240 
THE TEOPICAL 
AGRICULTURIST. [Oct. 1, 1961. 
serves where he will not be in rivalry with liuman 
cultivation, and yet will be within reach of the 
authorised sportsman and the keddah manager — 
for there is no reason why attempts .ihonld not be 
made after a time to drive the young wild elephants 
into domesticity, as is done in Siam, Ceylon, and 
India. Grain will be another staple of Negro 
Mileland — dhurra, maize, miileton the JSile fiats and 
in the lowlands ; wheat, barley, and oats, on the 
plateaux and on the mountains. Already wiieat 
has penetrated soalhward from the Arab Nile and 
is cultivated on the highlands north of Lake 
Rudolf. Enormous quantities of other grains 
already familiar to African cultivation are pro- 
duced in these lands. Bananas s:row by millions in 
Uganda and Unyoro, In all the upland countries 
such as those of the Bahr-el-Gazal watershed, 
Uganda, and the mountainous region between 
Uganda and Lake Rudolf, the coffee .ehrub grows 
wild, and wild coffee is chewed by natives as an 
agreeable bitter. The lakes and river swarm with 
fish of excellent quality. Nor is salt wanting to sea- 
son these food-stuffs ; for witiiin British terrtory 
there is a salt appanage of Lake Albert Edward, 
and there are salt deposits along the eastern sshore 
of Lake Albert, and on the shores of Lake Rudolf. 
In many districts ground-nuts giow f^o abundantly 
that quantities of vegetable oil of line quality 
arepioduced. In the forests of Mount Ruwenzori, 
and on the plateaux and mountains to the north 
of the Victoria Nyanza there are conifers grow- 
ing which produce timber of the finest quality for 
builiiing purposes. In the forests of Uganda and 
the Bahr-el-Shazal watershed, indiarubber dye 
woods, ebony, and building timber are abundant. 
RUBBER IN UGANDA. 
We are glad to see that Sir Harry Johnston 
is opposed to the g>-anting of exclusive conces- 
sions of rubber forests in Uganda to individuals 
or associations, and advocates the plan of allowing 
the natives under proper supervision to gather 
the rubber and sell it to whom they will. — 
Westminster Budget, Aug. 2. 
COFFEE PLANTATIONS IN THE CONGO 
A Belgian correspondent, who has served in the 
agriculture and forestry department in the Congo 
Free State, writes to explain the means by which 
the Congo authorities have created the shadow 
rather than the reality of a gifat industry in 
coffee. In their haste to fill the country with 
extensive plantations they gave rewards for every 
area planted with more than a certain number of 
trees, the trees to be no less than 75 eentim6tres in 
height. The sum of money awarded was to be 
shared between the magistrate and the planters 
of the district. The result has been that trees 
have been planted every where and anywhere, in all 
kinds of soil and without any kind of care. 
Enormous numbers of trees have reached the 
requisite height for the reward, but either from 
Siubsequeiil neglect or conditions unfavourable to 
further development they have stopped short of 
fruitful maturity. Our correspondent alleges that 
the planting of cocoa has not been in any degree 
more careful, and that the whole policy of the 
Congo authorities towards cultivation is com- 
pounded of a foolish lavisline.ss — as in the ease of 
these rewards— and a very short-sighted economy. 
p-IiOsdoD litnee, Aug, 1. 
PARA RUBBER FOR RATNAPURA. 
LEASE OF 1,000 ACRRS. 
Mr. Margetsoii, a gentleman who arrived in the 
Island from South /^frica about two nionihs ago 
and has had extensive experience of Para Rubber 
cultivation in South Africa, and is confident of 
being able to grow it ciisily in Ceylon, has leased a 
th(ju:^aDd acres of land in the Katiiapura district 
tor a period of forty-nine years, and means to 
|)lant it fully wiih I'ara Rubber. The land in 
question is known as " Nimitigala Nindagama," 
belongs to Idunjalgoda Kuniarihami, and is 
situated about twelve miles from ihe town of 
Ratnapura. Mr. Marget.son means to import the 
best seeds from South Afi ica, and will proceed on 
the most approved lines. — teylon " Standard." 
[In view of the above announcement we quote as 
follows from our work, " All about Rubber and 
Gutta Percha " : — 
AFRICAN SOUECES OF SUPPLY. 
At the Cape oi Good Hope there are many species of 
Euphorbias which are said to yield a snbstance very 
similar to Gattimanduo, but hitherto I have only been 
able to see fragments, and thus have been precluded 
from making any experiments, Like the Euphorbia 
offinnalis the juice is so acrid as to give intense pain 
and irritation to any part of the body with which it 
may come in contat t, especially" the eyes and nostrils. 
Dr J Coimbie Brown, whilst holding the post of Gov- 
ernment Botanist at the Cape, paid much attention to 
the subject, and favoured me with much correspond- 
ence upon it. Our nnitea efforts bore no fruit The 
substance has been well spoken of as an anti fonlii g 
dressing for ship's bottoms. Mr Baxter, whilst on the 
Niger Expedition, collected a specimen of CAr^.'opAj/i- 
lum (Sapotacesej yielding a substance like gutta- percha. 
but no specimen seems to exist. Tropical Africa 
should indeed be rich in such substances, and doubt- 
less such will prove to be the case when careful search 
and enquiry is made. With regard to the whole 
question of the Pseudo Guttas, Balata should most 
certainly receive attention, and efforts should be made 
by the G-overnment to introduce it into Ceylon and 
elsewhere. Pauchontee, Ct o, should receive attention, 
and the possibility of the utilisation of the rest of the 
group not denied till farther trial has beeu made. — 
J. G- — Indiaruhher and Guttapercha Journal. 
—Ed. T.A. 
COCONUTS IN THE WEST INDIES. 
In Trinidad coconut trees thrive particularly 
well, and especially so in the district of Mayaro, 
where the finest cocal, or coconut walk, has 
curiously planted itself from nuts orignally cast 
ashore from a wrecked vessel. These trees bring 
forth a bunch of nuts every month, and the bunches 
average nine nuts each. Sixty good nuts go to a 
gallon of oil, and this gallon averages $1 or 43 2d. 
The yearly value of a coconut tree is therefore 
roughly set down at $1, from which it will be seen 
that nine thousand six hundred coconut trees are 
sufficient of themselves to pay £2,000 interest, at 
eif'ht per cent on £25,000. In Jiiuiaica eight and 
and nine inland-}. rown coconuts go to a quart of 
oil, coast nuts six to eight ; thus, it seems as if 
a gallon of oil could be produced from half the 
quantity of nuts here than in Tiinidad — From The 
Journal of the Jamaica Agricultural Society, 
for July 1901. 
TEA SEED OIL AND CAKE. 
MR. MANN's KEPOBT TO THE I.TA. 
Calcutta, Aug. 22.- Mr. Harold Mann, a 
chemical expert, has submitted to the Indian 
