Oct?. 1, 1903.J THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
259 
Sherman on the south coast did he find Chinese or 
Mores who were not engaged in the Gutta percha 
business, shipping the product through Cottabato. 
Going inland, Dr Sherman found large Gutta-percha 
trees, some of which were felled for him by the 
natives and the latex extracted by the usual 
raethoriB. One tree, 160 feet in height and 8 teeb 
in circumference, yielded 9^ pounds of dry Gutta- 
percha. Had the tree fallen so that it could have 
been ' ringed ' entirely around, and had precautions 
been taken to catch all the milk which was lost on 
the ground, Dr. Sherman thinks there would have 
been 20 pounds, while if all the gutta contained in 
the bark and leaves could have been secured there 
would have been 150 to 200 pounds. This is typical 
of the wastefulness of the native methods in all 
Gutta-percha districts In much of this ri'gion the 
trade is controlled by a Moro datto named Piang, 
with the aid of a Chinese agent at Cottabato. Piang 
claims to observe the Government regulation against 
the felling of Gutta-percha trees, but Dr. Sherman 
found this method practised by his men, neverthe- 
less. Similar conditions were also found on some 
of the smaller islands visited, particularly on 
Tawi Tawi. 
Having made a study of the material, Dr. Sher- 
man declares that a good quality was found by him 
but the customs officials, not being judges of Gutta- 
percha, are forced to accept the valuations made 
by the Chinese, with the result that the exports 
yield less thau the proper amount of revenue. The 
natives, it is asserted, are also cheated by the 
traders, both in regard to the quality of their pro- 
duce and in the weights. 
As a result of Dr. Sherman's report, the Secretary 
of the interior for the Philippines, Dr. Dean C 
Worcester, in whose department the forestry bureau 
is embraced, asserts that ' at the present rale of 
destruction there will be no Gutta-percha trees 
standing four years hence.' He is inclined, tlierefore, 
in view of the evident ubeles-ness of ordinary 
measures for protpction of the trees, to recommend 
the establishment of a government monopoly of 
Gutta-percha. Exportation, except by the govern- 
ment, could be prohibited, and such prohibition 
could be made fairly effective. Government 
buyers could be located at suitable points. 
The Government could well afford to pay 
a price considerab y higher than that now 
prevailing for the Philippine product, thereby 
avoiding ill feeling on the part of the gatherers, 
and by limiting the amount which it purchased 
could greatly retard the present rapid destruction 
of the trees. The Government buyers would 
necessarily come in closer contact witli the collec- 
tors, and something might eventually be done in 
the way of introducing proper methods of extraction 
in place of the present destructive processes. At 
all events, the establishment of suitable extraction 
plants would make it possible to utilise the large 
amount of Gutta-percha which is now left in the 
bark of trees that have been felled and ringed. 
By the way, Dr Worcester says that a method has 
been worked out in the Govetnment chemical 
laboratory for the extraction from the Philippine 
product of a chemically pure gutta, equal in 
every way to the best heretofore put upon the 
Singapore market, the puiifying process involving 
the loss of about 50 per ceac. of the original mass. 
Dr Sherman also investigated the question of 
rubber resources. No rubber was found in Minda- 
nao, but in the Sulu islands he saw an abundance 
of large rubber ,Yines, or creepers, from which 
rubber was extracted by cutting them so freely 
that they soon died. Samoles which he secureil, 
he was told at J'llo, would bring ar Singapore 
a price equal to 32 to 40 cents, gold, per p(>unil. 
it appears that, during 1901 02, in addition to 
Gutta pnrclia, llifie were exponn of Iiidia-rnbher 
fiom the Ph)lippitifs on which diUipM were paid, 
amounting to 282 99S pounds. — The India Rubber 
World. 
NEW TOOL FOR TAPPING RUBBER 
TREES. 
A device for grooving or tapping India-rubber 
trees is the sul)jeel of a United States patent [ n'o. 
730,299] granted to Faye te S Robinson of Boston. 
It has l)een rlesigned for use particularly on planta- 
tions of Caatilloa elasf.ica. Briefly described, the 
device comprises a tongs-like structure having 
jaws to embrace or partially embrace a tree, and 
an ad justably supported knife adapted to cut the 
groove in the tree. When the device is in position 
the movement thereof up or down the tree, or 
around it, causps the knife to cut the proper channel 
in the bark. The construction of the tool permits 
the jaws to widen as they are drawn downward, 
to allow for the inci easing diameter of the trunk. 
A vertical groove m y be cut, or a horizontal 
groove, or a spiral groove around the tree, as 
desired. While it is supposed that a single groov- 
ing knife will be use I preferably, the plan of the 
invention permits additional knives to be inserted. 
The patent has been assigned to Ferdinand E 
Borges. Secretary of the Consolidated Ubero 
plantations Co. (Boston.) — Inaia Rubber World. 
ABANDONED TE \ LAND IN CACHAR. 
{To the Editor, Indian Planting and Gardening.) 
Dear Sin,— Iq last weeks leader your comment 
upon the true causes of abandonment of tea lands 
in Cachar taking place in a large scale than in 
Assart! and assign greatfir reasons than Mr H H 
Mann's sweeping dictum of faulty planting as peculiar 
to the district). You have, however, omitted to men- 
tion another vey eerioas handic-ip that Cacbar planters 
have bad to fight against, and which has driven them 
to open fresh lauds and abandon old. That is the 
working of the pest, moaqoito blight. This blight iu 
Cachar absolutely ruins old plantations stocked as in 
early planting days with China and low class hybrid, 
so that with the oompeticion from Ceylon mentioned 
by you it did not pay to keep them in cultivation. It 
was imperatively necessary to plant out fresh land 
with indigenous pl>int3 which are not so liable to the 
attacks of the mosquito, and in this you will find 
another true cause of the large abandonment. In 
Assam proper this pest has not made itself felt to 
same extent. Mr Mana who has investigated 
the sabject should not have forgotten this obvious 
cause, and you do right to draw his attention to the 
mistake of attribating facts to other causes than the 
true ones.— Yonrs truly, Old Cachaei. 
31st August 19113. 
— Indian Planting and Gardening, Sept. 5. 
Is Mushroom- Spawn Seed ?— Of coarse a 
botanist would have no difficulty in replying in 
the negative, but the Customs-House officers in 
India, jit appears, think differently, and levy a 
duty on imported spawn as if it were seeds. The 
matter has noD been contested in the law courts, 
or we might get our minds iraprovetl.— ffardeners' 
(Jhvonicle, 
