Aug. 1, 1899.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTUEIST. 93 
which is mine still and tlie few I also put in on 
Kennington were destroyed also. I do not know 
of any others on any estate; I was grieved at 
the destruction. 
The above estate reports can, of course, be 
only taken as indicative of what is going 
on in many other estates in the planting dis- 
tricts. Twelve years ago we estimated 600 
acres wei'e covered with India-rubber trees, 
chiefly Ceara. Last year Mr. Willis estimated 
750 acres of Para, rubber alone ; while our 
Directory returns in August last showed 
an aggregate of 1,071 acres, notwithstanding 
all that had been cleared out of Ceara. With all 
that has since been put out, of Para especially, 
we reckon that these figures may safely be 
increased to 1,500 acres. But we may be told 
that quantity or area does not matter so much 
.as quality, and just as Ceara rubber— so 
nished after at one time — was cast aside in 
Ceylon as well as Java in favour of the 
"Hevea" or Para, so is the latter about to 
be superseded by the Mexican or Gastilloa 
tree. Now in all these conclusions, we think 
too much haste is manifested. We fear, in- 
deed, that tliose who have abandoned even 
Ceara clearings, will live to regret their 
action. We can recall when samples of Ceara 
rubber from Ceylon realized 4s per lb., and 
now that we are on the eve of a revolution 
in the means of " harvesting " the crop, as 
well as of separating the caoutchouc, we 
say that every man who. owns a rubber- 
yielding tree, whatever be the species, ought 
to carefully conserve it. In January, 1898, 
Mr. Willis told the world that the only im- 
portant rubber for Ceylon was the "Para," 
and at the time he was, no doubt, acting up 
to the best light. But a good deal has been 
learned since ; and in his Circular of April 
last, f<acts and figures are given to show that 
preference should be given to the Mexican or 
Panama Castilloa tree. Now we have not 
a word to say against this preference, nor 
do we fail to recognise the special im- 
portance of the invention of Messrs. 
Howard .and Biff en in their " Caoutchouc 
Separator" as still further demonstrated, 
if not improved, by Mr. Hart of Trinidad. 
But while lately compiling from available 
literature for our "All About Rubber" 
Manual, we have been much struck with 
information reproduced in our own Tropical 
Agriculturist so far back as December last, 
which attracted too little attention at the 
time. From it we learn that, among other 
inventions or experimental applications on 
the tapis, is one for extracting caoutchouc 
PROFITABLY PROM THE YOUNG STEMS OF 
RUBBER- YIELDING TREES ; AND WE VEN- 
TURE TO INFER THAT, ULTIMATELY, YOUNG 
TREES OP Ceara, Para or Castilloa 
MAY ALL BE POUND AVAILABLE FOR 
THIS PURPOSE. Surely here we have the ele- 
ments of a great revolution in Rubber culti- 
vation? In case we m.ay be Supposed to write 
without chapter and verse, we refer to the 
article in the Tropical Agrioulturist for Decem- 
ber last entitled " Some Recent Developments 
in Rubber Cultivation," and we quote the 
writer as follows, pi'emising that so far he 
gives the preference to young Castilloa trees:— 
During fi trip of several months through the old 
rubber-producing regions of Central America and 
the northern states of South America, I found a 
great interest in rubber cultivation, and prepara- 
tions were being made to start very considerabl-' 
undertakings, particularly in the British West 
Indies, where tlie fact that rubber never has been 
indigenous to those islands is not considered in the 
entliusiasm of the people. On the island of Trini- 
dad I found tliis enthusiasm increased to a subs- 
tantial boom. Rubber seeds were selling .at five 
cents eacli, and young trees were wanted at fifty 
cents, through ovvners were refusing to sell year- 
old trees about two feet high for less than a dollar 
a piece. It -^vas reported that two English com- 
panies were about to begin operations in Trinidad 
and were proposing to invest a combined capital of 
§5,000,000, wliilc private enterprise \\'onld proba- 
bly brings $2,000,000 more to the island, msiking a 
total of $7,000,000 prospective capital to be invested 
in th.at one locality. Other islands .were becoming 
interested. In Grenada seeds were in demand 
witli tlie prospect that a very considerable acreage 
will be set out. 
Tlie most interesting point under discussion in 
relation to rubber-planting in the British West In- 
dies is a series of experiments now being carried on 
in London and Trinidad, by which it is proposed 
to secure rubber from year-old trees of the Gastil- 
loa elastica. It has been found that seeds sown 
broadcast over a prepai'cd field will yield .an .abun- 
dant crop of young trees, which at about a year old 
can be cut and sent to a factory where, with or- 
dinary machinery operating a simple process, 8 per 
cent, of fine rubber can be extracted from the 
young shoots. This can be done in the laboratory. 
It is claimed that the process is a simple one, that 
but little machinery is necessary, and that in future 
the world's rubber supply will be secured from an 
annual crop of young trees sown on cultivated 
estates, and not fi-om remote forests at present. 
A series of experiments has shown that the 
young tree contains about 8 per cent, of rubber, 
which w ould at present prices return an estimated 
profit of $200 to #400 per acre. The extraction of 
rubber from young shoots has been .accomplished 
chemically in the laboratory, but whether it can be 
.applied to the economic production of ruubber on 
a large scale remains to be seen. 
And then the writer goes on to discuss the 
conditions under which "Castilloa" will 
grow. Every planter and merchant inter- 
ested should read the paper in full, and 
decide whether we may not be on the eve 
of a boom in Rubber planting after the 
fashion of cinchona in the early " eighties " ; 
but, we trust, with better results. Of course, 
the advice so far is to sow broadcast 
Castilloa seeds ; but we cannot at all believe 
that the experiments dealing with year-old 
twigs of that variety, may not ulti- 
mately be extended to other varieties 
—not only to Para, but to the despised 
Ceara ; and as we said above, we may 
shortly find branches or bark from 
every rubber-yielding tree or plant— even 
from many of our indigenous Ceylon species 
—in demand in connection with the very 
important experiments now being made in 
London and Trinidad— not only to separate 
the Caoutchouc from the milk, but to extract 
Rubber from the stems. True, this is only 
said to be realized so far from the stems 
of young Castilloa trees ; but we cannot 
but anticipate a far wider application of 
the experiments ere long. Meantime, there- 
fore, let all who can, plant Castilloa seed; 
and where that cannot be got, put in Para ; 
and yet again, if such seed is not available, 
do not hesitate to multiply Ceara if the 
opportunity offer, rather than have no 
rubber trees at .all; and very soon we shall 
see— what we shall see— possibly a demand 
for the stems of ail three of these rubber* 
yield "Bg trees, 
