and Magazine of the Ceylon Agricultural Society. 



83 



INTERVIEW WITH MR. H. ST. C. 

 BOWLE-EVANS. 



Mr. H. St. C. Bowie-Evans, who returned 

 from the Straist on the 17th June, was kind 

 enough to grant an interview to our represen- 

 tative. 



Valuable Information. 



In answer to a preliminary enquiry Mr. Bowie- 

 Evans said : — I have been away a month and 

 have seen an immense amount in that time and 

 gained information that is of the greatest value. 

 I have received the greatest kindness from 

 everyone. 



I suppose you went on business? — Yes, busi- 

 ness and pleasure combined. As a matter of 

 fact I have a fairly large book in rubber in 

 Sumatra and the Straits. 



Ceylon Shares. 



I suppose you are also highly interested in 

 Ceylon shares ? — Oh ! dear no. Not anything 

 like the same interests. 



Have you any particular objections to giving 

 your reasons ? — Well, in the first place rupee 

 scrip is not nearly so easily handled as 

 sterling scrip. I mean that there is a very 

 much larger market for sterling shares, and the 

 investing public at home do not want to be 

 bothered about "rupees " and also do not seem 

 to know how to set about the purchase or 

 sale of these shares. Again, transactions in 

 rupee shares are, of course, more or less con- 

 fined to those living in or closely connected with 

 Ceylon ; and, if the market weakens, or monoy 

 is scarce, transactions are restricted to a com- 

 paratively few individuals. Lastly there is 

 some uncertainty about labour ; possibly not 

 at the moment, but as to the future and when 

 an appreciable quantity of the large planted 

 acreage comes into bearing. This, I think, 

 has frightened many "would-be" investors i:i 

 rupee stock, quite apart from the fact that 

 the rubber in the Straits and Sumatra is of 

 quicker growth and in many instances the soil 

 is richer and the climate more equable for 

 rubber than in some parts of Ceylon. 



Impressions of the Teip. 



Would you mind giving your impressions of 

 your trip ?— No, I don't mind in the least, but I 

 particularly wish it to be understood that what 

 I say are my own impressions, knowledge 

 gained by coming in contact with many 

 Managers, visiting some 17 estates, by obser- 

 vation and the cheerful way in which everyone 

 I met answered my numberless questions and 

 gave me their ideas from practical experience. 



How do you think the management of the 

 general run of estates compares with Ceylon ? 

 Do you think Mr Val Carey's letter that appeared 

 some time ago was a just criticism on the 

 Superintendents ?— In reply to the formor 

 question, I must say things are totally differ- 

 ent if a comparison is to be made with tea 

 estates. As compared with our rubber estates I 

 think the management every bit as efficient ; I 

 would go further than that in saying that the 



way the huge acreages have been opened up in 

 the Straits often under adverse circum- 

 stances reflects the greatest credit on all con- 

 cerned. The work, too, is much harder than 

 in Ceylon as we have a large trained staff of 

 Conductors to assise and Surveyors to cut out 

 blocks of the required size after a survey has 

 been made, whereas in the Straits it appears 

 that the planter has to do all this work himself. 



As regards Mr. Val Carey's criticisms, the 

 F. M.S. planters are still very sore about it 

 — the general feeling being that ho included 

 in his criticisms all and sundry, whereas 

 the rowdiness and drinking, which ap- 

 peared to have inspired this letter, was con- 

 fined to a few well-known Superintendents 

 who have the sympathy of no one, and who did 

 not play the game. One might just as well say 

 that most of the Ceylon men were "rotters " 

 because of the indiscretion of a few individuals. 



I can only say that all the Managers and 

 Assistants I met were excellent, keen, and in- 

 telligent workers and will compare more than 

 favourably with any other part of the East. 



The Nokthwat System. 



What about tapping and the Northway 



System ? 



Some of the oldest rubber shewed signs of 

 bad tapping in the past — the result in some 

 cases, I am afraid, of ignorance and careless- 

 ness combined. The tapping now carried out 

 is excellent, in some cases too carefully done, 

 if anything a fault, however, on the right side. 

 As regards the Northway System, some estates 

 are experimenting ; but I fear no one had a 

 very good word for it. Of course, there is the 

 one objection, e.g., that on Bukit land, it will 

 be impossible to carry about the quantity of 

 water required ; besides there is the additional 

 bulk in transport. There is a fooling too that 

 Ceylou men are too fond of getting the 

 leading V.A.'s to append their names to ex- 

 periments—the practical worth of which, over 

 a reasonable period, has not been by any man- 

 ner of means conclusively proved, Mr R W Harri- 

 son's recent letter of a parallel in the Alleyn 

 plucking system being very much to the point 

 and also sounding a note of warning. It must be 

 remembered that the F.M.S. planters are very 

 conservative and are not inclined to adopt a 

 new system of tapping or new tapping tools 

 until thin system or tools have been found 

 thoroughly efficient. Hence instoad of finding 

 many and various tapping knives, there were 

 only two or three places that I found using the 

 pull and push knife; the tools usually and 

 generally adopted being the ordinary gouge 

 and the large and smaller farrier's knife. 1 can- 

 not say that I agree entirely with the views of 

 a large number of F.M.S. men that Ceylon 

 planters are too much given to patenting 

 knives, as after all the thoughts of the Ceylon 

 men are directed towards an implement that 

 is cheap in the long run, easily handled by 

 coolies that are not experts, and one that will 

 do the least damage in inexperienced hands. 

 Again I venture to think that the different 

 machiues, now universally used, were originally 

 the outcome of ideas and the inventive genius 

 of Ceylon Planters and Engineers, 



