700 
THE TROPICAL A&IilCtTLTtJRlST. fApRiL 1, 1903. 
AN EXPERIMENT STATION FOR INDIA. 
SOME LESSONS FROM AND FOR CEYLON. 
{From a correspondent.) 
The article in thelndian Planting and Garden- 
ing, just to hand, by Mr Harold H Mann, is 
one likely to attract attention in. Indian circles 
and it is hoped that the Government will see their 
way to encourage the establishment of one or 
more Experiment Stations in the districts men- 
tioned. The power of au Experiment Station 
with an agricultural people is very great and 
were it not for their existence in America, West 
Indies and Germany the vegetable economic pro- 
ducts mentioned by Mr Mann would still have a 
very limited distribution. 
The experimental cultivation of new products, 
the improvement in modes of cultivation and 
manufacture of products already existing, and the 
preparation of standard samples of products fre- 
quently adulterated, are subjects of vital impor- 
tance to all planters and can only be dealt with by 
Government in places established for the purpose. 
It is a matter for congratulation to the people 
of this colony that Sir West Ridgeway has grant- 
ed an Experiment Station, to be controlled by a re- 
cognised scientific staff of workers and assisted by 
some of our most prominent representatives of the 
Planters' Association. The constitution of 
THE EXPEKIMENT STATION AT PEBADENIYA, 
the organisation of the staff and the work already 
in hand on the newly-acquired grounds, some 
550 acres in extent, might very profitably be con- 
sidered by cur Indian friends. H E the Governor 
in his last annual speech informed us that Mr 
Herbert Wright had been appointed Controller 
of the Experiment Station and that a Committee 
comprising Messrs J C Willis, J B Carruthers, E E 
Green, M Kelway Bamber, the Hon Messrs E Ros- 
ling, Joseph Campbell, and S N W Hulugallaand 
Messrs J Fraser, T C Huxley and Edgar Turner, 
together with the Controller, had been formed. A 
stronger Committee could hardly be appointed and 
the Colony may confidently leave the future of 
Agriculture in their hands. There are several 
POINTS WHICH OUGHT TO BE CAREFULLY WATCHED 
lest the work turned out from the Experiment 
Station lack the fullness and vitality which we know 
Mr Herbert Wright would wish it to have. The 
first point, mentioned by Mr Mann, is that an 
Experiment Station is not a revenue-making 
place. Certainly nothing should be wasted, but, on 
the other hand, Government should be well 
aware of the fact that, in establishing new 
products or improving tiie old, many futile ex- 
periments must be made and these cost often large 
sums of money. Further, many experiments similar 
' to those carried outatRothamstead cannot possibly 
give any return in money to the station, but the 
agricultuial community are placed in possession of 
knowledge which allows them to get more from 
their laud and resist the ravages of insects and 
fungi in an intelligent manner. 
A second point is re the subject of new products, 
It is a matter of 
COMMON KNOWLEDGE THAT PRODUCTS COME 
AND GO 
and the past few years have convinced us that 
lea is by no means sure of staying long. Cacao is 
becoming diseased in .'ill ]jarts of the island and 
oardamoms, citronella, cinnamon, and many other 
products appear to be passing through stages 
familiar to those who have seen coffee bloom and 
fade away. In our opinion the Experiment Sta- 
tion should see that at least a J acre plot of e very 
tropical product be established to show the plant- 
ers what will grow and how best to grow it. 
Planters cannot afford to speculate on these pro- 
ducts and it is a duty of Government to see that the 
estate in Ceylon is developed to the utmost. New 
products we must have and there are plenty 
w hich have never yet been scientifically cultivated 
in Ceylon. 
We have heard from several planters of the work 
which is being carried on at the Experiment- 
Station and though we must be patient and wait 
unil the old cacao estate has been transformed into 
its proper form we should 
LIKE TO SEE SOMETHING DONE WITH CACAO 
at an early date. No better place could be chosen 
for experiments with cacao and as Mr Wright 
knows, there is plenty of work to be done re- 
fungicides and modes of attacking the cacao 
canker, with shade trees and wind belts, in 
methods of curing and fermenting and in manurial 
work in general. 
The first annual report issued from the Station 
should prove interesting and until it arrives 
further comment is scarcely required. 
A MEXICAN RUBBER GROWER 
SPEAKS REGARDING PROFITS. 
£15,000 A Year in the 7th Year tbom lOO.OOf 
Trees. 
Having planted and watched the growth of 
several hundred thousand trees for the past four 
years-aud a-halt and having devoted much attention 
to the preparation of rubber in a series of experi- 
ments extending over the last three years, some 
marketable results I have obtained may be of 
interest to those who have taken up the rubber 
industry in Mexico. I may be permitted to state 
that my property is not in the market and that I 
can have no interest in deceiving myself. Twoyears 
ago, I sent a sample shipment of Mexican rubber 
prepared by myself from trees growing on the 
estate to the leading firm of rubber brokers in 
London, Messrs, Lewis & Peat. The rubber was 
valued at three shillings and nine pence, the best 
Para being then four shillings and two pence per 
pound. The quality was reported as excellent. 
This — I was informed — was the first sample of good 
marketable rubber ever sent from Mexico to 
London. Last year, when in London, I had sent 
me from the plantation a sample of rubber from 
three-yenr-old trees. The trees were only very 
lightly tapped, but sufiicient rubber was obtained 
ta enable me to present a sample on which a 
quotation could be made. It was valued by the 
same firm of brokers at two shillings and eight 
pence, and pronounced thoroughly marketable. I 
do not present this as a precedent to be followed, 
but it is interesting as showing that even at the 
early stage of the tree's growth, clean and careful 
preparation will produce a rubber which commands 
a price considerably over that yielded by mature 
trees when ignorantly and slovenly bandied. I 
am now sending off a large sample shipment of 
rubber to London, prepared by an improved 
method (my own) which I, perhaps conceitedly, 
believe to be the finest rubber ever sent out of 
Mexico, and which will, I have no doubt, fetch the 
highest price next to best Para. 
