Jat^. 1, 1904,] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
487 
trom Ceylon Association in London, 
61 & 62, Giaceclmich Street, E C. 
To A Philip Esq., Secretary, Planters' Associ- 
ation, Kandy, Ceylon, 18tli Dec, 1903. 
Dear Sir,— I beg to enclose for the iuforma- 
of all concerned copy ot correspondence with i he 
India Office as to the Indian Government ex- 
periments in the Planting of Rubber trees in 
Burma. There seems to have been misappre- 
hension as to the extent of these experiments 
which will be removed by the explanation of the 
Secretary of State.— Yours faithfully, 
(Signed) Wm Martin Leake, Secretary. 
61 & 62, Gracechurch Street, 27th, Nov. 1903. 
Sir, — In reference to my letter of 2nd August, 
1901, and your reply thereto R & S 2007 of 8th 
idem on the subject of planting of Rubber trees 
in Burma by the Indian Government, I am to 
say that information reaches my Committee that 
the area planted already exceeds 10,000 acres, and 
that it is yet being further extended by all means 
available, by the Forest Department. 
On 17th May, 1901, the late Secretary of State 
for India, in a reply to a question in the House 
of Commons, said that the Indian Government 
had " recently authorised an extensive experi- 
mental plantation of the Para-Rubber tree in the 
Tenasserim division of Burma" and he stated 
the object of the Government to be " to do their 
best to develop the resources of that country and 
encourage private enterprise by showing that this 
tree can be profitably cultivated in parts of India." 
I am respectfully to submit that a plantation of 
10,000 acres, though undoubtedly extensive, cannot 
reasonably be considered experimental ; and so 
far from acting as an encouragement to private 
enterprise the extensive experiment is, as a matter 
of fact, viewed with very great alarm by the many 
private persons now engaged in Rubber planting 
in Ceylon and other British possessions. In 
Ceylon alone there were, according to the latest 
returns, nearly 12,000 acres of Rubber trees 
planted. To the owners of these lands it is a 
great discouragement to find that the Indian 
Government is likely to be a very powerful com- 
petitor with them in the market for their pro- 
duce. I have the honour to be, Su, your obedient 
servant, (Signed) Wm. Maetin Leake, Set retary. 
The Under Secretary of State for India, India 
OtKce, Whitehall, S.W. 
India Office, Whitehall, S. W. Uth Dec. 1903. 
Sir, — I am directed by the Secretary of State for 
India in Council to acknowledge the receipt of 
your letter of the 27th November, in which you 
represent that the size of the Burma rubber plan- 
tation is so large that it cannot reasonably be con- 
sidered experimental, and further, that the experi- 
ment is viewed with very great alarm by many 
private persons engaged in rubber planting in 
Ceylon and other British possessions. 
In reply, I am to say that Mr Secretary Brodrick 
is not disposed to fetter the discretion of the 
Government of India, who, he considers, are in the 
best position to judge what is a suitable area for 
the rubber plantations, which they have experi- 
mentally undertaken. As the total world's pro- 
duction of rubber exceeds 50,000 tons per annum, 
and as only 100 tons per annum are estimated as 
the output of the 10,000 acres in Burma, it seems 
highly improbable that the Burma rubber planta- 
tions, even if they were considerably larger than 
is at present contemplated, would have any per 
cepiible effect on prices. 
This beirg the case, the Secretary of State does 
not see how the exi.stence of these plantations 
should excite alarm iiniong private persons engaged 
in rubber planting in C-iylon, especially as there 
is no rea.son to believe that the supply of the com- 
modity is, or will be in the immediate future, in 
excess of the demand. — I am. Sir; your obedient 
servant, (Signed), Horace Walpole. 
The Secretary, Ceylon Association in London. 
61 and 62 Gracechurch St.; E. C, Dee. Uth, 1903, 
Sir, — I have the honour to acknowledge receipt 
of your letter (li and S 30, 60) of this date. 
There must, I think, be an error in the estimate 
of the output of Rubber put forward, viz., 100 tons 
from 10,000 acres, or 22'4 lb per acre. Such a 
result as this would hardly show that " this tree 
can be profitably cultivated." 
Mr A Dupont, Curator of the Botanic Station, 
Seychelles, in his report dated 31st July last, says: — 
"An acre of land may yield 200 lb of Rubber at least" 
and again " a plantation in Ceylon yields seven 
years after planting 30O lb per acre per annum." 
It seems probable that the correct estimate is 
1,000 tons of Rubber from the 10,000 acres. But in 
that case the argument adopted in your letter under 
reply loses nine-tenths of its force. — I am. Sir, your 
obedient servant, (Signed) Wm Martin Leake, 
Secretary. 
The Under-Secretary of State for India, White- 
hall, S W. 
India Office, Whitehall, S W, Dec. 18th, 1903. 
Sir,— I am directed by the Secretary of State for 
India in Council to aelciiowledge the receipt of 
your letter of Uth December on the subject of 
Rubber- tree cultivation by the Forest Department 
in Burma. 
In reply I am to say that the yield per acre must 
necessarily vary with the method of cultivation 
alopted and the number of trees planted per acre. 
In undertaking the experiment, with a view 
to ascertaining the conditions under which 
the Hevea may be grov.n in Burma, the 
Forest Department is operating in an area 
already under natural forest, and the method 
of planting adopted differs greatly from the close 
and continuous plantations to which your letteir 
apparently refers, the seed being sown only at 
wide intervals in natural forest. The estimate of 
yield given in my letter of 11th December was 
based on the number of rubber-trees expected to 
be in existence at the end of the 12th year under 
the particular mode of treatment which it was 
proposed to pursue. — I am, Sir, your obedient 
servant, (Sgd.) A. GODLEY. 
The Secretary, Ceylon Association. 
61 & 62, Gracechurch Street, Dec. 18, 1903. 
Sir,— I am in receipt of your letter (R. & S. 
3,196) of this date. 
The explanation given of the method adopted by 
the Indian Government in planting the Rubber 
trees in Burma will no doubt go far to allay the 
alarm, felt by those engaged in Planting in Ceylon 
and elsewhere, at the magnitude of the operations 
of which reports have been received. 
In order to attain this result I am sending a 
co|)y of our correspondence to Ceylon for publica- 
tion in the local newspapers. — I am, Sir, your 
obedient servant, 
(Sad.) Wm. Martjn Leake. Secretary. 
The Under-Secretary of State for India, White- 
ball, S. W. 
