164 THE TKOPIGAL AGEICULTUEIST. [SispoJ. 1, 1903. 
estiifi^ted area under rubber at the end of 
last year. This is said to be "chiefly" Para 
rubber, which shows that this is not the 
only kind that is being planted. Of other sorts 
Hcus elaatica (Rambong) is the most largely 
used. This species grows luxuriantly in the 
Lowcountry of Oeylon, but is not cultivated. 
In the Straits, however, and more parti- 
cularly in Java, the cultivation of this has 
certain advantages over Para. It is con- 
sidered to yield two years earlier than the 
latter, and to give a heavier return per 
acre, whilst its cultivation is also supposed 
to be cheaper, fewer trees being required 
per acre, and less care in tapping than 
with Para. Rambong rubber, however, 
fetches only about half the price of good 
Para at present. 
A matter of great importance to rubber 
planters just now is what to grow as catch 
crops, either temporarily or permanently, in a 
rubber plantation. There is necessarily a large 
amount of unoccupied space between the trees 
for at least the first six years,, during which 
there is no return as regards rubber. This 
subject is being experimented with by the 
Superintendent of Government Experimental 
Plantations, Mr. Stanley Arden, Among the 
products considered most likely to answer 
the purpose are rhea fibre, bowstring hemp, 
arrowroot, groundnuts and cardamoms. 
The Chairman of the United Planters' Asso- 
ciation of the Federated Malay States re- 
ports that the most pronounced inclination 
to invest in Para rubber cultivation comes 
from Ceylon, a fact which is considered to 
indicate successful prospects. 
Guttapercha, a substance allied to rubber, 
also promises to be a valuable source of re- 
venue to Government shortly. Like ''ram- 
bong " the tree is indigenous in the Straits ; 
it exists in large numbers in the forests, and, 
contrary to former opinions, is said to multi- 
ply rapidly, being '"better able to stand 
their own than almost any other forest 
tree," according to the States Conservator 
of Forests. 
Coconut cultivation is equally promising of 
success in the Federated Malay States, there 
being how close on 50,000 acres under this 
Eroduct. The interests of the industry are 
eing guarded by an Inspector of Coconut 
Plantations, who apparently has been ap- 
pointed by Government. This official reports 
the appearanciSs of pests, and neglect of estate 
owners in keeping their property clean. 
Liberian coffee is being rapidly displaced by 
Para rubber, it is stated. Yet its cultiva- 
tion iuust be extended in other parts, as the 
export for last year (62,580 pikuls) is the 
highest on record. The Report says, that 
"a few chosen estates still give a margin 
of profit." — Sugar cultivation continues 
"fairly prosperous," notwithstanding that 
the planters have to face the drawbacks of 
increased price of firewood and a fall in the 
price of sugar. 
CAMPHOR AND CAMPHOE OIL. 
Thefe is always information of interest to 
tropical planters in the Reports of Messrs. 
gchiulmel & Co., the great manufacturing 
chemists of Leipzig, London and New Fork. 
For instance, in the latest, we find the fol- 
lowing on an article that may erelong become 
an article of regular export, albeit in a small 
way from Ceylon : — 
Camphor Oil.— Nothing new can be said of this 
article. We hear from Japan that the Camphor 
Monopoly Bill will again be laid before Parliament 
in the new Session, in May of this year. A matter 
ot exceptional interest was the report tiiat a 
limited Company has been formed in New York 
,under the style of ' The Port Chester Chemical 
Company,' which has for its object the production 
of camphor by synthetic process. The share-capital 
amounts to 1,000,000 dollars, iu 10,000 shares of 
100 dollars each. According to the prospectus which 
we have before us, the world's consumption of 
camphor is said to amount to 8,000,000 lb. and that 
of the United States to 2,000,000 lb. It is claimed 
that the camphor produced synthetically is de- 
cidedly purer than the natural article (probably 
arude camphor) as it is received from Japan, or 
Formosa, for the purity of the latter is given as 
88-90 per cent, that of artificial camphor as 99 per 
cent. The process is protected by patents. The 
factory has been established in Fox Island, with 
plant for an annual output of 2,000,000 lb. The 
immediate production is said to amount to 600,000 
lb. The crude material employed is oil of turpen- 
tine, and the yield is 98 lb. camphor from 1 barrel 
of the oil. With the proposed maximum output of 
2,000,000 lb., the company expect to pay dividends 
of 50 per cent. It appears to us that in the calcu- 
lation the cost of turpentine oil of 6§ cents per lb. 
is taken too low, in view of the present market- 
quotations, whilst the selling-price of camphor at 
50 cents per lb. ivs taken a little too high. The 
company may perhaps prosper, so Iodk as the price 
of crude camphor in Japan is not reduced to such 
an extODfc that the estimates are upset. This new 
coinpetition would probably only affect the value 
of the article, when the production exceeds the de- 
mand in the United States, and when the Com- 
pany would be forced to export its product. The 
prospectus of the Company contains the following 
interesting communications on the camphor produc- 
tion in Asia, taken from the reports of the Ameri- 
can Consul in Formosa :— 
' Hitherto Camphor has been produced from the 
wood of the camphor tree which grows in Japan, 
China and chiefly on the island of Formosa. The 
production of Japan has fallen to 300,000 lb,, that 
of China has never exceeded 220,000 lb., whilst that 
of Formosa in 1895 reached a total of 7*000,000 lb., 
and in the last four years amounted on the average 
to about 6,000,000 lb. For all practical purposes, 
Formosa therefore covers the world's requirements, 
and its production yields an annual revenue of 
about #800,000 to the Japanese Government. In 
order to protect the industry, it is now obligatory 
to plant immediately a new tree for every camphor 
tree which is cut down. The production in For- 
mosa is moreover a monopoly, and is protected by 
1,500 armed guards who also control the affores- 
tation as prescribed by law.' 
; ■» — ■ : 
The Dahlia as a Vegetable,— The Dahlia 
is now cultivated in Europe for its flower, bub 
according to a recent writer, it was first introduced 
there for its root as a vegetable. The Dahlia bulb, 
when roasted and eaten, is wholesome and a sub- 
stitute for the Tpolalo,— Indian Planting and 
Gardenmg, Ang, 15, 
