THE TROPICAL 
AGRICULTURIST. [April 1. 1899. 
the alkali, but left floatiog On its eurfa^ce, a piece of 
India Rubber. There is a considerable qaantity of 
the E. Tirucalli growing in Gurzerat, and especially 
in the neighbourhood of Gambay, but the Bupply ii 
limited. On the other hand, there are other ipeciei 
of milk-bush, and as the E. Antiquorum and E. 
Nenifolia, the supplies of which, should they be fonnd 
efficacious, are inexhaustible. I should atiougly re- 
commend that a trial be made of all these different 
npecies as to the quality of the India Rubber they 
severally produce. Probably, also, a cheaper acid, 
such as hydrochloric, would prove as efficacious as 
nitric acid. The milk could easily and expeditiously 
be extracted from the milk-bush by means of a 
common native sugar cane press. The only question, 
then, would be whether the acid should be brought 
to the milk, or 'the milk to the acid, and in the 
latter case, whether it should be sent in the form 
of a fluid or be previously dried in the san and 
exported to England in the form of the gum knonn in 
commerce as Eupborbium. — From Jndian Foroitr for 
February 1899, 
CAMBRIDGE EXPEDITIONS IN THE FAK 
EAST. 
An expedition, under tiie leadership of Mr. W« 
W. Skeat, left Cambridge a few days ago for Bang- 
kok. The members of the party include Mr. 
Gwynne-Vaughan, of Christ's College, and Messrs. 
Evans and Annandale, of O.xford, and it will be 
reinforced at Singapore by Mr. Bedford, of King's 
College. The object of the expedition is, says 
the Times, to make a seientilic survey of tlie little- 
known country lying south of Siani and nortliof 
the protected States of the Malay Peniusul i. Mr. 
Skeat, who recently presented a valuable collec- 
tion of ethnological sfieeiinens collected in Perak to 
the Cambridge Museum of Ethnology, is an offi- 
cial in the Government of tlie Strait'* Settlements, 
and the Colonial OHice has granted him leave to 
organise and command the expedition. The in- 
crease of conimeice in the Malay Peninsula and 
the writings of Sir Fr«nk Swettenliain, Mr. Joseph 
Conrad, and Mr. Hugh Clifford h.'ive recently 
stimulated public interest in tliis ouai ter oh the 
world, and a thorough zoological, botanical, geo- 
logical, and ethnological .survey of the district is 
much needed. Professor Haddon'.s expedition 
to the Torres Straits, Borneo, &c,, is expected 
back in Cambridge towards the end of May. Ue- 
ceut letters indicate that it has been completely 
successful.— 0. Mail, March 3. 
AFRICAN GAME, 
To all lovers of Nature, to ail who desire 
to see some variety and interest, other than 
humanity provides, left to us in this swiftly 
narrowing world, it will be welcome news that 
the British and the German Governments are in 
consultation over the fate of the wild fauna of 
Africa. It is quite plain that if something i« 
not done jiretty quickly many of the most in- 
teresting species of African animals will go the 
way of the Quagga and the Dodo. Plains which 
once abnnded in game of every sort are now as 
lifeless as Clapham Common. The elephants are 
diminishing in number every day, and the girafle 
is now found only in the land over which until 
lately the Khalifa ruled. The great White Rhino- 
ceros is believed to hav# become altogether extinct, 
and even the Lion is being speedily swept away 
from every African country except Somaliand. 
There will, doubtless, be many who will simply 
rejoice over the extinction of daugorous aDiniala, 
and congratulate themselves that noonei-.e»er 
hkely again to meet with the exfMrieno* of the 
Dutch Governor of Cape Town, w lio, in iiieold days, 
was butted out wf his carriage by an jrriiaWe 
Klunoceros in the public street. But most of as 
would grive to think that all these interesting 
beasts should disappear. In some form or other 
they must be preservetl by law if ihey aie to 
be preserved at all, and Mr. Rhudes has alrea^dj 
set a good example by enclof>ing a huge reserva- 
tion for big game in the territories of the Chartered 
Company. Some day, we hwpe that KeversI will 
be established, but in the meant ime the most 
piessin;; necessity is i<. put a cheik upon the 
mdiscriminate slaughter of wild beasts This the 
British and tJeruij^n Go\ ernments ought to be 
able easily arrange, and if ih»y lind the aa- 
sistance of the Congo FieeStatea* well, the bij; 
game of Africa would at least be saved from 
absolute extinction.— 67'/^c, March 3. 
BURMA RUBIES. 
O'ht Financial Newt) 
It was on February 27ih just ten years ago that the 
memorable siege of New court took place The oc- 
casiou wa.8 the opening of the subscription list of the 
Burma Ruby Mines, and so effective was the blockade 
in bt. Swjthin's-lane, so enormous was the crowd of 
itrnggling applicants, that it was only by the aid of 
a ladder that the head of the House ef Rothwihild 
was enabled to effect an entry through a wiudow into 
{lis own premises. Visions of untold wealth floated 
before those who were fortunate enough to obtain an 
allotment; for it was assumed— wrongly.ai it has turned 
out—that a concession from the Indian Governmenl 
Which, in return, required a rent of lUCKl.WX) per annnm 
and one-sixth of the net profits most be extremely 
valuable. Indeed, although the directors were care- 
ful not to attempt any definite estimate of prefits in 
the prospectus, they quoted from the report of ibe 
Indian GoTernment s engineer that " although it is 
impossible to fix a money value to the Ruby Mines 
from the imperfect data at hand, yet I can confidently 
say that the property is a most valuable one, and capa- 
ble of yielding a large amount of wealth " 1 With 
moreover, Messrs. Rothschild aud Sous as (he 
issuing house, and a sura of i;245,(HiO for workinr 
capital, there was every reason to anticipate 
a highly prosperous career for the company. 
Instead, however, of these roseate anticipations being 
realised, the shareholders have not only never had 
a penny of return, but have further been obliged to 
write down their capital from £'300,000 to £180 000 
Yet while the Company has beenlalmost in ext,'emi$ 
the (jovernment has received no less than £li6 000 
for rent. It may be asked, of course, why the aoa- 
panyhas continued to work for the sole benefit of 
its landlord, and why it did not long ago throw op 
the sponge and decline to carry on an impossible 
struggle. The answer is that it is rot in the nature 
of Englishmen to confess themselves beaten until 
every effort has been exhausted, and that while 
larger profits were relied on from an increased' output 
and more economical methods, it was heped also that 
that the Government would be induced to lower its 
rent and enable at least moderate dividends to be 
paid to those whom the Government has to thank for 
the receipt of £146,000. 
The original rent was fixed at R4,00,000 for seven 
years from November 1st 1889, with, further, one-sixth 
of the net profits. As there never have been any Bet 
profits the latter provision has not affected the company 
so far, and the Government has not even been able to 
extort its full rent, because the revenue has never been 
sufficient. It would be thought, then, that on the ex- 
piration of the seven years' lease the Government would 
have recognised not alone the justice, bnt the neeesiitv 
