t92 THE TEOPICAL 
atlve of Renter's Agency.— Chiistnias Island, 
which is situated in the Indian Ocean, is 220 
miles from the nearest land, and is some 12 
miles long by sev'en broad. It is covered with 
dense forest, having an area of nearly 50 
miles, and the sea depth aronnd its shores 
is between three and four miles. There is 
no good anchorage, but only an open road- 
stead When Sir John' Murray was on the 
island there were 13 whites, including a doctor, 
a chemist, and an engineer, living there 
with their families, together with 720 Indian 
coolies engaged in working the rich phosphate 
deposits. The animals and plants on the 
island are of extreme interest. The whole 
place is overrun with curious red crabs as 
much as 18 inches across. They are excellent 
tree climbers, and once a year there is a re- 
gular migration of these crustaceans, who 
travel in bodies like ants, taking 15 days on 
the journey, and returning inland after hatch- 
ing their eggs. There are only five mammals 
on the island, including two species of rat 
not known elsewhere. They are of two colours, 
those on the plateau being l)rowu, while 
those nearer the coast are black, and in order 
to k( ep them down a number' of terriers have 
been imported. On the island are alsp to be 
found a toothless snake and a blind snake 
mvich like a worm. In exploring the island 
Sir John Murray had to cut a track through 
the dense forest until he reached ine central 
plateau at an altitude of 1,000 feet, where 
travelling was not so difdcult. One night he 
got lost "in the forest, and had to subsist on 
the tops of sago palms, which he cut down. 
The island is iinder the Straits Settlements 
Government, and a resident magistrate has 
just been despatched thither from Singapore, 
together with an official of the Public Works 
Department, a scientific commission, and a 
force of police, 35 in all. They will select 
sites for the administrative buildings to be 
erected on the island. The climate is perfect, 
like a hot English summer, and prior to the 
British annexation no human being is sup- 
posed to have lived on the island.— London 
Tivies, April 1. 
ElTBBER FROM THE HULE PLANT IN 
MEXICO. 
A process for estractiDg rubber from the Hule plant 
Was diseovered about a year ago by a Mexican doctor 
residing in Sierra Mojado. This plant, which contains 
^about forty per cent of rubber, grows in the moun- 
tainous district of Mexico, as well as in certain 
localities of Texas, Wyoming and Nebraslia. It is a 
species of sage bush, with small leaves and grows 
to a height of about three 3 feet. A patent on the 
process has been taken out in the United States of 
Mexico, and a manufacturing nlant has been located 
at yan Luis, Potosi. All the" machinery for use 
in extracting the rubber has been invented and pa- 
tented in both countries by the Monterey Foundry 
and Manufacturing Company, Monterey, The principal 
Bteps in the process of manufacture are as follows : 
—There a*e special machines which feed the plant 
automatically into the cutters ; after it comes out of 
the machines, it is carried by a bucket eleva,tor and 
dumped into steam-jacketed mixing tanks containing 
certain chemicals ; the product then runs by .gravity 
into Ijydraulic filter presses after which it is sub- 
jected to hydrostatic pressure of seventy-five pounds 
te the Square inch ; it in thea conveyed iato set- 
AGRICULTURIST. ^Mav 1, 1901. 
tling tacks where the gum being heavier settles 
at the bottom, while the chemicals and residue are 
drawn off. The cost of production is slight. The 
principal difficulty to be overcome is the high freight 
rate, a box-car being quickly filled on account of the 
lightness and bulkiness of the plant.— /jjcZjo. Ituhher 
Trades' Journal. 
A GOOD BUNCH OP BANANAS. 
A correspondent writes :— The enclosed is a Banana 
grown in my garden. Will you kindly give me your 
opinoa about it '> I cannot find any so large in 
the fruitsrsrs' shops about here. The bunch weighs 
57 lb. I cannot count the number of fruits nearer 
than 160. The enclosed is not one of the largest 
fruits. — J. J. 
[The fruit sent by our subscriber tasted remark- 
ably well, having a rich mellow flavour ; and his 
bunch certainly shows good culture. Many larger 
bunches of fruit, however, are known, and we would 
refer " J. J." to the " Impney " bunch, which, so 
far as we know, is a record one, whose weight was 
one hundred and fourteen pounds (exactly double 
the weigkt of " J. J.'.s") and contained 283 
" fingers." See Journal of Horticulture for May 26th, 
1S98, where an illustration of the " Impney " bunch 
is given.— Ed.]— JoMrnaZ o/ Horticulture, March 21. 
CAPE TO CAIRO. 
COFFEE-PLANTING IN NYASSALANU. 
(From The Daib/ Tclerjraph Comniissioner, Mr 
Lionel Decle.) 
This territory of the British Chartered Com- 
pany owes its ioiportauce as a Colony to coffee- 
planting, Avhich is yearly assuininp; more im- 
portance, and Nyassaiand colt'ee is of so superior 
a quality that it commands tlie highest price on 
the London market, where it has fetched treble 
the sum paid for Brazil coffee. There are in 
Nyassaland about 10,000 acres of laud 
UNDER COFFEE, 
oil of which is not, however, in bearing ; ana the 
last crop is estimated at 1,100 tons, an enor- 
mous amount if one considers thnt the plantations 
date only from ten years back. The industry 
traces its origin to Mr Buchanan, a (Scotch 
gardener attached to the Blanryre Mission, who 
brought out from Scotland a cofi'ee plant, and it 
is almost exclusively from this single plant that 
all the millions of coffee trees planted in the 
country have come. Land can only be procured 
now either from private holders or else from the 
Government. Uncultivated land can be purchased 
from the former at prices ran.ging from balf-a- 
crown to 10s per acre, and from the Government 
at 5s to 7s per acre. Laud under coffee ranges 
from £7 to £20 per acre for estates of 200 acres 
or more. An estate was recently sold for £6,000. 
It consisted of 300 acres of land under coffee, with 
1,700 acres of forest land, with houses, buildings 
and machinery. All the planters with whom I 
have discussed the subject seem to agree upon the 
point that a small plantation of 150 acres will 
pay better if thoroughly cultivated than a 
plantation of 300 acres or more, on account of 
the labour conditions and of the difficulty of 
securing sufficient skilled assistance. Under this 
heading are included planters, sowers and pruners, 
aa well as carpenters and bricklayers. Most of 
the skilled labour is supplied by the Ya, and in a 
smaller proportion by the Atonga, tribes, Un- 
