176 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
[Sept. 1, 1900. 
to compete on advantageous terms with the great 
BUgar-produoing districts in America, the West Indies 
and Mauritius, which are all situated at a much 
greater distance from any source of cheap labour supply 
and which all have a local "gold" standard. It is 
difficult to deal with this subject without some 
allusion, to the vexed question of currency, 
but it is probable, if not certain, that the most 
earnest advocates of bi-metallism, or of an exclusively 
gold standard, would admit that the depreciation in 
the exchange value of silver has hitherto had the effect 
of reducing the rates of wages and local commodities 
in those countries having a silver standard, as com- 
pared with those in which the standard is based on gold. 
COFFEE. 
Among European planters only those connected with 
the sugar industry have been successful, as the price 
of Li berian coffee, the chief agricultural product hither- 
to cultivated by Europeans, has been low throughout 
the year, although it improved towards the end, the 
price ranging from |16 per pikul (133 pounds) in July 
to $20'50 per pikul in December. 
GOTTA AND KUBBBR. 
The attention of planters has been drawn to the 
great demand for gutta and rubber, and a portion of 
nearly all estates owned by Europeans is now being 
planted with trees producing rubber. The variety 
usually cultivated is Para (Eevea hrasiliensis), but con- 
siderable numbers of Rambong trees (Ficus clastica) 
are also being planted and, having regard to the in- 
sect and other pests which almost invariably attack 
exotic plants with special virulence, it is not unlikely 
that Rambong, a hardly indigenous tree, will even- 
tuallv be preferred to Para, a tree imported from 
Brazil. Special attention was called by the Secretary 
of State, when forwarding copies of correspondence 
with the Director of the Royal Gardens at Kew, to the 
importance of preserving and cultivating the trees 
yielding Gutta Percba in the Malay Peninsula. It would 
appear that there are only two trees which yield the 
true Gutta Peroha, and these are locally kuown 
as Tahaii and Sundek; scientifically iJicliopsis putta 
and Paiiena Icerii. They are both slow-growing trees 
which 5o not come to maturity for at least 30 years, 
and consequently it is scarcely to be expected that 
they will be cultivated to any large extent by private 
individuals ; but Gutta Percha is so valuable, in con- 
nection with submarine cables, that no effort should 
be spared by Government, both to preserve the young 
trees still remaining in our jungles, and to provide 
for planting others in suitable localities. Rubber, 
as distinguished from Gutta, is produced in all tropical 
conntries, and there is therefore no probability of any 
deficiencv in the supply, but true Gutta Percha is said 
to be confined to the Malay Peninsula and Archipelago. 
COCONUTS. 
A controversy was raised, or rather renewed, during 
the year as to the possibility of successfully culti- 
vating sugar and coconuts in the same neighbour- 
hood. The planter of coconuts, especially the native 
planters, contend that the beetles which infest their 
trec.=; are mainly bred in the heaps of cane refuse 
connected with sugar mills. This contention, although 
denied by the sugar planters, probably contains a 
considoia'ble substratum of truth; but, on the other 
hand, the Malay owners of coconut plantations pay 
insufficient attention to the care and cultivation of 
their trees, and neglect many obviouj precau- 
tions figain.^t the attack of beetles. On the 
whole it n;ay bs said that the result of 
the onti-over.sy has heeu to shew that sugar and 
coconut plantations, when both are properly cared 
for can be saocessfully cultivated in the same neigh- 
bourhood ; but that, when owned by Asiatics, it is 
advisable lhat the'-ie two methods of cultivation should 
be kept apart. A more difficult question has been 
to decide 'bBtwcen the relative claims of jjadi and 
sugar pl-xntcfH, especially in the Kvian District. The 
same diiHcription of land is the most suitable for 
both these forms of cultivation; but, unfortunately, 
|he amount of wat^r reijuired for the (jnUivaitipa yt' 
is entirely disproportionate to that required of sugar. 
It has accordingly been necessary, in order to 
protect Malay padi planters, and to ensure the per- 
manency of sufficenc land for the cultivation of 
rice, the one absolutely essentinl article of food 
in the far Bast, to proclaim irrigation areas within 
which the Government reserves the entire control 
and distribution of the supply fo water. The Agri- 
cultural Department of Western Australia has re- 
cently made enquiry as to the possibility of obtaining 
a regular supply of 
BANANAS 
from jlalaya, to supplement the supplies from Ceylon 
and Fiji, and this may afford a new aud profitable 
market for the " catch crops " cultivated by European 
as well as Native planters, while awaiting a return 
from their more permanent agiicultural products. — 
Ojjicial Report. 
STIMULATING THE GERMINATION OF 
TEAK SEED. 
Experiments to accelerate the germination of 
teak seed have been undertaken in various 
divisions of the Bombay Presidency, and with 
excellent results. The teak seeds are placed in 
a shallow pit feet deep, which is afterwards 
filled w^ith water to soak them. Subsequently the 
seeds are kept moist by being watered every 
four days. Seeds so treated show signs of 
germination in another five days. A second ex- 
periment was made in which the seeds were at 
tirst soaked in warm water for 24 hours, and tlie 
Divisional Forest Officer, Surat, Mr. Hodgson, 
writes as follows regarding tlie results obtained : — 
"I consider it would be a waste of time to grow 
seedlings in such a way that they take three 
months to appear above ground, for the seed in- 
variably germinated in 12 to 2i hours in this 
Division by soaking in luke warm water, and 
plants show above ground in a few days." — Indian 
Forester. 
TRADE IN TERMINALIA BELLERICA 
NUTS. 
Mr. G M Ryan, Deputy Conservator of Forests, 
Northern Circle, Bombay, has lately issued a 
memorandum on the subject of Terminalia bel- 
lerica nuts in which he draws attention to a vast 
source of hitherto untapped wealth in the 
Northern Forests of Bombay; for it is difficult to 
believe that the matter has not ali'eady received 
considerable attention elsewhere. Mr. Ryan writes 
as follows :— " A report on the nuts of Termi- 
nalia bellerica, a tree common in all the Thana 
Divisions, was submitted by the Divisional Forest 
Officer, South Thana, in which he showed that 
in 1889 the value of these nuts in the English 
market was reported to be £7 to £8 per ton, a 
price even higher than that of some myrabolams. 
Messrs. Killick Nixon and <fe Co., Bombay, have 
agreed to undertake the shipment of a consign- 
ment of these nuts from India, t« ascertain their 
present value in England. If they (the nuts) 
approaching anything like the price quoted for 
them in 1884, every likelihood presents itself of 
a new source of revenue springing up, tor in 
addition to this Presidency, the Central Provinces 
also, it is found, contain Terminalia bellerica 
in large quantities. The annual export of the 
nuts under favourable conditions would, it is 
estimated, amount to about 1,000 tons from the 
Bombay Presidency alone." 
As Mr. Ryan correctly implies, the Terminalia 
bellerica tree is common in the plains and lower 
hills throughout India and Burmah, and also in 
the Oudh sal forests ; and the fruit has long 
b»^en kaown as one of the myrabolams of com* 
