THE TROPICAL AGEICULTURIST. [May 2, 1904. 
Among those to whom Mr. Drieberg ap 
plied for cotton seed was Mr. A. F. Broun, 
late Conservator of Forests in Ceylon, and 
now of the Soudan Forest Department. After 
a long interval the seed luis come through 
the local Government, and this will furnish 
further opportunities for finding by practical 
tests the variety or varieties that are likely 
to prove most suitable to local conditions. 
Between the experimental plantation in 
charge of the Botanical Department, the 
Government Stock Garden experiments, there 
would seem to be a fair prospect of this 
being done within the next year or two. 
We undei'stand that the only difficulty in 
the Stock Garden at present is the need for 
more room, as the existing area is far too 
limited for the large number of crops being 
grown, but this difficulty will no doubt be 
overcome soon. 
hands, who afterwards presented it to the right party. 
The lessees and shareholders of the pit seem to bo 
Messrs A M Fernando of Alutgama, Constable Aratchy 
of Walawe, E L F de Soysa of Colombo, J W Weera- 
suriya of Dodanduwa, and Thomis of Bataduva, who 
hold a lease on the land for two years from Govern- 
ment on a rental of Bl,505. Whether Government 
p;ave the lessees the fole mining right for minerals 
and gems, or the miniug right for plambago alone, 
has yet to be seen. The gem weighs one and-a-half 
to two ozs. avoirdupois, and is round as a pendulum, 
with concave sides, of pigeon-blood hue and of excellent 
water. It is rumoured that an offer of E50,000 has 
been made for it. This sensational gem, found soon 
after the floating of Southern Ceylon Tea and Rubber 
Company, Limited, is said to be a good omen. Mr J 
Parsons, who came to the district on cf&cial duty, paid 
a visit to the very plumbago pit a few weeks before 
the finding of this gem ; his opinion and report after 
scrutiny will be worthy of note, if he has forwarded 
same to Government prior to finding of this remarkable 
gem. 
SYNTHETIC RUBBER. 
PRACTICALLY AN IMPOSSIBILITY. 
A well known rubber expert, who has 
considerable experience of rubber com- 
mercially, informs us that Ceylon planters 
and investors need have no fear that synthetic 
rubber will soon be placed on the market 
and thus greatly reduce the value of in- 
vestments. Synthetic rubber is practically 
an impossibility. Camphor can be manu- 
factured synthetically but the cost is very 
prohibitive and growers need have no fear 
in that direction ; but the manufacture of 
rubber by synthesis is still more remote. 
As an example of the unlikelihood of this 
process ever becoming accomplished we 
may instance the action of the Belgian 
Government in the Congo. A large portion 
of the revenue of the Congo State is derived 
from its rubber exports and the Government 
has, therefore, to keep a close watch on the 
present and future prospects of the market. 
The Government insists on a large number 
of Landolphia trees being planted each year 
by the exporters and those engaged in the 
industry, and are maintaining, if not in- 
creasing, the number of trees in cultivation. 
If synthetic rubber were probable, the Bel- 
gian Government would be one of the first 
authorities to be aware of it, and would 
certainly not go on planting if the industry 
were in any danger. For 20 years, at 
least, rubber in the East may be looked 
upon as one of the soundest investments 
going, and this opinion of an expert is 
backed up by the fact that he has himself 
invested in Eastern rubber estates. 
A REMARKABLE EUBY. 
POUND AT NAKIADENIA PLUMBAGO PIT, S. P. 
The ruby found on the 25th ultimo at the Nakia. 
denia plumbago pit at a depth of eight fathoms 
amongst the plumbago illama is considered to be a 
wonderful find, though no mention of the same is 
made in the English papers. It seems that plumbago 
■was being washed and put to dry, when the ruby 
dazzled the eye of a boy-worker who picked it up and 
attempted to break it. At once W, Mendis de Silva 
of Dodanduwa (clerk and manager at the pit) came to 
the rescue and snatched the gem from the boy's 
PLANTING AND OTHER NOTES. 
Corner in Coconuts.— There is now a "corner" 
in coconuts in America, and prices are bounding 
upwards. The yearly consumption is estimated 
at 2,000,000, and the price as a rule averages from 
£4 to £6 per 1,000.— Daily Express. 
Camphor in Mexico.— Camphor is produced in 
the territory of lepic, where a company has been 
recentlj foiined for its cultivation on a large scale" 
A camphor tree will produce in Mexico from 2 to 
3 lb of gum every summer, and 350 trees can be 
planted to the acre. The company leferred 
to, says the Chemist and Druggist, is con- 
fidently expectant of realising handsomely in its 
camphor- tree investments. 
Tea Crops in the First Quarter. 1901.— 
Tea crops up country generally for the first 
quarter of 1904 appear to be ahead of last year. 
Some companies are to be commended for 
issuing a quarterly crop statement, " for the 
information of shareholders," which enables 
the latter to judge of what dividend may be 
expected in the course of the year. In the 
case of one company whose estates are in 
one of the highest districts, while the price 
is only '01 cent behind that ot the first quarter 
of 1903, the crop this year is just 20 per cent 
more. 
Rubber in Travancore.— From a gentle- 
man lately in Travancore, we learn that a 
good deal of speculation in land is going on 
there, not so much by proprietors in planting 
up rubber for their own use, as in buying 
blocks of land and—after planting with 
rubber— selling them again at a profit. 3,000- 
acre blocks of land have been purchased in 
many cases and a substantial proportion 
cleared and planted with the product — the 
rubber clearings costing comparatively little, 
but adding appreciably to the value of the 
land and making it find a ready market. Tra- 
vancore gets most of its rain in 6 months of 
the year and is not quite as dry (for Kubber) 
as planters might like. Pepper is found to 
do verv well in Travancore and it is pro- 
bable that a revival in attention to this 
product will be seen there before long. 
