and Magazine of the Ceylon Agricultural Society. 



185 



was bhat it was too costly to prepare for culti- 

 vation. My trees are from seed selected from 

 his best, and have had much more cultivation 

 than any of his. Therefore, he cannot honestly 

 say he is the only one who grows the true Cara- 

 vonica Cotton. 



His suggestion that the Ceylon Agricultural 

 Society should go — cap in hand— to " Der 

 Baurawohlgesellschaft Caravonica " is absurd, 

 and only conveys the false impression that 

 the seed can only be got from, or by the con- 

 sent of, that Company. It is also unnecessary 

 that planters in Ceylon or elsewhere shall have 

 to certify that they are approved growers to 

 obtain the seed. I will send them as much of 

 the true Caravonica Cotton seed as they want. 

 Should L run out of stock this season, I will 

 have plenty the next, and the only certificate of 

 approval necessary is a Bank draft or money 

 order. And, as to " my " qualifications, I refer 

 enquirers to Mr Howard Newport, Manager of 

 the Government Experimental Farm, Kame- 

 runga, Cairns, Queensland. As to the statement 

 made by Dr. Thomatis that Caravonica Cotton 

 yielded 90 per cent, lint, there must either be a 

 mistake or a misprint. A fair average with 

 proper cultivation is from 40 to 45 per cent. 



I am writing you from Fremautle as I am on 

 my way to Derby, N.-W. Australia, where I 

 intend growing the Caravonica Cotton on a 

 large scale, aud in a few months will return to 

 my plantation at Cairns. Please address your 

 communications to Fremantle. This does not 

 mean altering my address in the seed advertise- 

 ment, as my Manager on the Cairns plantation 

 will attend to all applications for seed. I am, 

 dear Sir, yours faithfully, 



F. JOHNSTON. 



RUBBER BEARING AGE AND 

 FUTURE YIELDS. 



It seems almost incredible that Para rubber trees 

 may take from four to seven, and even nine, years 

 to reach the producing stage. This variation in 

 bearing age is very large, but covers a multitude 

 of conditions under which plants are at present 

 cultivated. Trees in bearing at four years are 

 frequently to be seen in Province Wellesley, 

 Selangor, and Serdang ; others in Uva, Ceylon, 

 at least 2,500 feet, and in Southorn India at 

 about 3,000 feet, above sea-level, may take the 

 longer period. In many circles it is accepted 

 that a proportion of the trees grown alone on a 

 clearing can be tapped when four years old in 

 favoured parts of Malaya, at five years in 

 other parts of Malaya and Sumatra, and at 

 six years in moat Ceylon districts ; where the 

 trees are planted among old tea, coffee, or 

 cacao eight years is often required before 

 successful tapping operations can be car- 

 ried out. If a difference of two years, or even 

 one year, is ultimately to be associated with 

 Para trees in the areas enumerated, it is a mat- 

 ter of the utmost importance to all. This differ- 

 ence does not mean only one of the age at which 

 trees can be tapped for the first time ; it indi- 

 cates the probability of a much reduced total 

 yield from trees requiring the maximum period 

 for attainment of maturity. Where the trees 

 take six years to reach the tappable stage there 



must, on account of inferior soil, unfavourable 

 climatic or other considerations, be a much 

 slower average rate of growth during what 

 may be termed the first cycle; as the slow- 

 growing trees get older, they will not have 

 a better chance of increasing their rate of 

 growth above those characterised with more 

 rapid development, and the secondary and 

 subsequently renewed barks will probably 

 require a similarly longer period to mature. In 

 other words, there will be less renewed bark 

 available on the slow growing trees after a giveu 

 period. And 



THE BARK IS THE MOTHER OF RUBBER. 



It may be argued that quantity, and especially 

 thickness, of bark is not the only criterion of 

 total yields ; it is granted that in some circum- 

 stances thin-barked trees yield as much per area 

 of bark excised as others with thicker bark, 

 especially when the former trees are older. But, 

 taking trees of the same age, there seems every 

 reason to expect that those with more rapid 

 rates of growth and thicker bark tissues will be 

 capable of yielding larger quantities of rubber 

 in the future. ■ TjiP* 



The yields of rubber which are now being 

 chronicled throw considerable light on another 

 problem which has engaged the attention of 

 cultivators for many years. It was originally sup- 

 posed that Para rubber trees thrived best on the 

 banks of rivers where, m addition to a good 

 supply of available plant food, there wan always 

 abundance of water aud an occasional flooding 

 of the land. In consequence of this, botanical 

 authorities in the East recommended planters 

 to select similar areas for their new clearings in 

 the belief that to imitate Nature would bo the 

 safest and probably the most remunerative plan. 

 Subsequently it was reported that Para trees 

 grew wild and flourished not only along the river 

 banks, but on the low hills of the interior of 

 Brazil, and doubt was then expressed as to the 

 wisdom of planting on areas subject to peri- 

 odical inundation. 



As a result we have in the Indo-Malayan 

 region Para rubber trees planted on all classes 

 of soil, some very dry and others exceedingly 

 damp. It is well known that the majority of 

 the Perak and Selangor estates now in 

 bearing are on laud where the water-level is 

 only one or two feet from the surface. In Cey- 

 lon, Sumatra and Java, the majority of rubber 

 estates are not so abundantly supplied with 

 water. The one fact which vividly impresses 

 tourists in the East is the nearness of the water 

 level to the surface on Malay estates. Now, 

 everyone recognises that the highest yields have 

 been obtained from these estates, though the 

 roots are more or less immersed in water and 

 the trees are growing under what would nor- 

 mally be regarded as unnatural, if not un- 

 healthy, conditions. The water factor appears 

 to be of more importance during the first eight 

 years than most experts imagined.— India-Eub- 

 ber Journal, April 5. 



Linggi Plantations, Ltd.— The total output 

 of rubber from the Company's estates during 

 the month of March was 39,000 lb., bringing the 

 total for the first three months of the current 

 year up to 106,000 lb. Last year : March 15,000 

 lb., first three months 50,000. 



