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2. — Notes on Economic Products, &c. 
Hitherto the notes given annually under this head have been somewhat irregularly arranged, 
the more important products being treated first. Commencing with the present year the various 
products will be dealt with according to the different classes to which they belong, following the scheme 
of classification adopted in the Handbook of Economic Products of Ceylon now in course of issue. 
Class I: Gums, Resins, Caoutchoucs, Guff as, &c. — An investigation into the gums and resins 
produced by the wild plants of Ceylon has been started, with the view of finding out which are of value 
for local use as substitutes for imported articles. It seems improbable that any of our local 
products of this kind are good enough or cheap enough for export. 
Indiarubber may now be regarded as established as a minor product in the low-country, and an 
export of appreciable quantities of Hevea or Para rubber has began : 66 cwt., valued at Rs. 11,986, 
were exported in 1901 to England. Being carefully prepared, this rubber is of excellent quality, and 
has sold for prices much exceeding those of the best Para rubber sold on the same market from wild 
sources. On one occasion 4s. l\d. per lb. was received for " good biscuit," against 3s. Si\d. for " best 
Para." A recent market report says : " Ceylon sells with eager competition. The rubber is much liked, 
and in large quantities would bring high prices." Extension of planting continues in suitable districts, 
and probably 3,000 acres are now in rubber. In most cases the rubber is mixed with tea and plantefl 
by roads and ravines, and perhaps this is for most estates the most satisfactory method of planting 
under present circumstances. 
There has been no demand for, or planting of, guttapercha during the year. At the instance 
of the Forest Department Mr. Wright was deputed to explore the forests of the low-country of the 
south-west and test the gutta-yieiding trees there found. His report below gives a brief statement of 
work done, and full details will be published after receipt of analyses and valuations. 
Camphor has been a good deal planted during the year, the chief check being the difficulty of 
getting good seed, there being no local supply as yet. A Circular has been issued by the Department 
showing, as the result of some years' experiments, that the tree can be successfully cultivated in many 
parts of the Island, and that the twigs and leaves yield about 1 per cent, of camphor by a simple process 
of distillation, a yield which offers a prospect of proving remunerative. The great risk attending 
this cultivation is that the high price is due to the action of the Japanese monopoly, and that if 
Ceylon became a serious competitor, the monopolists could probably lower the price enormously by 
allowing large harvests for a few years. Hence the cultivation of camphor is not to be recommended 
as the main industry for any estate, but only as a minor industry. 
Class II.: Oils. — The export of cocoanut oil rose from 443,959 cwt. in 1900 to 453,531 in 1901, 
and that of copra from 362,467 to 439,865 cwt. At the same time there has been a considerable rise in 
the market value of both these articles, due to short crops in other countries. 
The export of citronella oil has also increased from 1,409,058 lb. to 1,430,168 lb., but has not, 
reached the figures of 1899. The investigation of the oils, mentioned in last report, has continued, but 
is not yet complete. The industry is in a very depressed state, owing to overproduction and adul- 
teration, the latter being so bad that even good local oils do not obtain the value that is really due to them. 
Prices have reached a very low ebb, 9^ to lOti. per lb., and land is going out of cultivation in the grass. 
On the other hand, the new Java oil, mentioned last year, is selling in increasing quantities at high 
prices (often Is. 4c?.). It is not in reality so superior to the best Ceylon oils as the price would indicate, 
but it is not adulterated, and has no bad reputation to contend against. 
Of other oils, the export of cinnamon oil has slightly increased, from 72,904 oz. in 1900 to 73,493 oz., 
but has not yet reached the figures of past years. Trial plantations of castor oil have been made by 
various planters during the year ; the plant grows well here, and there seems no reason why Ceylon 
should not export this oil as well as India. 
Class III. : Dyes and Tanning Substances. — The export of sapanwood has been 7,1 80 cwt. Plant- 
ing of Acacia decurrens continues in the higher districts. 
Class IV. : Fibres. — There has been a slight decrease in the total export of coir, our chief fibre, 
the figures being rope 13,030, yarn 75,788, fibre 122,526 cwt., as against 12,572, 87,415, and 115,090 cwt. 
in 1900. Of palmira and kitul fibres, the export has been 12,353 cwt. and 2,541 cwt. No interest has 
been taken in other fibres. Sisal hemp is being taken up in India, and the available stock of plants 
last year was mostly sold to planters there. 
Class V. : Drugs. — An investigation of the native drugs of Ceylon is being set on foot, and plots 
of all possible species are being laid out at Peradeniya (see Mr. Wright's report). 
