ilO THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [Aug. 1, 1899. 
activity — are apt to stray near the border line where 
honesty ends and sharp practice {or worse) begins. 
It is a pity that the tea trade should be exploited 
by so many adventurers. They would have no chance, 
of course, if the public were not easily gullible, 
often being induced by peculiar ' forms of advertise- 
ment ' to purchase inferior tea at a price far in 
excess of its value." 
Tka in Holland. — The Dutch have not hitherto 
proved themselves large consumers of tea, but the 
popularity of the "cup that cheers" in other 
countries has given additional zest to it in Holland. 
As a result there is an increasing demand for 
Java tea in the Netherlands. In 1893 the imports 
of tea from Java amounted to 67,361 chests, while 
from China only 3,346 chests were received. Ac- 
cording to Mr. Robinson, the British Consul at 
Amsterdam, the average price of Ihe Java article 
in 1898 was 5 4-5d per lb, There were consider- 
able fluctuations during the year — H. and C, Mail., 
June 9. 
IMDIA RUBBER IN FRENCH AFRICA. 
(Translated for the " Ceylon Observer " and 
''Tropical Agriculturist" f^-om the " Bevue ties 
Cultures Coloniales for May 1S99.) 
Tnefe have been introduced into Africa, trees 
furnishing excellent Caoutchouc. Those v^'ho in- 
troduced them thought they would compensate 
for the irrational destruction of the (lianes) 
fcreepers as carried on by natives. The follow- 
ing are the kinds introduced : — 
Manihot Glaziovii (the Ceara rubber tree). 
Ma7ii(;oba (little known, but allied to Ceara.) 
Castilloa elastica. (from Colombia). 
Hevect brasiliensis (gives the kind known as 
Para). 
These trees grow well on the Western coast, but 
it is quite a question whether colonists should 
be advised to start plantations of these only, 
just at present. M. Chalot, Director of the 
Experimental Garden of Librevill has made a 
series of experiments with Manihot trees, aged 
six or seven years. The results, so far, are not 
conclusive, whether as to yield or method of 
collection ; where they had expected one kilo- 
gramme of coagulated latex, they have only ob- 
tained 600 gr. ; the value of the raw material 
laeing 3 fr. 60 c, in place of 6 francs as estimated, 
and the expense of harvesting had been much 
greater than w as anticipated. Until now, they 
have been able to arrive at no conclusions as to 
the suitable soils, time for harvesting, &c. To get 
these, it wiil be necessary to collect information 
from pri v ate sources. Meanwhile it seems to us. 
that a plantation of Caoutchouc would imply 
too tedious a sinking of capital, as there would 
probably be a waiting of 10 or 12 years involved. 
If an owner of plantations would put in belts 
of Indiarubber amongst coffee or cacao, perhaps 
as boundaries or as shade trees, the experimerit 
could be ca.n-ied on at small cost. So, also, if 
foresters holding a concession, would put in 
young rubber plants, in the cleared portions- 
getting these plants from the Experimental Gar- 
dens—and employing only bands of children for 
the work, they could at small cost help in use- 
ful experiments. 
CULTIVATION OF RUBBER CREEPERS (lianes). 
Would the cultivation of these be possible, it 
has been asked. In 1893 I asked that experi- 
ments in these might be made in the Garden at 
Libreville, but no information has been given. 
There nrt; ia tliv plantations of Aachuka a certain 
number planted as a hedge, .said to be in good 
condition. Better still, I heard, there is a M. 
Lacour, who has in the Kasai a plantation of 
200,000 stumps of Landolphia. When was this 
plantation started? I have asked M. Merlin, 
General Secretary of the Congo, to answer several 
questions about this I have since learnt 
tliat the estate is only three years old. 
If it is a qusetion of creepers— these must be 
cultivated in a horizontal and not vertical direction, 
lest one should run against theotherand cause great 
difficulty of harvesting — weather by incision or by 
cutting down trees. If by incision, one ought 
not to have to use ladders. ' Perhaps to solve the 
question of how to harvest, it would be well to 
follow the natives into the jungle for some days, 
noting carefully their methods and the quantity 
of vegetables used, the quantity of latex collected 
by one man, the distance covered and the means 
of transport used. The black man does not calcu- 
late his time or his food Should we not have 
to replace the plantain leaf in whicli the latex 
is collected by the native, by the earthenware 
vases provided with clamps that are used in the 
Gironde, for the collection of resin ; and in place 
of the saucepan they use, .should we not take a 
larger vessel and perhapis use acids, even if these 
are natural ones, made on the .spot ? 
Finally we scarcely think our colonists could 
make a profitable industry out of rubber as 
things now stand. Perhaps it might be best to 
follow as near as may be the methods of collec- 
tion of the natives if the trade is to be even 
profitable. But then the question of the des- 
truction of the creepers and trees comes in and 
I would suggest that just as in some French 
departments a certain sum is annually set apart 
for re-foresting the hills and mountains, so here 
an agent for agriculture be employed to dis- 
tribute plants and secure cultivation. He would 
not be content with simply collecting and des- 
patching seed, but would see it well packed 
and planted ; and once planted up, the lands 
Would be regarded as communal forest and 
be hired or leased out at so much per 
tree, whether to Europeans or to natives. 
Another system has lately been put into prac- 
tice in the Congo State. Inspectors of forests 
have been started, who are always moving about. 
Their work is not to forbid the cutting down of 
rubber creepers, but to oblige the chiefs, or village 
headmen to preserve a certain number of the 
fruits, which the nativ'es used to eat, and to sow 
the seeds in the forest. Already many chiefs 
have come and announced their intention of so 
doing and the places have been marked where 
this was being done. The Belgians foresaw that 
their export would soon diminish, as has already 
been the case with Netherlands India. The nativ^e 
in Africa has further to be instructed in the 
preparation of the latex. They boil it, add some 
natural juices and earth, stones and woody fibres, 
and this product is of a lower value by 4 or o 
francs. The natives of the province of Para 
also coagulate by heat, but their process is in 
itself excellent. Into the vessels which contain 
the latex they plunge a wooden spatula which 
they afterwards expose over a hot fire of odorous 
planters. The spatula then goes and comes, from 
a hot fire to the vessel, and the latex coagulates 
in thin layers closed up and from which all 
humidity is driven away. This suppresses ulterior 
fermentations and prevents the disagreeable odour 
which comes from African stocks. In native Africa 
they use sometimes natural acids (native sorrel 
lemon juice). The process is excellent, but there 
is always the mixture of various juices and of 
foreign bodies. The native, then, must, be taught 
that it is to his advantage to produce the best 
possible latex and that he must cause to coagulate 
rapidly the latex obtained from one single rariety 
of creeper, the Landolphia is the best. 
