Aug. 1, 1899.] THE TEOPICAL AGEICULTURIST. 
91 
RUBBER CULTIVATION IN CEYLON; 
THE LATEST INFORMATION AS TO 
CASTILLOA, PARA AND CEARA 
KINDS ; 
ABOUT 1,500 ACRES NOW COVERED 
WITH RUBBER TREES IN CEYLON ; 
THE APPROACHING REVOLUTION :— 
NOT ONLY IN THE SYSTEM OF 
SEPARATING CAOUTCHOUC FROM 
MILK; BUT ALSO IN EXTRACT- 
ING RUBBER FROM THE STEMS 
OF YOUNG TREES. 
We direct attention to a very im- 
portant letter on local Rubber cultiva- 
tion, above tbe well-known signature of 
"E.S.G." on page 91. Tbe writer will 
be admitted to bavel bad exceptional 
means of forming reliable opinions on tbe 
points be discusses, and wbere tbese differ 
from any in tbe official "Rubber "Cir- 
culars, we believe it will be safer to follow 
tbe lead of tbe practical planter. "E.S.G.", 
tben, for good reasons given, rebabilitates 
Para rubber to a very great extent ; and, 
indeed, we bave never seen good reason for 
the rush from one extreme to tbe other in 
I'eference to the cultivation of this variety, 
nor could Mr. Willis mean that bis latest 
views in favour of Castilloa should be con- 
striied to the deprecation of the continued cul- 
tivation of Para, where such had been estab- 
lished. We may even go farther and say 
that there is scope and fair encouragement 
for the continued planting of Para outside of 
thelimitedregion between Kalutai-aandRatna- 
pura, which is considered most favourable 
for its growth ; and in which, perhaps, the 
Castilloa tree would not prosper so well 
Nevertheless, the latter, as " E.S.G." and Mr. 
Willis both show, has an extensive field for 
its production ; and there is no reason why, 
as soon as seed is available, it (tbe Mexican 
tree) should not grow very freely both up and 
down country. 
It will be observed that " E.S.G.," although 
in possession of the results of tapping 
experiments, does not give us estimates 
or figures, in the meantime, though he 
promises to da so at no distant date. On 
the other hand, there has been some in- 
structive and even amusing correspondence 
in a local contemporary's columns on the 
subject. "J.M.", who was one of tbe first 
to plant "Castilloa", has shewn bow, even 
in the face of a splendid valuation for the 
resulting rubber — which passed through our 
hands — he was officially discouraged from 
continuing the cultivation! "The whirligig 
of time" has indeed brought about "its re- 
venge." Major Gordon Reeves, who now 
owns the Wiharegama estate and tbe trees 
planted by "J.M.", reports_ of the several 
old trees of Castilloa and his harvesting, as 
follows :— 
- There is no difficulty whatever in raising plants, 
and in a wet district I should imagine that any 
sized plants from seedlings of 3 inches to stumps 
of 2 feet will grow readily. In our climate, 
which is rather a dry one, I think there is no 
doubt that good sized stumps do best. The old 
trees on Wiharegama must have a girth of quite 
30 incheii tvt 3 feet, and are probably 30 feet 
13 
high and of spreadmg habit and rather resemb- 
Img a teak tree : these are planted throueh the 
cacao, and do not seem to have any in furious 
ettect on the latter, and we are now extending 
plantations of cacao, with Castilloa 20 feet apart 
and ErijtJiiyia &s a temporary shade. I had two 
ot the old Castilloa experimentally tapped, taking 
only about Ih lb. of rubber, though a great deal 
more could, of course, have been taken : the milk 
was simply run into butter tins without any 
cleansing, and dried chiefly in the sun, which 
is^ we now know an injurious process. The sam- 
ples were forwarded to Messrs. W. Wright and 
Co., the principal India-rubber brokers in Liver- 
pool, and are reported on as follows :— 
No. l.—Good, clean, strong, dry rubber, value 
about 3s 6|d per lb. 
No. 2.— Good, clean, fahly strong rubber, but 
very wet, value about 2s lid per lb. 
A verj^ satisfactory report, considering how little 
we then knew about curing. Fine Para rubber 
IS only worth 4s 2d. 
Next " J.M." recalls estimates for a Castilloa 
plantation in Nicaragua, which were o-iven 
in the Observer and which can readily be found 
in full detail in tbe Tropical Agriculturist or 
still more conveniently in our Manual ("All 
about Rubber," a second edition of which is 
now passing through the press); but a few 
fagures may be quoted if only to make the 
mouths water of some of our planting readers, 
in anticipation of a good time comina- ' Herp 
is " J.M." quoting Mr. Cator 
Cost of 500 acres of land at 5s per acre £ 
,, survey and titles loO 
,, clearing land ... . 1000 
„ collecting seed, and planting". '5OO 
„ 8 years' weedings at £200 .. 1 600 £ - 
" tools, &c ... '300 3,023 
Interest on £3,625 for 8 years at 5 per 
cent. ... ... 1 
Superintendent's expenses, 8 years, at ' 
^^00 ••■ ... 1 600 
Cost of gathering the 8th year's crop " 1^500 4,550 
He estimates a profit at the 8th year as foUowsf 
2xr acre : Dr. q^, ' 
Cost of cultivation £ s d Government pre- £ s d 
per acre _ 7 4 9 mium 2 83 
Cost of tapping 3 0 0 Crop, 965 lbs., 
balance ot px'oflt at 2s 06 10 n 
per acre 88 13 6 
£98 18 3 
£98 18 3 
Thus, 500 acres at £88 13s 6d = £44 337 lOs" 
profit on a capital of about £8,000 ; and as if 
year by ^tTelf sanguine, take the 9th 
Expenditure for weed- £ Value of crop in £ 
, 200 9th year ^ 50,000 
„ harvesting 1,500 ou,kjw 
„ planting 500 
Interest i^O 
Profit 47,620 
Here, indeed, seems room for enterprize even 
taken _ midway between the utterances of the 
rSs" from ^tL° V.^'.'P^-'^ '7^^^ pessimistic 
■ Peradeniya Gardens Director 
How this reminds us of the golden days of 
"Cmchona"!-when William Smith of Cmfgle 
Lea proved to a demonstration how fooltsh 
his partners, Colonel Byrde and Mr. John 
Davidson, were when they refused theh' 
consent to 150,000 cinchonas^ offered by D ^ 
