842 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTUKIST. 
[June 1, 1904. 
stalk at the iuncture where the slips grow I will 
give at a later day. It is not alone because I 
save the slips, bub for other reasons of a most vital 
importance to the grower. The usual custom 
amongst growers is to cut stalk, slips and pineapple 
from the plant, and after removing the slips, ship 
the pineapple with two to three inches of stalk 
remaining attached to the pineapple ; this 
system is wrong. 
CRATES PACKED FOR SHIPPING. 
After pineapples have been allowed to cool over- 
night they are then each wrapped in a strong 
quality paper and packed in crates, size 6" x 15" x 36" 
with middle, (one lajer) holding each crate 12 
pineapples, the fruit being packed head and bottom 
snugly to prevent them moving, the slats nailed 
on and the crate neatly marked, when it is ready 
for shipment and if pineapples are gathered in 
proper condition, carefully handled and pains 
taken in crating them, they will carry three 
weeks safely ! 
KEMOVING THE SLIPS. 
Many growers remove the slips from around 
the pineapple where the fruit is J grown, arguing 
that by removing the slips more strength of the 
plant goes into the fruit. I have never dis- 
covered any advantage in removing the slips. 
Beside, I claim that the slips protect the fruit from 
the hot sun, giving me a cleaner pineapple, 
besides saving my slips for planting and avoiding 
a great amount of trouble necessary to remove 
them. 
THE BACKWARD STATE OF THE WEST INDIES. 
Pineapple-growing is no secret, no more so than 
growing oranges or other fruit trees. Everlasting 
attention must be given to growing anything suc- 
cessfully; and if planters would wear out instead 
of rust out more agricultural tools— allowing golf, 
cricket, polo, tennis and other so-called recreative 
games to be played by theofflceclerks who need out- 
door exercise, and look to the exercise of proper cul- 
tivating their crops, the West India Islands today 
would not be in such a backward state. It is not 
the fault of these beautiful islands— but the 
inhabitants thereof and Jamaica', the Queen of all, 
is not much better off today than the worst of 
them I Should you, or the readers of the Tropical 
Agriculturist at any time desire any questions 
answered in regard to pineapple, or citrus-growing, 
what little advice I can give, I am only too glad 
to impart for the betterment of my fellow planters 
of the Western and Eastern Tropics. 
George Loutrbl Lucas. 
GUTTA RAMBONG TREES ON MOOROCK. 
We have already referred to the planta- 
tion of gutta rambong trees {/icus elanttca) 
on Moorock estate, we now have some 
further particulars concerning them from 
Mr H VV Bailey. He says, " I believe 30' x 
80' to be the correct distance apart to 
plant gutta rambong trees, and they should 
be planted on mounds of earth 18/r high and 
not in holes. My trees are nearly 5 years 
old and the largest is 26 inches in circum- 
ference at 3 feet above the ground ; and 
about 30 feet in height. They were planted 
under old coconuts in heavy shade and 
never got a chance of growing or they 
would be twice the size they are now." In 
Sumatra gutta rambong trees are tapped 
at 10 years old. In a former report by Mr 
Hill, oflficiatiug Inspector-General of Forests, 
we read that young well developed trees, 
aged 18 to 20 years, gave respectively 135, 
1"35, 0'68, and 2 70 kilos of rubber, estimated 
worth 2 francs per kilo at Calcutta. Com- 
menting on this Dr. Van Romburgh, in his 
work on the gutta rambong, says this a 
a poor yield and low price for the rambong 
grows excellently in Assam. In Sumatra 
the yield of various trees seems to differ 
considerably, and in the work just 
referred to we notice that six trees, 12 
years old, on Poerwakarta gave a yield of 112 
grammes per tree, a satisfactory return ; 
on another plantation at Tjiheber, at 
an elevation of 1,500 feet, 4 trees planted 
in January 1893 gave 3^ kilos (7 lb.) of rubber 
in April 1901, while on yet another estate 
six 6 year old trees gave respectively 85, 60, 
45, 72, 120 and 85 grammes of dry rubber. The 
returns from Ceylon rambong trees when 
tapping is eventually started will therefore be 
looked forward to with interest. 
GREEN TEA IN THE KANGRA VALLEY. 
A contemporary writes :—" Green tea for 
the American market is the rage in the 
Kangra Valley this year, and all the big 
gardens are going in for it. There is a rising 
demand for this class of manufacture, and 
the Tea Association is paying a bonus 
of nine pie per pound to every maker who 
exports it out of India. It is to be hoped 
that the planters' expectations regarding this 
trade with the American market may be 
realised, for with indifferent crops, low prices 
and war taxation, they have been having 
hard times of late years. 
PLANTING AND OTHER NOTES. 
CEYLON Para Rubber in London,— Our 
special letter elsewhere shows[ihat four Ceylon 
estates obtained five shillings and over, per lb., 
for Para Rubber at the recent London sales. 
One Kurunegala estate arid three in Ealutara 
district had produce on the market, and 
it will be noticed with satisfaction that 
Ceylon Para fetch 3|d per lb. more than best 
South American rubber. 
Tea Firing and Fine Quality.— Th^ 
letter elsewhere signed " The Chulu," is a 
very seasonable one, drawing attention to 
Mr. Oscar Thompson's emphatic remarks 
as (given on the page) to tea firing and 
modern methods being responsible for a 
decline in quality. If there is a time of 
need to improve line teas produced in 
Ceylon, up to the hilt, it is now that the 
extra 2d duty has been imposed ; so that the 
best-priced teas may become better-priced 
aiid so stand the extra duty with greater 
ease than those which would fetch a lower 
figure. We shall be glad to hear of any cases 
of return to direct firing, the drying by air 
currents having been relinquished in favour 
of the old "chulu" method. 
