and Magazine of the Ceylon Agricultural Society, 



555 



Cape Colony. — A specimen of coagulated 

 latex received from Cape Colony was found to 

 contain 64 per cent of resin, and would there- 

 fore have very little, if any, commercial value. 

 It was probably derived from a species of 

 Euphorbia. 



Rhodesia. — A sample of Ceara rubber from 

 North Eastern Rhodesia proved to be of in- 

 ferior quality on account of the large percen- 

 tage of sand which it contained ; otherwise it 

 was of normal composition. It was valued at Is 

 8d per lb., with fine hard Para at 3s 5id per lb. 



A specimen of so-called rubber was also 

 received from Southern Rhodesia. It proved to 

 be a resinous product, resembling the material 

 obtained from species of Euphorbia in South 

 Africa. 



Seychelles.— Specimens of Para and Vahea 

 rubber were received from Seychelles for 

 examination. 



The three samples of Para rubber were ob- 

 tained from a small number of trees under five 

 years old, but of considerable size. The rubber 

 was very satisfactory in composition, comparing 

 favourably in this respect with Para rubber 

 from Ceylon and the Federated Malay States, 

 but was deficient in strength. The latter defect 

 was probably chiefly due to the fact that the 

 rubber had been obtained from young trees. 

 From the results of the chemical examination 

 however there appears to be every likelihood 

 that the Para trees in Seychelles will yield ex- 

 cellent rubber as they become older. 



The Vahea rubber, derived from a climbing 

 plant introduced from Madagascar, was of good 

 quality, the best specimen containing 91 percent 

 of caoutchouc, but the cost of preparing the 

 rubber in a clean form is practically prohibitive. 



Jamaica. — A sample of the rubber of Forstc- 

 ronia floribunda, a climbing plant occurring in 

 Jamaica, was found to be of good quality, con- 

 taining 88'8 per cent, of caoutchouc. It was 

 valued at 2s 4d per lb., with fine hard Para at 

 3s 5|d per lb. 



British Guiana. — The rubber obtained from 

 Sapium Jenmani in British Guiana has been 

 carefully investigated in order to determine its 

 composition and value. A number of specimens 

 in the form of biscuits, scrap block, and ball, 

 have been analysed, and the results show that 

 the rubber is of very good quality so far as 

 chemical composition is concerned. The percen- 

 tages of caoutchouc recorded range from 87 to 92 

 per cent and of resin from 2 - to 4'2 per cent ; 

 the best specimen contained 924 per cent of 

 caoutchouc, 2 per cent of resin and 2'8 per cent 

 of proteid. The following valuations were ob- 

 tained : scrap block from 2s 4d to 3s per lb ; 

 balls 2s 6d per lb. ; and the best biscuits 

 3s 6d per lb, with fine hard Para at 3s 5£d 

 per lb. There is therefore no longer any 

 doubt that the rubber yielded by this tree is of 

 excellent quality if carefully prepared. 



A sample of Balata fromBntish Guiana was of 

 very good quality, containing 50'7 per cent of 

 guttaand 44 - S percent of resin. The percentage 

 of gutta is higher than that usually recorded for 

 balata. The specimen was valued at 2s 2Jd per 



lb. The latex of the Bastard Bullet tree was 

 found to yield a product containing 70'6 per cent 

 of resin, therefore differing widely in composi- 

 tion from true balata. 



Portuguese East Africa.— Specimens of 

 Ceara, Landolphia, and Mascarenhasia rubber 

 from Portuguese East Africa proved to be of good 

 quality, whilst the products obtained from Ficus 

 sp., Landolphia florida and DiptorrhynchuS 

 mossambicensis were of resinous nature and of 

 little or no value 



An examination has also been made of Bitinga 

 tubers (Raphionacme utilis) and the rubber they 

 furnish. The partly dried tubers as received con- 

 tained from 10 to 1*5 per cent of rubber, cor- 

 responding to a yield of9'3 to 11 '6 percent from 

 the dry material. The sample of prepared rub- 

 ber was of very fair quality, but was rather 

 sticky and contained a considerable amount of 

 vegetable and mineral impurity. Trials are being 

 made to ascertain whether the tubers ot this 

 plant, which is stated to flourish on poor soils 

 not adapted to other rubber plants, can be pro- 

 fitably utilised as a source of rubber. — Imperial 

 Institute Report for 1908. 



ECANDA RUBBER. 



(Raphionacme utilis, Brown & Stapf. ) 

 In the Kew Bulletin, 1908, pp. 209-215, and 

 pp. 305-307, an account has been given of Ra- 

 phionacme utitis, Brown & Stapf, and of the 

 rubber prepared from its tubers. Siuce these 

 accounts were published Mr. John T. Norman, 

 of the City Central Laboratory, London, E. C, 

 has sent 



A FURTHER CONSIGNMENT OF THE TUBERS 



of the Ecanda rubber plant, which were brought 

 over from Angola by his client, Mr. J. NealeMay. 



Mr. May holds a large concession of land near 

 Bihe, Angola, where Raphionacme utilis grows in 

 abundance, and he has kindly furnished parti- 

 culars as to the mode of growth of the plants 

 under natural conditions and of the country in 

 which they are to be found. From this infor- 

 mation the following account has been written. 



The tubers of Ecanda rubber recently received 

 at the Royal Botanic Gardens came from a pla- 

 teau near Bihe, in about 17 ° E. long, and 12 - 5- 

 13° S. lat., 



AT AN ELEVATION OF 5,000 FEET ABOVE SEA LEVEL. 



This plateau, which forms the concession, oc- 

 cupies an area of some 25 sq. miles, an slopes 

 away fairly steeply towards the east and west, 

 forming the divide between two river systems. 

 The plant though found in considerable quan- 

 tity in the region generally, does not appear to 

 flourish in other places so well as on the plateau. 



The plateau is crossed by the main route from 

 Benguella to Lake Tanganyika and is distant 

 from the port of Benguella some 420 miles by 

 wagon road. The distance across country to the 

 port by bush paths is much shorter and occupies 

 about twenty days, as the wagon road makes a 

 considerable detour to the south in order to 

 cross certain mines. In fine weather the journey 

 by wagon road can be made in abou 30 days, 



