560 
THE TROPICAL 
AGRICULTURIST. [Feb. 1, 1962. 
where such provision is an impossibility. We fur- 
ther wish to point out that rural police are an expense 
to Government and to the planters, and that we 
believe that by special legislation crime could be sup- 
pressed without any expense to either. Per figures 
collected — Acreage iiuder cacao in Matale districts 
9,627 acres ; acreage in bearing, 7,922 acies ; 3rop 
secured in 1901, 14,026 cwt; ciop estimated for 1902, 
15,506 cwt.; acreage opened in 1901, 194 acres. Above 
figures include 400 acres estimated native gardens. 
Yield per acre 1^ cwt. Figures collected from 52 
estates. 
Cardamoms. — The total ar«a in Ceylon under this 
product cannot be under 7,000 acres of which fully 
one-sixth is in the Matale district. During the early 
part of the year crops are so very short that it was 
generally supposed the total export would be under 
that of last year, but the shipments in December, 
about 120,000 lb. being far in excess of any previous 
months' shipment, ran up the figures to 559,704 lb. or 
32,249 lb. in excess of the previous year. With favour- 
able weather during the present year the crop will 
in all probability be close on 6011,000 lb. As this spice 
is bnt little known in the continental and European 
markets, every opportunity should be seized by 
growers for sending samples to exhibitions of Colonial 
products. Per figures collected : — Acreage under car- 
damoms, Matale district, 1,515 acres, acreage in 
bearing, 1,013 acres ; crop in 1901, 77,408 lb.; estimated 
crop in 1902, 96,1001b. ; acreage opened in 1001, 141 
acres. Tield per acre 76 lb. Figures collected from 
23 estates, 
BuBBER. — In writing of rubber in Ceylon wo 
include the three varieties, Ceara, Para, and 
Castilloa. As regards the first, " the old Ceara " as 
it is generally calledi there is little to be said. Ceara 
rubber grows like a weed almost any where in Matale 
and seems to thrive where little else can get enough 
out of the soil to €ven exist. Unfortunately the 
market value of the rubber collected from this tree is so 
low that it is scarcely worth tapping. From the enicdl 
amount of tapping which has been done it is very 
evident that a treo growing on the banks of a river 
gives Rubber in much larger quantities and much 
more freely than another tree of the same age and 
size planted back from the river banks. 
Castilloa Rubber.— This tree appears to grow well 
here m fairly good soil and does not seem to depend 
BO much on the rainfall as the Para tree. We have 
trees on this estate said to be about 12 years old and 
these were tapped by Mr. Gordon Beeves about two 
years ago and he has supplied the following figures : — 
Tapping for 6 months, from October to March inclu- 
sive, 6 trees gave 11 lb. to 121b. of Rubber, nearly 
21b per tree. Mr. Reeves thinks that with more care- 
ful tapping and curing the yield might be brought 
up to neaily 2|lb. per tree, though he doubts if the 
trees would give more than that amount if tapped 
twice during the year. The latex from these trees 
runs much more freely than that of the Para trees, 
hence the cost of production should be much less. 
The trees here began to bear seed at 8 to 9 years old, 
but seed has been picked from a tree only about 9 ft. 
high and not more than 4 years old ; there were only 
about 4 cones containing 8 or 9 seed each, but this 
does not make the fact of so young a tree bearing 
seed ai all, any the less remarkable. Mr Willis of Pera- 
deniya stales that Castilloa trees do uot bear seed in 
any quantity unless planted in a grove of eight or ten 
trees together and ray own experiences bears this out. 
This seemed to point to the trees being &ale and 
ffcmale,5but on writing Mr Willis, he says that male and 
female flowers both grow on the same tree and must 
be pollinated. This is now done by insects and a 
large percentageof the flowers always fall off. Enquiries 
are to be made as to whether it cannot be done by 
hanil, and if this is possible a very large crop of teed 
could be obtained. There is a clearing of 42 acres of 
Castilloa Rubber planted 15 by 15 ft. between cacao 
)ia$q Qo Ambanganga estate in Matale JNoctb' whera 
both rubber and oacao are doing exceedingly well ; 
the soil is good though inclined to be "irony," but the 
rainfall is very low. In planting Castilloa, basket 
plants shotild be used and the basket pu^ low in the 
hole, so that the earth level may come 2 or even2J 
inches up the stem of the plant. The reason for this 
IS that though the plant is an exceptionally hardy 
one, if one gets.dry weather after planting, it is apt to 
die down to the earth level, and then if planted as I 
suggest the stem below the earth level will send up 
new shoots. 
Castilloa is probably the Rubber for Mitala 
District. 
(.Signed.^ H Stoeet, 
Hon Secretary. 
The report was adopted. 
PLANTING NOTES. 
The Banana seem much to the front at the 
firesent day, an<l comes in for a good deal of 
audation ; the banana plant, say.s M de Lovedo 
in El de Proj;re».s Mexico, will feed lo'J men 
from the product of one hectare of laud so planted, 
wliile the same area in wheat would only ■■^npply 
food for six individuals, for the same .space and 
nnder similar conditions of cultivation, its pro- 
duce in 40 times that of potatoes and lOU tim«s 
that of wheat. The finit of the banana contains 
7i percent of water, 2"14 i)er cent of nitrogenous 
matter, and 22 per cent ot saccharine substances, 
the latter giving it it.s fjreat nutritive quality. — 
Hawaiian Planters' Monthly. 
Thk Protest against tlie increaned Tea 
Duty from the Secrttaiies of the India and 
Ceylon Tea Associations appears in the 
London Times of January 11th, received by 
the French mail, and is as follows : — 
THE TAX ON TEA. 
TO THE EDITOR OF THE " TIMES." 
Sir, — In your leading article of this morning on 
Sir Robert Giffen'.s financial prof;ranime yon say 
that "there can be little doubt tliat tea would bear 
a charge of 2d or 'M |ier pound more." 
We wish to state that the whole subject of the 
tea duty audits incidence was fully dealt, with la.it 
year in a meinoiial from our association to the 
chancellor of the Exchequer. 
The Chancellor, in liis Bndj^et speech on April 
15 last, said : — 
" I turn to tea. Tea has already been taxed up to 
75 per cent of it.s value. It is produced mainly in India 
and Ceylon, and it is a product iu which our fellow- 
subject* at home and abroad are deeply interested, ».nd 
the trade in which, I think, largely owing to over- 
production, is not in a very satisfactory condition. I 
do uot think we ou^ht to increase the duty on tea." 
Again, on June 18, in a speech on the Finance 
Bill, he said : — 
" If it should ever be his happy let to bs able to 
reduce taxation, he should be disposed to reduce the 
duty on tea rather than on beer or spirits." 
Your present proposal to increase the duty by 25 
to 40 per cent on the value has hardly, we think, 
received due consideration. 
We are, Sir, your obedient seivants, 
ERNEST TYE, Secretary, Indian Tea Association. 
WM. MARTIN LEAKE, Secretary, Ceylon 
Assocation in London. 
14, Sb Mary Axe, E.C., Jan, JO, 
