100 



[August, 1909- 



It occurs at Nuwara Eliya on Plum 

 trees, and in the Southern Province on 

 Orange trees— in both cases gradually 

 killing back the branches. In the wet- 

 ter upcountry districts it sometimes ap- 

 pears on tea towards the end of the 

 south-west monsoon, and then causes 

 " branch canker." Instances of its occur- 

 rence on Hevea have been recorded from 

 most of the rubber districts. On Hevea 

 it usually begins in the fork of a tree 

 which divides at a short distance from 

 the ground, or where two or three 

 branches spring in a whorl from the 

 main stem. The fungus spreads over 

 the bark in a thin pink sheet, and, 

 when this sheet dries, it splits into 

 patches which are supposed to resemble 

 hieroglyphics ; for this reason it is known 

 in the P. M. S. as the writing fungus. 



It lives entiiely on the bark, gradually 

 killing it and ringing the tree. Proba- 

 bly the dry periods in Ceylon prevent 

 its spreading to such an extent as in 

 Java. In South India, however, it does 

 considerable damage, attacking the 

 main stems of young trees and killing 

 them out completely if they are not 

 "stumped." It is hoped to issue a cir- 

 cular on this subject shortly. 



It may be pointed out that this fungus 

 and a common root disease provide the 

 chief objections to interplanting rubber 

 and cacao. An undergrowth of cacao 

 ensures a humid atmosphere which 

 favours the growth of parasitic fungi 

 on the stems of the Hevea. 



T. PETCH. 



GUMS, RESINS, SAPS AND EXUDATIONS. 



RUBBER IN SOUTH INDIA. 



(From the Indian Agriculturist, Vol, 

 XXXIV., No. 4, April, 1909.) 



The Madras Mail calls attention to the 

 further light thrown on the prospects 

 of the rubber industry in Southern 

 India by the publication of the Reports 

 and the proceedings of the General 

 Meetings of a number ot rubber-growing 

 Companies, with land in the Native 

 States of Travancore and Cochin and in 

 the Madras Presidency, A perusal of 

 the details given leads one to the con- 

 culsion that Mr. Proudlock in his 

 Report on Rubber in Malabar was 

 correct in his belief as to the exceeding 

 suitability of the coastal country which 

 lies between the sea and the foot of the 

 Western Ghauts, both as regards climate 

 and soil, for rubber cultivation on an 

 extensive scale. The Periyar Rubber 

 Company is perhaps the most interesting 

 concern at present in Southern India, 

 because tapping operations have already 

 commenced there in earnest. Of the 

 867 acres planted with rubber 238 were 

 planted in 1902, and from this area 

 11,340 lb. of rubber were harvested last 

 year. Details are given in the Report 

 which afford an idea of the profit 

 to be derived in these days from 

 rubber trees which have reached the 

 tapping stage, the generally accepted 

 standard for which is a girth of 18 in. 

 at 3 ft. from the ground. For in- 

 stance, the cost of production after 

 debiting a fair proportion ot standing 

 charges and irrecoverable coast advances 



to working account was Rs.^14,038'08 or 

 only Re. 1*12 per lb., while the average 

 price realised for the rubber was R. 3*23 

 per lb. The estimate for this year is 

 32,500 lb. of rubber from 29,984 trees, and 

 it is expected that this will be obtained 

 at a still lower cost, i,e., after including 

 a fair proportion of the standing 

 charges, at 93 cents per lb. It is also to 

 be noted that clean weeding is favoured 

 by the management of this estate ; that 

 porcupines did so much damage to the 

 clearing made in 1903 that it had practi- 

 cally to be replanted in the following 

 year ; that it has been decided to adopt 

 the tapping process newly introduced in 

 Ceylon ; and that in the opinion of 

 Mr, J, A. Hunter, a Ceylon expert who 

 visited the property recently, there is 

 no doubt about the quality of the soil 

 and its suitability to the growth of 

 Para rubber. The possibilities of this 

 Company, the offices of which are in 

 Colombo, will be admitted to be con- 

 siderable when it is remembered that 

 many authorities believe that an acre of 

 ten-year-old rubber will annually yield 

 300 lb. of dry rubber ; and it is in con- 

 sequence scarcely surprising that the 

 4,000 shares of Rs. 100 of which its capital 

 consists stand at a premium of over 

 100 per cent. 



Auother well-known Travancore rubber 

 estate belongs to the Rani-Rubber 

 Company, Limited. At its General Meet- 

 ing, held recently in Colombo, the 

 Chairman, Mr. J. G. Wardrop, said that 

 the Company had now 2,875 trees 18 in. or 

 more in girth 3 ft. from the ground, and 



