Nov. 1, 1899.] THE TEOPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
319 
To the Editor. 
THE LATEST ABOUT RUBBER. 
London, Sept. 7. 
Sir,— It may interest many of your readers, now 
that " India Rubber " is coming to the front, to 
know that we have received an important drawing 
and full particulars of the experience with this— 
castilloa elastica seed. In one case the seed had 
been planted in the shade, as was suggested and 
is adopted generally ; the other was planted in 
the open. I had hoped to send you a photograph 
by this mail of a drawing which has been sent to 
us. I may tell you tliat the description at the 
foot of the drawing reads as follows : — 
" Rubber plant raised from seed grown in open 
ground in full sunlight, 1st July 1898— measured 
and sketched 3rd July 1899, circumference of stem 
one inch above ground 5§ inches, height of top- 
most branch 4ft. 2 in., spread lateral of branches 
5ft." Alongside of this " large tree " are three 
others, *' average sized plants of many thousands 
sown in forest shade 3rd July 1898— sketched and 
measured 5th July, 1879, height 1 ft. to 14 inches. 
Leaves larger than plants sun-grown, but stems 
very slender and will not bear transplanting into 
sunlight. 
I send you a small drawing showing the difier- 
ence in the size of the stems, but this will, I hope, 
be very clear when the photographs are printed. 
There is another point that I would like to refer 
to : in your last number of the Tropical Agri- 
culturist you state that you are not aware if one 
of the nsw rubber machines has been sent out to 
Ceylon. As far as we know, none have been sent 
to Ceylon. The work was first done in the West 
Indies, then in Brazil, and, as they have been 
found to answer, the demand is much larger than 
the supply and we have to beg of those wlio have 
had machines to be moderate and patient, because 
we think they cannot require such a quantity at 
once. We are endeavouring to eend out machines 
to new countries when applied to, as they are very 
simple and inexpensive. 
As your paper is so widely read, there is another 
event which has occurred this week which may be 
of interest to your readers. It has been known now 
for some time that there is on the East coast of 
Africa a plant, the root of which cures black- 
water fever, this quotation on the authority of 
an English surgeon who has well worked out the 
subject. He has sent home a Imndred pounds of 
this root, which is evidently a plant of the acacia 
tribe, judging from the pod which arrived, in a 
rotten state, in the package. We have treated 
a certain quantity of this root in one or two ways, 
30 as to bring it as near to the fluid extract as 
j)ossible, because the surgeon stated that when he 
first found this bark it was to cure one of the 
native bearers on an expedition, and thinking that 
the man would be dead in the morning he spoke to 
the head man in charge of the coolies, when to his 
surprise he said: " Oh, the man will be perfectly 
well in the morning ; I will give him a dose." He 
went with this man, dug up the roots, and watched 
the roots boiled down and the decoction given, 
and the result was as indicated, the man was well 
in the morning and able to carry his load. A 
supply of roots having been secured, they were 
tested on the East Coast and in every instance 
found to be efficsicious upon Europeans, 
We are sending out some of this fluid extract 
to be tested in cases of yellow fever in Brazil, and 
we are supplying diflfeient parties who have 
establishments on the East and W"est Coasts of 
Africa.— Yours truly, 
THOS. CHRISTY. 
RUBBER PREPARATION : 
THE NEW MACHINE. 
London, Sept. 15. 
Dear Sir, — Having seen the note in your issue 
of Aug. 1st, I have pleasure in sending yon here- 
with a drawing of our " Beta" Rubber Machine, 
and at the same time directions for worKing. It 
will no doubt be of particular interest to you to 
hear that with this machine Para Rubber can be 
coagulated with ease. The enclosed piece of 
rubber is cut off from a sheet of Castilloa Elastica 
as turned out by the machine. You will see of 
what particularly good quality it is. The price 
of this apparatus is £6 10s Od including five 
spare sieves. 
Up to now there has been a great divergence 
of opinion as to the proper method of 
laying out plantations of Castilloa Elastica, 
and I have this week received some 
valuable information on the subject from several 
English gentlemen who have established 
large plantations in Southern Mexico. They tried 
the two ways of planting which are in vogue : 
first, planting out the young trees in places 
partly cleared in the forest, and secondly, plant- 
ing direct in the open sunlight without any shade 
at all. The results are quite extraordinary. Those 
sown out in the open in full sunlight on July 
1st, 1898, when measured on July 3rd, 1899, had 
a stem the circumference of which was, one inch 
above the ground, b'i inches, the height of the 
topmost branch being four feet two inches. These 
measurements were taken from an average plant. 
An average plant of 11,000 sown in the forest 
shade on July 3rd, 1898, measured, on July 5th 
1899, height between 12 and 14 inches, and the 
circumference of stem IJ inches. 
What was particularly noticeable was that these 
plants, when transplanted into the open on ac- 
count of their doing so badly in the forest, very 
soon died. 
I trust by next mail to send you a photograph 
of the drawings, as a glance at this would shovr 
at once the extraordinary difference. — Yours truly, 
GILBERT CHRISTY, F.L.S. 
DIRECTIONS FOR USING THE ".BETA '» 
RUBBER MACHINE, 
1. — The latex as brought in from the field mast bo 
mixed with 50 per cent, of clean water and then 
passed through a fine copper siere to remov* particles 
of bark, &c., &c. 
2. — Pour the latex into the upper part of the 
machine or washer, turning the handle quickly. Have 
an assistant to pour in water coutinuonsly, so as to 
wash the latex through the wire gauze sieve vrbick 
is fixed in the base, until the lower vessel is full. 
Then pass on to the next in turn, and fill up aa many 
vessels aa may be in use. 
3. — The sieve must be removed and 'cleaned when 
required, by washing in clean water. 
4. — Allow the vessels to stand until the rubber has 
risen like cream to the surface. When it is ascertained 
that the rubber has all come to the siufaooi draw pfi (he 
