706 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
Guttapercha. — There has been no demand for this during the year, and it is doubtful if it will 
ever be taken up by private planters. 
Fibre. — There has been a small demand for sisal hemp and other fibre plants, but there seems 
no prospect at present of any one seriously engaging in the cultivation of any new fibres in Ceylon. 
The palm fibres have been mentioned above. 
Cinchona. — The Assistant Director reports as follows: — 
The export shows a further decrease, being 510,462 lb., against 618,921 lb. last year. 
There has been an increased demand for information relating to the various hybrids and the 
conditions of successful cultivation, and an unusually large amount of seed has been pur- 
chased (chiefly abroad) and planted during the year. Specimens of various kinds of barks 
from different localities in Ceylon were obtained, and these will be worked out in Europe by M. 
Reimers, who is devoting himself to the study of chemical and botanical questions in cinchona. 
Camphor. — This product has come much into prominence during the year as a possible paying 
adjunct to tea in many districts. The bulk of the world's supply at present comes from Formosa, 
and a monopoly has now been established by the Government of Japan, resulting in a rise and a 
steadying of the price of crude camphor, which is now from 185 to 200 shillings per cwt. At this 
price there seems a fair prospect of a paying return, now that it is certain that camphor can be 
distilled from the leaves and twigs of quite young trees. It must, however, be remembered that 
what can be done here can also be done in Japan, and probably at least as cheaply. The plant 
succeeds well in many districts of Ceylon, from sea-level to 6,000 feet ; its cultivation is easy, and 
there is no great difficulty or expense involved in cropping and distillation. A series of distillation 
experiments have been carried on by the Chemist in the latter part of the year, with varying but 
fairly promising results. When completed, a circular will be published giving all details as to 
planting, harvesting, distillation, &c. 
Tobacco. — Much attention has been given to this product also in the past year, but the problems 
in hand will require many years for solution. While at present this industry is fairly prosperous 
and profitable, there is great risk of overproduction when the new railway and irrigation works 
come into operation and the Vanni country, which contains much land suited to tobacco, is opened 
up. The market for Ceylon tobacco is confined to Ceylon and parts of South India, and may easily 
be flooded. With the aid of the Chemist and of native cultivators and others experiments have been 
begun to test the qualities of our tobaccos and the soils on which they grow, and to see whether 
Ceylon (like South India) cannot grow something marketable in Europe, thus enlarging the demand 
and enabling more land to be profitably opened. That Ceylon should grqw first-rate cigar or wrapper 
tobaccos is unlikely, but there seems no reason why it should not produce a good filler, which may 
be wrapped in Sumatra or Borneo leaf. The seeds of Cuban and other tobaccos distributed last year 
to native growers in the Northern Province and elsewhere mostly cropped fairly well, though in the 
Peradeniya Gardens and in the Central Province they were almost completely destroyed by a grub 
described in the Entomologist's report. The crop, however, was not appreciated for the local market, 
as it was lighter and less pungent than the coarse native kinds. Probably for the formation of an 
export trade in tobacco some form between the two will prove best suited for cultivation. 
Oils. — Cinnamon and cocoanut oils have been mentioned above. There has been a decrease 
in the export of citronella oil from 1,478,756 lb. in 1899 (the largest recorded) to 1,409,058 lb. 
The price of this product, in consequence of overproduction, adulteration, and foreign competition, 
continues to fall, and is now barely remunerative, and the industry, one of the most important minor 
ones in the Island, is in a depressed state. The plumbago " boom" took away many of the workers 
for some time, but this is noAv over. The Java planters have lately embarked in this industry, and 
by careful selection and distillation have begun to place upon the market an oil which is far superior 
to the Ceylon oil, and which fetches a much higher price. This will lead to a further fall in the 
price of the Ceylon oil unless new markets can be opened, which seems unlikely, or the quality of the 
oil improved. With this in view the Director and Chemist have made diiring the year a thorough 
investigation upon the spot into the industry, and a full report will be published during 1901. The 
general condition of the industry affords a striking parallel to that of tea, but is distinctly worse. 
Fruit. — The supply of fruit plants has been kept up as well as possible to meet the increasing 
demand for them. This demand, however, is merely for planting round bungalows, and there has 
been little or no planting on any large scale. Interesting notes on certain fruits will be found in the 
reports of the two principal gardens. 
Fodders. — T^ri folium Johnsonii, mentioned in last year's report, has now proved a complete 
failure at Hakgala. 
