and Magazine of the Ceylon Agricultural Society. 



381 



that is, if you go on pricking you will come to a 

 time of no latex. But the tree may go back to 

 its old habit again probably in 1$ years. You 

 have impressed upon it with the pricker a pro- 

 duction of bark which is not laticiferous. 



Mr. Duncan : — It will be only four years. 



Mr. Petch :— It will turn your four years into 

 five-and-a-half years. You mention four years 

 because you are going back to your renewed 

 bark in four years. If it takes one-and-a-half 

 years for the bark to revert to its original habit, 

 you have five-and-ahalf years. 



About Barren Trees. 



Mr Baines : — Have you met any barren trees 

 lately? (Laughter.) . 



Mr Petch :— Lately, no. 1 have never met a 

 tree which has never given latex. 



Mr Baines : — I have a tree which gave latex 

 and then went back. 



Mr Williamson : — Struck by lightning, I sup- 

 pose. (Laughter.) 



Mr Baines: — The tree was perfectly all right 

 with the bark thick and strong ; but I could not 

 get anything out of it. 



Mr Bamforth : — We have to thank Mr Petch 

 very much indeed for his interesting remarks. 

 (Loud applause.) 



This brought the proceedings to a close. 



RUBBER NOTES, Ac. FROM NATAL, 



(By a Ceylon resident in Durban.) 



THE ONLY INDIGENOUS RUBBER-PRODUCING 

 SPECIES 



of South Africa at present of any concern 

 is Landolphia Kirkii. It is a liane growing in 

 the northern countries of Zululand, i.e., Mapu- 

 taland and Amatongaland. Although it may 

 be met with rarely, it is said not to be found 

 further south, but extends northwards into 

 E. and W. Tropical Africa. I believe this 

 plant, with perhaps one or two of its congeners, 

 yields most, if not all, the rubber at present ex- 

 ported from these regions. L. Kirkii is com- 

 monly known as the Rubber Vine, About six 

 years ago the Natal Government had an officer 

 in Maputaland reporting on the possibilities 

 of exploiting the Rubber Vine on an industrial 

 basis. Samples of Landolphia rubber were 

 sent to England and favourably reported upon. 

 This was followed later by the leasing of a 

 large area in Maputaland to a Natal Syndi- 

 cate. I know that some shipments were made, 

 but since then there has apparently been no 

 development, and I suspect the venture has 

 come to a standstill. Although the quality of 

 the rubber has been declared good, Maputa- 

 land has a deadly climate and labour is scarce 

 and expensive. The Directors of the Syndi- 

 cate approached me with a proposal to sever 

 my connection with Government and accept 

 service under them : but the disadvantages 

 were so obvious that I did not even discuss 

 the matter with them, and from what I have 

 since learnt from private sources I have reason 

 to believe that my decision was a wiso one. 



That is all there has been done with rubber 

 as a commercial speculation in South Africa. I 

 think, however, when we have tided over our 

 present depression and capital is available, that 

 interest in the subject will be resumed in 

 Natal and Zululand. At present there is a 



PLANTATION OF THE RUBBER VINE IN THE 

 GOVERNMENT EXPERIMENT STATION AT EMPANGEN1 



in Zululand ; the experiment is being watched. 

 As a liane Landophlia is difficult to manage 

 under cultivation, and we shall probably have 

 to turn our attention to exotics and with the 

 selection of a species suitable to our compara- 

 tively dry climate the problem might be solved. 

 There are fine specimens of the India rubber or 

 Assam rubber (Ficus Elastica) growing in Dur- 

 ban and extending inland as far as Maritzburg 

 and I am told southward, even to Capetown. 

 But I much suspect that the climate is too dry 

 to induce a sufficient flow of latex. For the same 

 reason Para rubber, though it grows in Durban, 

 would also fail on a large scale. The most 

 likely species to succeed is, I think, the 



CEARA 



rubbers — Manihots, which are fast growers and 

 are amenable to dry conditions. Plants of C. 

 Glaziovii do well in Durban and seed freely. 

 Will you please furnish me with the names of 

 the new varieties of Ceara which, I understand, 

 you are adopting for the dry districts of Ceylon. 

 Naturally they are of great interest to us. I 

 am sending you an illustrated souvenir of Durban 

 whichf will give you a fairly comprehensive idea 

 of what the largest, 



FAIREST AND HEALTHIEST TOWN 



in Natal is like, especially during the winter gala 

 season. The winter here is, however, not like 

 what it is in England, since Durban has a sub- 

 tropical climate. The heat is trying in summer, 

 but in winter the weather is as nice as you can 

 wish it to be. As you drive round the city in 

 a oar you will be surprised to find old Ceylon 

 friends like Bougainviilea, Aleurites triloba, Poin- 

 ciana regia, Hibiscus tiliaceus luxuriating here. 



There is only one Agricultural College in 

 Natal at the Central 



EXPERIMENT STATION AT CEDARA 



near Maritzburg. When I first joined the 

 Department I was there for five months on 

 the Forestry Staff. Beside the central station 

 at Cedara, there are branch experiment stations 

 distributed about the colony ; and students from 

 Cedara are drafted out during the course of their 

 learning to one or more of these stations for a 

 brief period. While agriculture, including stock 

 farming, dairying, etc, is what is principally 

 taught the students, a brief course in Forestry 

 — or strictly speaking, in the formation and ten- 

 ding of plantations of exotics— forms an incident 

 in the curriculum. The object is to 



ENABLE THE PRIVATE FARMER TO 

 INTELLIGENTLY CO-OPERATE 



with the Government in increasing the percentage 

 of forest-clad land — a consummation devoutly to 

 be wished for more reasons than one. 



The policy in the College is to givethe students 

 nothing but technical instruction and there is 

 no chance of their qualifying to be anything but 

 farmers. They ultimately take up their own 

 lands or manage or work upon a farm. The in- 

 struction is almost entirely practical. The stu- 



