Sept. 1, 190?.] 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
201 
In past years we have had 200 trees returned 
as often planted among tea— and we notice 
15 by 15 feet apart or 190 trees to the acre, as 
the rule observed some time ago in the 
Malay States with 10 by 10 or 400 plants 
for separate clearings. It will have been 
seen that the United Planters' Association 
of the Ma'ay States estimate their total area 
under rubber at 9,430 acres with approx 
imately, 1,352,547 trees. This a verages con- 
siderably less than 200 trees per acre and 
presents a contrast to Ceylon where, for 
]2,O0O acres, we give over three million trees ; 
but the question is whether our Malay 
State friends reduce their acreage to any 
one standard, or where one man has 75 and 
another 250 to the acre, each is counted as 
an acre of rubber ? A careful observer, Mr 
Donald Mackay, in his letter to us yester- 
day affords much more liberal estimates 
which may be summarized as follows : — 
Selangor (approximately) 
Negri Sembilan do 
Perak 
Prorince Welleslpy 
Kest of States & Straits 
Settlements 
Acres. Trees. 
10.000 over 2,000,000* 
1,500 310,000t 
300t 50,000 
3,O0OX 500,000 
1,8001: 300,0001: 
16,600 3,160,000 
[Mr Donald Mackay estimates a total of 
three millions of rubber trees with less than 
100.000 from 5 to 6 years old.] 
We may add for North Borneo 100 acres 
with 15,000 trees, and then there is Java, 
an unknown quantity ; but, of course, the 
rubber exported thence as from the Eastern 
Archipelago and the Straits generally, 
hitherto, has been collected from indigenous 
trees. In many cases Ficus elastica has been 
laid under contribution very successfully. We 
do not know how much territory is included in 
" Indo-China "; but we see it credited in a 
recent year with an export of 756,680 lb. of 
rubber, or less than 7,000 cwt., whereas in 
our calculation of the world's production 
we put 10,000 cwt. down for Java, Borneo. 
Indo-China and the Eastern Archipelago, Of 
Gutta Percha, both Java and the Straits ship 
enormous quantities — as much as 262,000 
cwt. in one year. India and Burma used 
to supply 7,000 to 8,0'JO cwt. of rubber, from 
indigenous trees of course ; but there has been 
» great falling-off— only 4,136 cwt. in 1901-02 
and 1,035 last season of 1902-0.3. German 
East Africa is said to have 300,000 rubber 
trees growing with 20,000 ready for 
tajpping, and extensions going on. But 
all this is a trifle compared with the indi- 
genous supplies from East and West Africa 
as also from South America, the Amazonian 
region in particular ; but then over large 
extents— in Africa especially — the forest trees 
are ruined in the process of harvesting the 
rubber, many of them being cut down. 
* One half under a year. tOne- tenth under one 
year, $ Oar own Estimates. 
Altogether, there seems no immediate 
reason to fe:ir that thn production of raw rub- 
ber will overtake the demand ; and in the case 
of (;eylon, the 22,500 lb. of rubber sent away 
(by the (Ju-toius returns just out) in the 
first six months of 1903, have all been sold 
at highly satisfactory prices, usually topping 
the market, the le.sult of c.ireful attention 
to preparation. May this long continue, 
'j he local experimental Government planta- 
tions have not been very successful ; they 
are Idnngoda (last reported with 27 acres 
and 3,435 growing trees) ; Y.itepowa (37 acres 
and 14,104 trees, the collecting of the latex 
from these being rented at Rl.flOO a year) ; 
and Korossa (27 acres) near Rambukana with 
small trees for their age, and costing as much 
as rv252 per acre for upkeep. We do not 
know how far Ceylon planters have med- 
dled with any species beyond the Hevea 
and Castilloa. One estate, at least, in 
Kelani Valley, used to be credited with 
growins? the creeping Landolphia; while it 
is interesting to note the following para- 
graph in the Peradeniya Gardens Keport in 
respect of another African rubber : — 
" The Funtumia (Kicksia) or ' Lagos rubber ' 
plants raised from ses'l received from Lagos in 1899 
and planted out in 1900 are makiuj; healthy and 
rapid growth, some of them being 12 feet high and 
of a bushy habit. They are sabjecb to at tacks ia 
November and Deeemb3r by the caterpillar of a 
moth [Capvinia conchylalis), whicli loflgje? in the 
young leaves and curls them up around it." 
If we now turn to the world s consumption 
of rubber, we find that in 1902 the United 
Kingdom received raw rubber to the vaUre 
of £5,180,000 ; but ot this no less than 
£3,532,000 was re-expnrted to various coun- 
tries, and only £1,628,000 worth or 127,624 cwt. 
kept for home consumption. Of raw 
Guttapercha 73,000 cwt. were required for 
consumption valued at over £1,000,000. North 
America (U.S. and Canada) and the Con- 
tinent of Europe eacli require 50 per cent 
more raw rubber than Britain and her 
Colonies. But we never before realized how 
great is the World's trade in "Waste" or 
" Scrap " Rubber, — " old goloshes ", tyres and 
the like ! America alone imported nearly 
250,000 cwt. worth nearly £300,000 in 1901-2; 
while the quantity collected in the U, 
States itself is said to equal 800,000 cwt. 
and it is reckoned that sucli "waste" or 
"scrap" material gives 80 per cent of re- 
claimed or marketable rubber. The price 
paid is 6 2 dollar-cents a lb , so any one 
can judge what waste rubber is worth in a 
manufacturing country. Altogether, there 
must be a trade in Europe and North 
Anieri?a quite as great in weiglit, if not 
greater, in scrap or waste rubber, used 
over again year by year, as in fresh raw 
rubber from South America, Africa and the 
East. Indeed wlrile we put the world's 
total annual supply of fresh raw rubber 
at 1,2-50,000 cwts., we should be inclined 
to estimate the quantity of waste rubber 
used over again each year, at nearly 2 million 
cwt. yielding 70 to 80 per cent of workable 
material. 
