 

 bong) in Sumatra than in all the other countries 

 put together. Large estates exist each with 

 thousands of mature trees. Planting on old 

 tobacco and lalang lands is still going on, and 

 every campo-eng is planted with this species 

 and no other. You may keep near civilised 

 areas within reach of the train, or you may 

 travel into the interior, where only Batoks have 

 their villages ; everywhere you will meet with 

 Rambong trees, many of them of enormous size. 

 The trees are not only growing ; they are being 

 tapped, and most of them over seven years 

 appear to be yielding over 1 lb. of rubber 

 yearly. From my experiences in the Dutch 

 East Indies, and especially in Sumatra, my 

 respect for Rambong trees has been changed. 

 I no longer despise that species on account of 

 its poor yielding qualities. If I could only feel 

 certain of a remunerative price for the pure raw 

 rubber, I might be tempted to plant it in dis- 

 tricts too dry for Para Rubber. Where Ficus 

 plantations exist alone and there is plenty of 

 forest suitable for Para, it would be sheer waste 

 to neglect or fell the Ficus trees. I would only 

 recommend the removal of Rambong trees when 

 they interfered with the natural growth «t 

 adjacent Para trees. The fact that eight-year- 

 old trees in Sumatra have given 1J lb. of dry 

 rubber per tree, costing 40 guilder cents (8d) to 

 collect and deliver at the factory, should not be 

 forgotten by Para enthusiasts. 



Paka Cultivation. 



Para rubber cultivation in Sumatra was not 

 commenced in earnest much before 1906, and I 

 do not think manufacturers can expect many 

 tons of rubber from that island before 1913 or 

 1914. A few estates, such as those owned by 

 the Langkat Sumatra, United Sumatra, Sumatra 

 Para, and Amsterdam-Langkat Companies, 

 possess several thousands of old or tappable 

 trees. Most estates, however, consist of coffee 

 interplanted with Para, or old tobacco lands 

 planted up with Hevea, during the last two or 

 three years. There are very few estates consist- 

 ing of Para trees alone; in this respect Sumatra 

 comes into line with most other countries. 



Most people have the idea that phenomenally 

 rapid growth is to be seen in Sumatra, the Para 

 trees being reputed to increase in girth at the 

 rate of six inches per year. I should put the 

 circumferential rate of growth in Sumatra at 

 six, five and four inches respectively, on lands 

 included in the three categories enumerated 

 above. It is very dangerous to generalise in this 

 way, especially when the trees are scattered over 

 the Serdang, Langkat and Asahan districts, but 

 I think the above conclusion will be found to be 

 approximately correct in most instances, — India- 

 Rubber Journal, July 27. 



