mi 



The Supplement to the Tropical Agriculturist 



rubber trees, which, as the more valuable pro- 

 duct, will gradually supersede the tea. 



[We omit references to cinchona and cacao.] 

 The story of the latest addition to the planting 

 industries of Ceylon— namely in rubber-yielding 

 trees, particularly Para rubber— has recently 

 been related by more than one lecturer, but 

 especially by Mr Herbert Wright, the author 

 of the latest standard Manual for the rub- 

 ber planter, before the Society of Arts. 

 Suffice it for me to say that in 1876 the first 

 plants of Hevea or Para rubber reached Ceylon 

 from Kew (Mr H A Wickham having brought 

 them from Brazil) and were planted at Hene- 

 ratgoda.* These parent trees are now 34 years 

 old and are still flourishing. For sometime consi- 

 derable interest was taken by many Ueylon plant- 

 ers in rubber, but chiefly in the Oeara species, 

 which disappointed expectations, and tea then 

 proving a great success, rubber altogether got 

 neglected save by a few fortunate individuals, 

 who planted Para rubber, chiefly in the Kalu- 

 tara district. At the instance of the late Dr. 

 Trimen, of the Botanic Gardens, I compiled and 

 published a "Manual for Rubber Planters'' 

 first in 1883 ; the second edition appeared in 

 1887, and the third in 1899. But comparatively 

 few copies of these were utilised in Ceylon, 

 most of them going to the Straits and Malay 

 States, where, in consequence of the failure 

 of Libenan coffee, more general attention was 

 given to Para rubber than in the case of Ceylon; 

 and although of late years our planting has 

 overtaken that of the Malay States, still there is 

 a much larger proportion of mature trees in the 

 latter than in our island. That is shown by the 

 much larger export up to-date from the Malay 

 States. But it is quite possible that after some 

 years the exports from the two countries may 

 begin to approximate more closely ; for, the 

 area planted with rubber in Ceylon (180,000 

 acres) was, until lately, in excess of that planted 

 in the Malay States. At the same time, it is 

 quite a question whether the conditions of soil 

 and climate are not, on ihe whole, 



MOKE FAVOURABLE IN THE MALAY PENINSULA. * 



On the other hand, we may be quite sure that the 



* Introduction of Hevea to the East.— it has always 

 boon generally understood tliat the first introduction of 

 "Hevea brasiliensis ", the para rubber tree, to the East 

 was in 1870, when a consignment of rubber plants came to 

 the Peradoniya Botanic Gardens authorities in Wardian 

 cases, the plants being those raised al Kew from the seeds 

 brought over from Brazil by Mr H A Wickham, This, how- 

 ever, is not really the case, for the first " Hevea" sent to 

 the East were three years previously in 1873. Our authority 

 for this is Colonel Prain, Director of the Kew Botanic 

 Gardens, who in response to a letter on the subject writes : 

 " Regarding the introduction of ' Hevea brasiliensis ' to the 

 Bast, I take pleasure in enclosing a copy of a memorandum 

 prepared from the entries in our inwards and outwards 

 books which will explain exactly how this matter stands. 

 You will see that although the first distribution to the East 

 took place in )->7.tamJ Miai the distribution of 1870 which was 

 rendered possible owing to the energy of Mr Wickham was 

 not the first yet to allintents and purposes; the )876distribu- 

 tion is to be considered the first." The memorandums sent by 

 Colonel Prain are as follows : Kew Inwards book, 1873, p 

 54 Erorn India Office, obtained by Markham from Jas. 

 Collins. Seeds of ' Hevea' India-rubber tree. Several hun- 

 dred, about a dozen germinated.' This entry is in Sir 

 Joseph Hooker's writing. The note on the germination of 

 the seeds is in Sir W T T Dyer's writing. Outwards book 

 1873, p 267 :— ' Six plants were taken out on September and 

 in a Wardian case by Dr. King to Calcutta.' " - O'cylou Ohm-,-- 

 oer, March, 1009. [ButDr Sir George King made little or 

 nothiDg of the six plants he got in 1873,— J, F.] 



