17R 



The Supplement to the Tropical Agriculturist 



RUBBER IN MYASLAND. 



(From the Government Handbook— 1st issue 

 —1909.) 



Rubbber for export is chiefly obtained from 

 the indigenous Landolphia vines which are 

 found on the banks of streams throughout the 

 country. It is usually collected by natives ; 

 brought to the stores and traders for sale ; 

 occasionally Europeans engage in collecting it 

 in districts where it is plentiful, employing 

 natives to carry out the work of tapping the 

 vines and drying the latex that exudes imme- 

 diately the incisions are made m the bark. 



The export of rubber for the past eleven 

 years is as follows : — 









lb. 





pev lb. £. 



ended 



31st March 



1898 



21,416 



Valued at 1/- 1,059 



do 



do 



1899 



91,264 



do 



2/3 10,267 



do 



do 



1900 



118,720 



do 



2/3 13,356 



do 



do 



1901 



S5.904 



do 



2/3 9,669 



do 



do 



1902 



14,393 



do 



2/3 1,619 



do 



do 



1903 



11,723 



do 



2/- 1,172 



do 



do 



1904 



4,372 



do 



21- 437 



do 



do 



1905 



17,664 



do 



2/6 2 208 



do 



do 



1906 



17,280 



do 



2/6 M60 



do 



do 



1907 



16,403 



do 



4/3 3,4^6 

 • 4/3 3,310 



do 



do 



1908 



15,533 



do 



There is a duty of 4d per pound on the un- 

 cultivated product, but none on rubber ob- 

 tained from cultivated trees. 



It is estimated that about 1,500 acres are now 

 under rubber cultivation by Europeans, and the 

 following information on the industry has been 

 supplied by the rubber experts employed by 

 the African Lakes Corporation on the Chombe 

 estates in the West Nyasa dintrict, and on 

 the Ohitakali estate in the Mlanje district. 



Indigenous Rubber (Landolphia). 



The cultivation of the vine from seeds in 

 nursery was commonced in January, 1903, when 

 10,000 young vines were raised ; and trans- 

 planted to the forest in 1904. Again in 1904, 

 100,000 vines were raised ; in 1905, 50.000 ; and 

 in 1906, 600,000. The plants were at first kept 

 in nursery for from ten to twelve months and 

 then transplanted to the forest, but the trans- 

 planting proved to be a great check, and the 

 rate of growth afterwards was not satisfactory. 

 At the same time direct sowing throughout the 

 forest on prepared mounds was tried, but also 

 proved unsuccessful, asthoseseeds which did not 

 rot were torn up by wild pigs. The best results 

 have been obtained by sowing the seeds in bam- 

 boo pots, four or five in each pot, keeping 

 them under shade in nursery for a year, and 

 then transplanting to forest. The cultivation 

 of the vine involves very considerable initial 

 expense, and then waiting ten to fifteen years 

 for a return. 



Para Rubber (Hevea Brasiliensis). 



Early in 1906 a Wardian case was received 

 from Ceylon containing 2,000 Para seedlings. 

 Of this consignment 266 plants survived and 

 are doing very well, some of the trees being as 

 much as 12 feet in height in July, 1908. In 

 January, 1907, the same trees were only five 

 feet high, and the further growth is re- 

 garded as very satisfactory. None of the 

 plants up to the present have shown any signs of 

 disease. In January 1907, a further consignment 

 of six Wardian cases was received. When 



DESPATCHED KKOM CEYLON THESIS OASES 

 CONTAINED 6,000 SEEDS, 



but only some 2,500 survived the journey, 

 and were planted out at 20' x 20'. Of these .about 

 1,600 are alive and doing well, the large per- 

 centage of deaths being due principally to white 

 ants and the grub of the cockchafer. To 

 get rid of the latter pest a mixture consis- 

 ting of one pound of Paris-green and three 

 pounds of salt to 40 pounds of donkey manure 

 was used and proved effectual, when dibbled in 

 some little distance from the roots at time of 

 planting. With Para the best results have been 

 obtained on good dambo land, well drained; the 

 danger of the plants being killed by the two 

 pests mentioned is very much less on such 

 ground than on the drier and lighter red soil. 

 If the present rate of growth be maintained, 

 tapping operations ought to commence by 1911, 

 and the trees may be expected to flower in 1910. 

 In order to ascertain whether Para trees can be 

 raised from seeds packed in charcoal, a large 

 consignment of these was brought out from 

 Ceylon in 1907, but none of the seeds germina- 

 ted. A further trial was made in 1908, and with 

 better results, as out of 100,000 seeds 14,850 have 

 germinated and show promise of doing well. 

 Castilloa Elastica 



Seeds of this variety were first received from 

 Ceylon early in 1906, and were sosvn in a pre- 

 pared nursery A very large percentage of the 

 seeds were rotten on arrival, but over 400 plants 

 were raised from the lot, and they were planted 

 out at the commencement of the rains. There 

 are now 448 plants alive and doing well. 

 The rate of growth has not been so rapid 

 as that of Ceara and Para, but the plants 

 are all very strong and healthy, the highest 

 trees being now nine feet high. Castilloa 

 does not like a wet soil and should not be 

 planted where there is any chance of water 

 lyiDg during the rains. As in the case of Ceara, 

 it would appear that Castilloa does best in a 

 good red soil. Experiments go to show that 

 better results would be obtained by sowing at 

 stake, 2 to each, and transplanting later, pro- 

 vided the seeds were in good condition. As re- 

 gards distance between the plants, probably 

 20'x20' apart is wide enough in this country. 

 Ceara (Manihot Ghtziovii). 



The cultivation of Ceara was commenced in 

 1907, and so far as growth is concerned is very 

 satisfactory, plants raised from seed sown at 

 stake in January, on good deep red soil, being 

 6 to 8 feet high in August, 1907, and as much as 

 16 feet high in July, 19U8, i.e. 16 months from 

 date of sowing. The land for Ceara should be 

 prepared and made ready for planting at the 

 commencement of the rains. The seeds should 

 be filled at the radicular end, and not sown too 

 deep. Sowing at stake is by tar the best method 

 and if the seeds are sown early, 2 to each hole' 

 the plants will, by the dry season, be able to 

 fend for themselves and require neither water- 

 ing nor shade. If the seeds are sown late the 

 plants remained small and stunted. Ceara 

 seems to thrive on any soil except a wet one • 

 12' x 12' is about the right distance apart. There 

 are some 7,000 Ceara trees growing, which were 

 sown in January, 1907, as well as many thousands 

 of later date. 



