iVLY 1, 1903.] 
THE TROPICAL AaRIOULTURlST. 
33 
a profit;, still the counter attractions and prospects of 
Piii-M Rubbar, Remboag, and coconuts, will probably 
divert attention from coffoe. 
Coconuts. — A return is attached showing that the 
espori of copra from Selangor in 1902 amounted to 
15,1-16 piouU, towards which practically nothing has 
been contributed by European-owned plantations, which 
are now only coming into bearing. Splendid growth is 
reported on all aides and it seems probable that by the 
time the trees are 5 years old, heavy pickings will be 
commencing. From an estate in the Jugra district,_4 
years and 4 months old at the end of 1902, thous-^nds 
of nuts are already coming in, and there are many 
individual trees carrying over 100 each. Given freedom 
from the beetle pest, there can be no doubt that such 
fine refults must very coon attract capital to the 
conntry, sspeoially as the coconut planter, his estate 
once opened, cau usually be assured of sufficient labour 
for his lequirements. Chinese and Mal iys, neither o£ 
whom are much use on c-^ffee and rubber estates, are 
generally available when Tamil coolies are hard to get. 
VAR\ RUBBER. 
The attached statistics (incomplete though they are 
at present) serve to some extent to show how im- 
portant an industry is growing up in our midst. It is a 
significant fact that from Ceylon comes the most pro- 
nounced inclination to invest in this product. Ceylon 
planters and capitalists, with the decline of coffee, 
have had little cause to congratulate themselves on 
their connection with the Malay Peninsula, yet it is 
undoubtedly owing chiefly to the visit to, and personal 
inspection of, our rubber estates, by some of their 
foremost men, that they are willing and anxious, if 
they can get an opportunity, to put more money in. 
Such support, in yonr Committee's opinion, is of in- 
finitely greater value to the country and to the enter- 
prise, than would be the influx of capital where expert 
knowledge on the part of its investors, was absent. 
As far as it is possible to judge at present, the Malay 
Peuicsnia appears to possess every factor necessary 
to the successful o iltivation of rubber. Climate, soil 
transport facilities, the qaality of the product, and 
the yield of the trees, leave little to be desired. 
As regards labour, this country is at any rate, infinitely 
better off than any other with which we will be 
brought into competition, excepting Ceylon, and 
India itself, where, however, some of the other con- 
ditions are far less favourable. It may be contended 
that little is known of the yield over a la<rge area, 
which is true, but on the other hand we do know 
what considerable numbers of indifferently cultivated 
individual trees have given, and there is no reason 
whatever for fearing that our average yield will be 
less than that of any other country. The vexed 
question of the proper distance to plant, has yet to 
be settled, and your Committee would urge upon all 
those interested, to institute experiments, if they 
have not already done so, with the object of arriving 
It a definite conclusion, The distance perhaps 
most in favour at present is 15' by 15 , which 
allowing for sites for buildings, roads, etc., 
gives about 175 trees t the acre. 10' by 10' planting 
provides more than double that number, and it i^- a 
question for serious consideraiion whether the clo.ser 
distance is not the best, in view of the very slight 
additional outlay, and the fact that superfluous trees 
always be removed at will. Provided the cost of 
collection be not prohibitive, the best financial results 
will be secured from the largest returns per acre, 
not per tree, and although it must be apparent to 
all that a space of 10 feet is not sufficient for a 
tree with a patural spread of, say, 60 feet still, it 
is possible that the gross returns from six small trees 
may be more than one large one, and also that a 
system of coppicing may be introduced, or some 
other method for artificially retarding the upward 
and whippy growth, and thickening the stems, with 
a corresponding inc^ea^e in yield. If such a result 
cau be achieved, those who have Iheir estates planted 
20' by 20', will find themselves unable to put matters 
right, for supplies, and additioaal trees, planted after 
their neighbours, have Ji-ad a year or two's start, 
rarely make good growth, 'l^he haat method of tapping 
has not yet been definitely settled either. Ceylon 
planters appear to favour small V shape! incisions 
cut fresh every day. Short hert'ing bone cuts, gradu- 
ally widened out by the daily removal of a thin slice 
of bark, to make the latex flow af reshj are most in 
vogue in this country, and some interesting experi- 
ments are nnw being carried on in the Singapore 
Gardens under the dn'eeciou of Mr Ridley, which may 
prove to be the best of all. The injury to the tree is 
practically nil — only a small piece of bark, -vbout 2" long 
by i" wide, being removed at a time, and although the 
daily yield is natui-aliy very much less than by the 
othei- methods, the cuts being few and far between, 
still it seems probable that tapping may be continued 
almost the whole year round, which of cour.^e has 
aho an important bearing upon the distribution of 
lab-jur. The curing of the latex is now so t'aoroughly 
understood that no remarks upon the subject are 
called for here, but your Committee would draw your 
attention to the unauimons opinion of all the manu- 
facturers that absolute purity and freedom from 
fereign matter, is the most important point of all. The 
latex is easily strained, and all impurities removed, and 
if, in course of time, over-production begins to make 
itself felt, those who have establis'ied a roputation for 
the quality of their [r iduoe will be the last to suffer 
GuTTA Reubong [Ficm c'.astica), — A small sale of 
this rubber from about i year olil trees was put 
through at l$190.per picul, the average yield per tree 
being about 10 oz. The lot in queitiou w-is the 
most ordinary "scrap" and for really good stuff a 
much higher pri-ce would probably have been paid. 
The cost of collection was very heavy, the quantity 
being only a very small one. Still the margin of puoflt 
is sufficiently wide, At the price quoted, to make the 
cultivation of Bembaug well worth considering. This 
variety has the advantage of yielding nearly two 
years sooner than Para, and gives a heavier return per 
tree. It is also cheaper to open, being planted not 
less than 30in by 30in spreads with great rapidity, 
consequently k-3epiag the w^ee.ls down well, and is 
indigenous to the country, it moreover grows with 
great luxuriance in well-drained peat land where no 
other cultivation does any good at all. Tapping is 
ea'iy, and requires nothing like the care that is neces- 
sary with Para, but the latex is slow to coa- 
gulate when poured out in pans, and the ralae 
of really good Remboug ' biscuits' is at 
present an unknown quantity. The idea seems to be 
that the quality of this rubber is inferior, but so little 
is known about it when really carefully prepared, and 
the price realised for the 'scrap' referred to was so 
satisfactory^ that ic vifould certainly appear to merit 
much greater attention." — For the Committee. 
E V Carey, Chairman and Herbert M. Darby, Hon, 
Secretary, 
CEYLON PAPAIN. 
A correspondent in Ceylon asks U3 to warn 
those who buy Ceylon papain of the fact that 
some of the stuff made there is of poor quality, 
He says : — 
Papain is the concentrated active principle of 
Carica Papaya. Its preparation (speaking from 
an experience of twenty years) is complicated, and 
the pure derivative can only be obtained by treat- 
ing the exudative material v/ith rectified spirit, 
evaporation, lieating at a regulated temperature, 
sifting, &c. The variety of the species used, age 
and sex of tree, and absolute cleanliness of imple- 
ments are all important factors in determining the 
pure and unadulterated preparation. At present 
a crude matsrial, prepared by natives and contain- 
ing abundaut adulteration, is puichased cheaply 
by loQxl firms, who export it a^i papain or papaya- 
