m 
THE TEOPICAL 
AGRICULTURIST. [June 1, 1904. 
YIELD COULD BE IMPEOVED. 
When I say, and I do not think I by any means exag" 
gerate, that the yield from the trees in a vast majority of 
native holdings and plantations could still be improved 
by at least 50 per cent with proper care and attention, 
it may easily be gathered what an important difference 
and return this would make over so large an area. 
Looking at the many uses to which the coconut is pnt, 
the enormously increased consumption all over the 
world of oil and copra, under such altered circum- 
stances as I have mentioned, which I am endeavouring 
to bring about, and taking into account the very 
favourable conditions existing— i.e., suitability of 
soil, the rapid growth and maturity of the trees and 
the exceptionally heavy crops they are capable of 
yielding — the future outlook of the industry in the 
Federated Malay States would indeed be hopeful and 
significant. 
In conclusion, I would record my special thanks to 
the District Of&cers ; the progress reported, which I 
trust may be considered satisfactory from more points 
than one, is in no small measure due to the assistance 
and the co-operation I have received at their handa. 
L. C. Brown, Inspector of Coconut Trees, F M S. 
Kuala Lumpur. 
BEETLE FEST AND COCONUT PALMS. 
Sir, — There are several kinds of beetles which 
lay iheir eggs or larva in certain kinds of palms. 
I, with others, believe that the adult beetles do 
not live in the palnas, but that they deposit their 
eggs, or larva, and fly away, and that it is in the 
course of the transformations that take place from 
larva into perfect beetle (as described below) that 
the palms are injured. The kinds of beetles 1 
know are: — (1) Calandra palniarum, or coconut 
weevil and Butocera rubus, and Oryctis rhinocera, 
I have not captured the first beetle, bub the late 
Surgeon-General Sliortt describes and figures it in 
his book on Agriculture as nearly two inches long 
with along nose terminating in a fine point. He 
says ;t deposits its eggs on the plant. When the 
eggs are hatched, the grub works its way into the 
heart, or leaf-bud of the coconut palm, where it 
begins to form its cocoon, in which its transfor- 
mation into chrysalis takes place and subsequently 
it emerges into a perfect beetle. To make its 
escape from the centre of the palm it eats its way 
through t' e tender leaf-bud to the top of the palm 
and flies away. All the beetles, as far as I can 
find out, do the same, or nearly the same, and it 
is in passing through the pith of the palm they 
either destroy, or stop its growtii for years. 
The Butocera rubies penetrates the trunk of 
the palm near the ground and deposits its eggs ; 
the grub works its way upwards, and escapes as 
above. This beetle is also about two inches long 
with a flat nose and two long feeler?. The Oryctis 
rhinocera, or rhinoceros beetle deposits its iarva 
in the inner portion of the base of the leaf- 
stock. They work into the centre of the palm 
and escape through the sides or top. This is a 
smaller but more formidable-looking beetle than 
the Butocera, and has a hook on its nose, hence its 
name. It will be interesting to learn whether the 
beetle to which Mr VasudevaRow refers (as having 
its being in cowdung and when able to fly takes 
*' shelter in the trees and nips them in the bud ") is 
anew kind, or one of the three described above; 
also whether any of the beetles captured in the pots 
of niuttakottai sediment are like those I describe. 
I do not claim any great accuracy for my observa- 
tions with reference to these beetles, but their 
attacks on my coconut and ornamental palms 
have induced me to believe that the grubs of these 
insects required the special kind of fibre which they 
obtained by gnawing the trunks of palms, for the 
formation of their cocooni?, and that was why they 
used the palms for their nursery. I am therefore 
surprised, but glad, to hear that they have des- 
cended into cowdung. 
H. E. Houghton. 
M, Mail, May 2. 
PLANTING AND OTHER NOTES. 
The Fruit-Beabing Papaw. — According to a French 
writer the sex of the papaw tree {Carica papaya) can 
be changed. If the male tree be topped as soon aa 
its sex is ascertainable it will become a female or 
fruit-bearing tree. This, if correct, is worth carryin g 
out, and we shall be glad to hear if Ceylon cultivators 
hav e found it to be so. 
A New "Tennent's Ceylon."— The letter 
we publish elsewhere on this subject takes 
up a suggestion made in our columns some 
time ago that a literary Committee might 
be appointed by Government to bring 
"Tennent," on Ceylon, up to date. As he is 
well versed in Tennent as in other authors' 
of Ceylon history, the writer's opinion — as 
to the work being unfeasible— deserves due 
attention. But it is just because ot the 
immense new material, that there is need 
for a work like Tennent's— giving so sub- 
stantial a foundation of information, and 
being arranged on such excellent lines— to 
be brought thoroughly up to date : care being 
always taken to avoid not only the greater 
author's errors, but the fresh ones of his 
corrective successors. A magnum ojius on 
the history of Ceylon, to the dawn of the 
20th century, has still to be written. 
GuTTA Rambong Trees in Ceylon.— We 
referred recently to the Gutta Rambong 
(Ficus elastica) plantation on Moorock estate. 
On enquiry we learn that Mr, H W Bailey 
has gutta rambong also on Elston. "Mine 
are planted," he says, " 30 by 30 feet, which 
is quite close enough in good soil. In the 
Straits they plant them 40 by 40 feet, and 
the trees give 20 lb. dry rubber each. It 
was valued at home at 4s 6d per pound." The 
Ficus elastica is planted at a distance because 
of its habit of sending down adventitious 
roots from the upper branches, these on 
reaching the soil, increase enormously in 
girth and become new trunks; an example 
of which is seen in the banyan tree (Ficus 
indica). In Deli, Sumatra ia a large planta- 
tion of gutta rambong at Laut-Tador, owned 
by the American Russian Rubber Co, The 
estate has 800,000 trees. These are planted 
15 by 15 feet, and on each tree only two or 
three adventitious roots are allowed to 
grow down to become new trunks. In Java 
there is a large plantation at Poerwakarta 
with trees 25 years old. These are planted 
very close, 6 by 6 feet ; all lateral branches 
and aerial roots are cut off and clean straight 
trunks kept. These trees also are giving a 
good yield of rubber. The Sumatra rubber 
is evidently not as good as the Straits, for 
the average of the Deli product is 4s per 
lb. But as para rubber obtains the highest 
price on the London market and is proved 
to flourish excellently in Ceylon it is noi 
likely that Gutta rambong will be planted 
to any very gi'eat extent. 
