Gums, Resins. 



[June 1907. 



meteorology of those islands prior to the cultivation of rubber in Mergui, or whether 

 such phenomena have begun to manifest themselves only subsequent to the estab- 

 lishment of the industry, are questions which are interesting at this juncture. 



Let us now turn to a brief review of the more hopeful work done on private 

 estates. About the time that the Mergui plantations were started, a retired pilot, 

 residing in Moulmein, obtained from the Government the lease of a patch of land 

 in the Amherst District and partially planted it up with Hevea, This gentleman 

 died recently ; but before his death he experimentally tapped 300 of the oldest trees 

 on the estate and realised a profit of Rs. 2,000/ — (£133'6'S sterling). It remains to be 

 noted that this plantation is situated on a sub-soil of hard laterite, which is admitted- 

 ly none the best for the perfect development of the species. The results obtained 

 are, therefore, encouraging. Again, a wealthy Chinaman, a merchant in Rangoon, 

 owns 5,000 acres of waste land at Twante. Three years ago he opened out 800 

 acres with Hevea rubber. The majority of the plants are below 10 feet in height, 

 but the few which have grown better give promise of gpod development in the 

 future- This plantation has been heard of in Eugland whence an offer of 

 £80,000 has been recently made for it; but it is said that the owner wants 

 £100,000, and such is the boom in rubber and rubber laud that there seems to 

 be every probability of his obtaining the price he asks. A German firm in the 

 Rangoon export trade owns nearly 5,000 acres on the banks of the Sittang River, in 

 the Shwegyin District. It began work about two years ago and has already opened 

 out a Hevea plantation of something like 2,000 acres. The concern is being managed 

 by a Ceylon planter and is likely to result in a commercial success, as the average 

 height of the majority of the older plants is already 20£'fc, Besides this large plant- 

 ation, there are two smaller ones in the same district that are owned and worked by 

 private individuals, — the one a Burman and the other a Eurasian. 



On the Karen Hills that rise to the east of the railway from Rangoon to 

 Mandalay, the Karens have for many years been cultivating the Ceara rubber tree 

 (Manihot Glaziovii). The species flourishes on the lower hills, but from ignorance 

 in the methods of tapping it, and the present depreciation in the value of its rubber, 

 the industry has of late declined. At the feet of the same range of hills and 

 opposite the little town of Yedashe, near Toungoo, a German gentleman last year 

 opened a Hevea plantation of 20 acres which he intends extending shortly. The 

 plants here are only one year old, but are already 15ft. high. Farther up the 

 railway line, at a distance of about 26 miles from Toungoo, a Hevea plantation of 

 200 acres was started last year by a party of Eurasians. Twenty acres were cleared, 

 and planted in the rains in June and July. Many of the plants are already seven 

 feet high. The estate is situated in an alluvial trough, or pocket, occuring near the 

 banks of the Swachoung, which is a tributary of the Sittang River. Besides these 

 plantations others are in course of being opened out near the tin mines at Maliwun 

 and elsewhere on the mainland of Tenasserim as well as on some of the islands lying 

 off that coast. 



All these Hevea estates have been planted with seed imported from planta- 

 tions of the species in Ceylon. They stand upon land that has been obtained by 

 lease from the Government, who are evidently much in earnest about encouraging 

 the cultivation of rubber in the Province. Under the special notification that has 

 been recently issued to meet the requirements of the industry in Burma, land to the 

 extent of 1,000 acres, iu each case, is leasable for the purpose from the Deputy Com- 

 missioner of the District, Leases of larger areas require the sanction of the local 

 Government and, if very large, that of the Government of India. The land is 

 usually granted on a thirty years' lease and is exempt from taxation for the first 

 twelve years ; and after this, it is to be assessed at no higher rate than that 

 prevailing at the time in the district in which the estate is situated for the better 



