Fee. 1, 1900.] 
THE TEOPICAL 
AGRICULTURIST. 
.557 
1 
THE KUiiBEK PLANTING INTEREST. 
To the Editor of tlie India Rubber IVorld : It 
may be a matter of some interest to your readers 
to know tliat an association lias been formed in 
Cliicfigo for ihe puuose of i)lantiug about 500,000 
rubber trees on tlie isthmus of Tehuantepec, in the 
Ilbero district. Incidentally, during the time re- 
quired for the rubber trees to mature, it is ex- 
pected that an income will be derived from cattle 
grazing and the growing of sugar cane. The new 
company is known as the Commonwealth Mexican 
Plantation Association. It has not been in- 
corporated, and is opei'ated purely on a commercial 
basis, 
Mr. Kiddle personally has had planted about 
200,000 rubber trees on his private estate of La 
Pomona, on the isihmus of Tehuantepec. 
11. P. Probasco. 
Chicago, December 19, 1899. 
THE RUBBER PROSPECT IN CUBA. 
To the Editor oi the Indid Rubber World : I 
have been much interested in an article in your 
journal on India-rubber in Cuba, and have sent a 
copy to my partner, in Manila, who will, I am 
sure, be equally interested in the possibility of 
growing rubber in ihe new American colonies. 
In a few months, in connection with some others, 
I hope to go into the business of planting rubber, 
and will thank you for some information. Would 
you advise planting Para rubber «r Maniliot 
Glaziovii in Cuba? What is land suitable for 
rubber, worth in Cuba and Puerto Kico ? Also 
what is labor worth in those islands ; and what 
would be the probable cost ot putting up neeces- 
sary clieap buililiugs, etc. ? W. W. B. 
San Francisco, December 15, 1899. 
[There are as yet no data available regarding the 
subject above referred to, which can be quoted for 
the guidance of intending rubber planters, beyond 
the fact that most attempts made hitherto to in- 
troduce the Para ruober tree beyond its natural 
habitat have been unsuccessful : besides the tree 
requires much longer to n.ature than the Castilloa 
elastica, of Central America, which thrives 
naturally under conditions of .soil and climate 
more nearly allied to those of Cuba and the Philip- 
pines than of the Amazon valley.— The Editor.] 
NOTES ON PLANTING IN MEXICO. 
The Missouri Coflee and Rubber Company., 
capitalised at 1150,000, was incorporated under 
the laws of Illinois, November 13, tor the purpose 
of acquiring what is known as the " Crittenden 
tract," on the isthums of Tehuantepec, containing 
nearly 1100 acres and said to embrace some of the 
best rubber and coffee land in Mexico, The transfer 
of the estate took place November 27, it being 
under.'itood that payment for the property was 
made in full. — India Rubber World, Jan. 1. 
A FMENCH SCIENTIST. 
Amongst recent arrivals in Ceylon is M. Emile 
Deschamps, an eminent French scientist, who 
after an interval of nearly ten years is now 
travelling eastwards once more, partly in (lie 
inteie'its of conimeice and partly witli a view to 
further scieniitic investigations; as Mon-ieur 
Deschamps said to us in a brief conver.^aiioii with 
us theotlierday "(^uandon a c minence, on ne 
laisse jamais la science." In 1892 M. Deschamps 
brought out a handsome volume, Au Pays des 
i7«^iri^,c rMiV.ii'oK<3ri iiTT +i,o " Societe d' Editions 
Veddas^ published by the 
70 
Scieutifiques at Paris and illustrated by 116 
reproductions of photographs taken and sketches 
made by the author, as well as an original map 
showing the route taken by him in this isle. The 
writer went far afield and, beside making himself 
fully acquainted with all that most visitors .see 
in the island, pursued special ethnological studies 
among the country Sinhalese, the Veddahs and 
theRodiyas. M. Deschamps' work beais marks ot 
close and minute observation and no mean 
literary gifts. Uur visitor spends a fortnight in 
Ceylon and then proceeds to Madras, before 
travelling further in India. 
TRAVAJfCORE TEA SALES. 
Average 8-1.5d. January 19th. 
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S 5 2 >>: 
Manila Hemp.— The price of Manila hemp iia 
gone up 400 i)er cent, since the .Spanish Ameri- 
can War. What about the chancres of growing 
this fibre in the Native States ? There would 
money in it.— Singapore Free Press. 
