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THE TEOPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [Aug. 1, 1899. 
RUBHER-YIFJLDING TREES IN THE 
FRENCH SOUDAN. 
In the Revue des Cultures Coloniales of 
June 5, 1899, we find ;in article on "Tlie P2x- 
ploitatiouof Caoutchoucin the French Soudan" 
wliich gives very recent new.s and sliows 
how the French are now setting to work to 
make a wise iise of their colonies. We 
give a special translation of the summary 
referred to : — 
" We have received from Kayes the following 
interesting particulars :— The Governor of Soudan 
some time ago empowered a technical Commis- 
sion to investigate in S. Soudan the Caoutchoue 
bearing zone, particularly as to the density of 
the growth of the rubber-bearing plants, the 
quality of the latex and the native methods of 
extraction. The sittings have now ended, and M. 
Hamet, the head of the Commission, lias just given 
in information, from which it is evident that any 
undertakings for exploiting rubber in the Soudan 
are bound to be very profitable and that there 
is room in the Soudan for nitany such under- 
^'^Tliemibtaers were originally collected there under 
the auspices and under the control of the French 
military who gatliered it partly as a tax and 
tried by this means on the one hand to prove to 
the natives the value of the exploitation and on 
the other laand to cause this Soudan product to be 
known in the European market. The rubber has 
gained a standing in the European market and 
often ranks after the rubber imported from Cen- 
tral America or even compares favourably ^vith 
it. It was bought on the European marliets 
atfr. 6'.50 orfr. 7 orfr.7'.50 andthepurchaserswould 
still' have freights, &c., to meet; and the price 
has risen of late. No trouble has been spared to 
secuie the increase in value of the article. 
Schools of Agriculture have been started at 
Kouroussa to which natives from different rubber- 
growing districts come to learn the riglit methods 
for coagulation, &c. 
M. Hamet also says "the Soudan rubbers com- 
pare favorably with those of the Belgian Congo, 
having all their purity, resistance and nerve and 
they also have greater resistance to heat." 
M. Hamet and his co-w-orkers have been study- 
ing the different kinds of milk-bearing plants 
niSive to Soudan : artocarpit?, genus ficus, eu- 
phorbiac*, apocynacee, &c. , , , . „ , 
It is one of these latter, a Landolphia (hendo- 
litic senegalensis) called, commonly lianc goi 
or Qohive, that gave the results refei-red to above. 
This creeper is one of the shrubs most abundant 
in the south of the Soudan. In places visited by 
the mission, its density attained to 100 to 150 
Blants to the hectare (about 2i acres) 40 of the 
nlants being very stout— rather thicker than a 
man's arm. These (8 or 10 years old) may give 
8 to 10 gallons of latex a year. When the latex 
from this plant (the gohive creeper) is examined, 
savs M Hamet, one can see from the coagula- 
tion that it consists of two parts :— (1st) the liquid 
containing the rubber proper with albuminoid 
matter and a vegetable wax; (2nd) the serum 
which contains the constituent water, mmeral 
matters and azotized matters which the rapid 
fermentation of the latex carries off before any 
foasrulation takes place. On the other hand, these 
matters imprisoned in the bitter waters tend to 
deteriorate the rubber. It is these fermentable 
acents that it is absolutely necessary to destroy 
either before or during the coagulation. 
These two operations are eilected by the one 
stroke by using fluoride of sodium,— antiseptic and 
very strong in the proportion of 2% of the weight 
of the latex. , ^ / ■ ; ? ; 
Other antiseptics, auch rs formo/, f/mrol, salol 
(icid thymic aua uwmoniacal acid do iiot^coagulute, 
M. Hamet has tried coagulation of this plant 
by the different processes in use in the country : 
First meclihanical ; second by heat ; third by smok- 
ing ; fourth by cliemical agents ; fifth by decoc- 
tions of native plants. The yield of rubber has 
been independent of tlie process employed ; prac- 
tically, it li.is varied from 28 to '.i'Z per cent. All 
the methods tried liave given excellent results, 
specially the two last. Amongst the chemical 
agents employed must be signalized chloryhy<lric, 
sulphuric, oxalic and citric acid, marine salt, 
chloride of aluminium and finally ammoniacal and 
cliloroliydric acid togetlier. Finally, tlie native 
plants tliat have given equally good results are : 
the (jiwina, llie do, the wild sorrel, sowio, lemons 
or limes and the tamarind. They have been 
used in decoctions which have been left to lie 
for a night and been filtered througli a cloth the 
next day, then warmed u]) to boiling point before 
being used. Tlie experiments have been made on 
aseptized latex and liave brouglit about tlie coa- 
gulation of a ruhber of very first quality. 
But we must remark tbat, even treated by 
natives and witliout first being aseptized and 
with deco'jtions of plants of the country, the 
latex of i lie goliiva has given a I'ubber tliat fetclies 
four to five fr. at Kouroussa. 
M. Hamet sums up and concludes by afTirm- 
ing tliat the rabber furnished by the Soudan, 
esp3cially the South, is of excellent quality, that 
the methods of collecting prevalent should be 
continued ; that they are simple and easy even 
for children who go into the brushwood to col- 
lect it and that experiments fire being made in 
the agronomic stations for the multiplication of 
plants. 
THE COOKG PLANTERS' ASSOCIATION. 
The following are from Proceedings of tlie 
Annual CTeneral Meeting of the Cnorg Planters' 
Association, held at the North Coorg Club, on 
the I'-t uliinio :— 
Crop. — Tl;e coffee crop just g.-ithercd was one of 
the best the country has given for Eome vpars; but, 
unfortunately, the poor quality of the ccffee, owiug 
to the season, and the great drop in prices, owing to 
the large Central American and Brazil productions, 
has cieprived us, to a great extent, of the benefit of 
the good crop. The price of native coffee was also ex- 
tremely low, and hrge areas have been abaadoned 
by the natives and have gone out of cultivation. The 
oiScial returns of the coffee crop for 1897 98 were 
2,500 tons against 2,030 tons for 1896-97, and this 
year, in spite ■ f the decrease of native, coffee should 
shovi' a substantial increase. Next year the prospects 
are almost universally poor, and a gre.at deal of 
damage is reported to have been done by abnormally 
heavy rain iu April. However, we can only hope 
for better quality and better prices. Mr. Cameron, 
whose services were so kindly lent by the Mysore 
Darbar, made tour of these coffee districts during 
November, and delivered two very interesting and 
instructive lectures at Mercara and Pollibetta, a 
report of which has been printed and circulated, and 
has also been sent to the U. P. A. S. I., and will 
doubtless form a subject for discussion at the next 
Meeting. Our best thanks are due to Mr. Cameron 
f n- the trouble he took, and for his very able and 
instructive lectures, and to the Mysore Durbar for 
lending his services. 
Tea. — About 50 acres have been planted by Mr. 
Parsons during the year, but, owing to small plants 
being put out, the clearing was not so successful as 
it might have been. This industry is being watched 
with great interest. 
CiN'cnoNA. — Owing to the rise in the price of this 
pro'luct," increased interest has been given to the 
hitherto-neglected cinchona trees, and several lots of 
bark bavo been sent Home for sale.— J/. Mail. 
