and Magazine of the Ceylon Agricultural Society. 



87 



RUBBER PLANTING IN PAPUA. 



" I have come back with the opinion that 

 Australia has got a good thing in Papua," said 

 the Minister for External Affairs, Mr. Batchelor, 

 who arrived in Sydney yesterday from a visit 

 to that territory. The Administrator, Judge 

 Murray, accompanied him in the steamer 

 " Merrie England" to the different spots on 

 the coast; Mr, Staniforth Smith, the Director 

 of Mines and Agriculture, took him up in the 

 hills. There was nothing in the way of a 

 "big feller white man" in the Minister's appear- 

 ance among the dusky denizens of Papua. So 

 many difficulties occur in. the way of getting 

 interpreters that he was not formally intro- 

 duced. The variety of languages, he said, is 

 almost as great as among the peoples of Europe. 

 Ho visited the big rubber plantation belonging 

 to the syndicate with which Sir Rupert Clarke 

 is connected. Here there were 600 acres under 

 rubber, and the manager, 



ME. WESTLAND. OF CEYLON, 



proposes to plant another 200. This planta- 

 tion has now trees on it, some of which are 

 two years old. Five years from commencement 

 have to elapse before they can be tapped. No 

 rubber is at present exported except the native 

 variety, which is of considerably less value 

 than the para rubber. A planter at Sogeri, 

 Mr. Ballantyne, has some trees which will be 

 ready next year, so that tho trade will pro- 

 bably then make a start. 



Back again at Port Moresby Mr. Batchelor 

 shaped his course for Dedeli, inspected a 



COCONUT PLANTATION 



there, and then went to Rigo, where he saw 

 a plantation of 



SISAL HEMP 



and three machines installed for treating it. 

 The London Missionary Society has a fine 

 station at the place. It is also the locality 

 of a Government nursery. On an island of 

 Cloudy Bay is another mission station. The 

 Minister called at it, and was entertained by 

 the Rev. Mr. Sackville. Thence he passed on 

 to Samarai, Milne Bay, and Woodlark Island, 

 and also to one of the most interesting parts 

 of Papua from a scenic point of view— Cape 

 Nelson, with its magnificent fiords, said to 

 surpass those of Norway. 



" The soil in New Guinea," said Mr Batchelor, 

 "is, as far as I saw it, 



WONDERFULLY FERTILE. 



The climate is strangely variable. In the dry 

 belts the rainfall averages about 30 inches a 

 year. In the others it's about 180. Those 

 planters who have experience in rubber say that 

 in no place in the world does the tree make 

 such early progress. I met the miners on the 

 goldfields. Those at Woodlark were very hope- 

 ful. They told me that a fresh impetus had 

 been given to things by an amalgamation of 

 Companies, and by the good results that have 

 been met in the mines at depth. They are down 

 as deep as 500 ft. At Sogeri I saw the copper 

 mines. They are waiting there for operations 

 to be started by a new Company." 



Mr Batchelor was surprised to find many 

 different opinions about tho value of the native 

 labour in Papua. " It appeared," he remarked, 

 '' to be according to the country the men were 

 drawn from. Some of the Papuans are good 

 workmen. They told me at Woodlark Islaud 

 that they considered the labour the best in 

 the world." 



"The best native labour?" was suggested. 



" No," replied Mr Batchelor, " the best in 

 the world. They are working ground on the 

 goldfields that wouldn't pay here." In other 

 parts, among both minors and planters, he 

 found the opposite opinion. 



There was considerable dissension in the 

 Government service in Papua about a year or 

 more ago. The Minister reports that no friction 

 whatever exists now, and he was exceedingly 

 pleased at the work done by the officers, — 

 Sydney Her ad, May 19. 



INTRODUCTION OF GOURAMI 

 INTO CEYLON. 



The gourarai (Osphro menus olfax) is a fresh- 

 water fish belonging to Java, which has been 

 introduced into Europe as an aquarium fish, and 

 into Mauritius, Cayenne, and India as a food- 

 fish. It is recorded as attaining a length of two 

 feet and a weight of 20 lb. ; but it seems doubt- 

 ful whether 20 lb. of muscle can bo concentra- 

 ted into a length of two feet. However that 

 may be, it has long been known to possess an 

 " exquisite flavour " ; and has quite recently 

 been characterised in the Cambridge Natural 

 History as " one of the best flavoured fishes of 

 the Far East." Under these circumstances I 

 had no hesitation in recommending Govern- 

 ment to communicate with the Government of 

 Mauritius in order to ascertain definitely whe- 

 ther the culture of the gourami is carried on 

 there with conspicuous success. This was done, 

 and a reply duly arrived, forwarding papers 

 relating to this matter, and adding " that if it 

 is desired to introduce the gourami in Ceylon, 

 this Government will be glad to arrange for a 

 supply of young fish being sent," The gourami, 

 it appears, is not made the object of methodical 

 cultivation in Mauritius, but, when desired, it 

 is transplanted from one place to another. A 

 gentleman who has interested himself in accli- 

 matisation experiments in Mauritius, Mr A 

 Daruty de Grandpre, states that the rearing of 

 the gourami is very easy, as it will exist in any 

 kind of fresh water, flowing or stagnant ; its 

 habits are herbivorous and insectivorous, and 

 it is therefore valuable as a consumer of mos- 

 quito-larvae ; it constructs a nest amongst 

 aquatic herbs, where it deposits its eggs, which 

 are defended by the male. [Interesting extracts 

 are quoted, through the obliging kindness of the 

 Government of Mauritius, to show the value of 

 the gourami, and the comparative ease with 

 which it might be introduced in Ceylon.] Its 

 distribution after its arrival would be a matter 

 requiring careful consideration. The liberation 

 and re-capture of introduced fishes without any 

 record being kept would probably be an unsatis- 

 factory proceeding. — Arthur Willky. — March 

 31, 1909. — Administration Report on Marine 

 Biology. 



