*Hfi TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [June 1, im. 
tree " is O'ercis SiUqtiastrum. This is a small 
leguminous tree with pinnate leaves and 
pretty pink flowers. It is a native of 
Southern Europe and Western Asia, and is 
Sopularly supposed to be the tree upon which 
udas hanged himself. Being a small tree, 
with low branches, it would no doubt answer 
that purpose as well as either the " Baobab 
tree " or Palmyra palm. It is not known, 
however, what object the traitor had chosen 
for the rash act — much less that it was a 
particular kind of tree. 
The name "Judas tree" is doubtless 
another instance of the fallacy of English 
names of plants. Curiously enough, however, 
the same name, or different equivalents, is 
used more or less throughout Europe for 
the same kind of tree. In Germany it is 
Judas baum ; in France, Arbre de Jud6e, 
—Yours faithfully, BOTANIC. 
ing process is greatly in its favour. The one 
and only fault found with Ceylon rubber is 
its irregularity in quality. This is put down 
to the mixing of the latex of young and old 
trees. It is a difficult matter to avoid this 
mixing when the coolies are tapping a seriea 
of trees of different ages, but extra trouble, 
extra labour if necessary, will be found to be 
worth while in order to keep latex from 
mature trees separate from the rest. The 
soft sticky rubber spoken of is possibly from 
younger trees, or collected during rainy 
weather, or very slowly dried caoutchouc. 
The smoked samples, it is seen, are com- 
mended for their regular quality, and it is 
added that these may have come from old 
trees only, which we think very probable. 
If irregularity of quality were really going 
to shut out Ceylon rubber from fine work, 
the matter would be a very serious one for 
Ceylon ; but we do not think this is at all likely 
to be the case. 
PLANTING AND OTHER NOTES. 
The "Peridote" in Ceylon.— The Daily 
Telegraph states that an attempt has been 
made to revive the lustre of th? "peridote" 
of Egypt (the " topazion" of the ancients) but 
also found on the continent, and in Peru, 
Brazil and Ceylon. Specimens from the 
Khedivial mines were shown in Regent Street 
on April 25th being of a pistachio or leek— 
never emerald— green. The value is a little 
below that of the emerald. The journal adds;— 
, The name peridote has long been the cause of 
struggling among philologists. Some pin their 
filth to the derivative peridotoa— a wager ; 
otheis swear by peridetos — banded. The Gold- 
smiths' and Silversmiths' philologist dogmatically 
states that the word is derived from " Peridet," 
a precious atone. Under any namejthe stone shines. 
Can anyone tell us of recent finds of the 
peridote in Ceylon ? Perhaps the Govern- 
ment Mineralogist has come across it. 
Ceylon Rubber and Manufacturers.- 
, We publish elsewhere an interesting extract 
from one of Mr. Henry Pearson's letters on 
Ceylon rubber, giving the opinions of leading 
manufactures on this product ; these opinions 
will be of considerable interest to Ceylon 
planters. The general opinion on the rubber 
is very good, and such terms as " perfectly 
satisfactory" and "extreme cleanliness" 
speak volumes for the Ceylon article. The 
amount of shrinkage is satisfactory, only 
about 1'4 per cent, and we fancy that if 
the biscuits, or "pancakes" as the manu- 
facturer advisedly terms them, were more 
thoroughly dried, even this percentage could 
be lowered. Curiously enough two manufac- 
turers, with plenty of experience of Ceylon 
rubber, hold exactly opposite views on it in 
regard to its use for cements. And when 
doctors disagree, who should decide ? On 
the Gontinent Ceylon para is used chiefly 
for inflating work ; but in England evidently 
for all sorts of fine grade work. We are 
glad to learn that the " pancakes," in which 
form it is exported, are so highly spoken 
of ; and its good quality after the vulcanis* 
India Rubber in Ceylon.— With our 
interview elsewhere with Mons. Octave Collet, 
the Belgian India rubber expert, and the 
contributed articles on this subject we give 
considerable space to this comparatively 
new Ceylon product, but not more 
than such an important subject deserves. 
Rubber is destined to become one of the 
staple planting products of the East, especi- 
ally in the Straits, but Ceylon also is to 
have a fair share of the coming great 
industry. M. Collet, in the interview 
sounds a note of warning as regards 
native rubber planting. No one will object 
to the native planting rubber, but by indif- 
ferent work he must not be allowed to put 
an inferior product on the market as " Ceylon 
Rubber " and spoil the good name and re- 
putation built up by European work and 
enterprise. Canker is another thing that 
must be most vigorously guarded against. At 
present very little, hardly any indeed, is to 
be found on private estates, but the irony 
of it is that on the Government plantations 
at Yatipauwa canker is to be found, and in 
quantity sufficient to be serious, and con- 
siderable cutting out is going on there in 
consequence. Who is responsible? For some- 
one must have blundered not to have put 
down the canker long ago. We all linow 
from hard experience the danger of neglect- 
ing such diseases among crops. It would not 
indeed be surprising if the little canker 
that has been found on Kalutara rubber trees 
could not be traced to Yatipauwa as its 
source, germs brought down by wind or 
flood. Mons. Collet has promised us some 
interesting information in the near future 
regarding Ceylon rubber and the rubber trees 
which will be I'eceived with interest by all 
connected with rubber planting. In our 
account this month of a trip through the Kalu- 
tara district and a visit to Culloden Estate 
taken by Mons. Collet, his private secretary, 
Mons. B. Lippens, and our correspondent, the 
conditions of the trees and the prospects of the 
Ceylon rubber industry are highly spoken of. 
We learn that some excellent photos of 
Ceylon rubber trees were taken during thw 
trip, 