utmost justice will be done in liberal as well as 

 judicious cultivation, harvesting and preparation 

 of this valuable product in the first of the Crown 

 Colonies, whose planters have so long acquired 

 the reputation of leading the world in everything 

 connected with tropical agriculture. Only "eleven 

 years ago (1898), the area planted with rubber 

 yielding trees in Ceylon was but 750 acres ; but 

 three years after, this was increased to 2,500 

 and by the middle of 1904 to 11,000 acres. Since 

 then the progress has been very rapid. By the 

 middle of 1905, the returns showed close on 

 40,000, and a year later over 103,000 acres; while 

 in August J9u7, this was increased to 146,000; 

 and on 31st July last (1908), the figures returned 

 by the planters for the Directory worked 

 out to 180,000 acres. At the same time good 

 authorities consider that a certain limited 

 percentage of this area, injudiciously planted, 

 is not likely to come to maturity ; but fur- 

 ther planting has gone on since, and is still 

 going on, so that 180,000 to 200,000 acres may 

 safely represent the industry as at present in 

 Ceylon, Last year the export was 407J tons 

 against 1,413 tons from Malay States, aud 

 about 221 tons from Sumatra, Johore, &c. (worth 

 together probably £900,000)'; while it is esti- 

 mated that in 1912 Ceylon may give 3,000 tons 

 (worth at 3s 6d per lb., say £1,170,000), the 

 Malay States 7,500 tons (worth £2,925,000), and 

 all Southern Asia perhaps 12,000 lo 13,000 tons 

 (£5, 070, 000). t I submit these figures, how- 

 ever, with some diffidence, as it i3 very difficult 

 to know what additions Sumatra, Java, North- 

 Borneo, as well as Southern India and Burmah 

 may make to the exports of the two chief plant- 

 ing countries, and also whether the price (now 

 5s) will keep up to 3s 6d per lb. Be it noted, 

 however, that the Ceylon and Malay States 

 planters are 



PREPARED TO FACE MUCH LOWER PRICES ) 



for their product can be turned out for Is a lb. 

 — indeed, Company reports have shown a cost 

 so low as 9yd. £ In a financial paper a few days 

 ago, it was wrongly stated that plantation rub- 

 ber could not be grown at less than Is 6d per 

 lb., whereas wild rubber, costing Is 8d, could 

 be supplied for less if the necessity arose. This 

 remains to be seen ; for another authority de- 

 clares it costs 2s 6d a lb. to bring Amazonian 

 rubber to port of shipment. The scare about 



t By the Ceylon Observer of March 15th, I see that Mr 

 Corruthers, the best authority in the Malay States, has 

 stated that 00,000 acres were planted there with rubber 

 last year, and that the total planted now is 210,000 acres, 

 , f7,irii),ouu rubber trees, or an average of 151 per acre. If so, 

 Ceylon has been outstripped ; for I scarcely thinls the total 

 of planted rubber in the latter can exceed 210,000 acres 

 at the middle of this year. But these increases do not 

 affect the calculation as to the position in 1912, so far as 

 exports and values are concerned. For the first quarter of 

 this year, the exports of rubber from Malaya and Ceylon 

 are much in excess uf same period last year. Mr Carru- 

 i hers also mentions that the Malay States have now 112,000 

 acres planted with coconuts. 



I A Remarkable Dividend.— An interesting annual re- 

 port—that of the Korossa Rubber Co., Limited, has just 

 reached us from Ceylon. This company possesses twenty 

 acres only in bearing and '26 acres of young rubber, The 

 issued capital is £6,000, and the company pays, from the 

 profits made since the inception of the company, 21 per 

 cent, dividend in its second year. Surely this is a record, 

 and should provide food for thought for investors who 

 have doubts as to the potentialities of the industry. We 

 know of no parallel case where twenty acres in bearing 

 have paid suoh a handsome dividend on the whole of the 



