May  1,  1897.]  Supplement  to  the  “ Tropical  Agriculturist." 
815 
The  commercial  profits  in  the  rubber  trade 
are  so  enormous  as  almost  to  challenge  belief. 
Tlie  traders  who  deal  with  the  natives  frequently 
purchase  for  mere  civilised  trumperies  hundreds 
of  pounds’  worth  of  rubber ; these  sell  at  the 
last-named  price  to  the  merchants  ; what  the 
merchants  make  would  be  difficult  to  estimate. 
So  long  as  this  system  is  open  to  the  enterprise 
of  the  New  Guinea  pioneers  trading  in  the 
interest  of  Melbourne  and  Sydney  syndicates, 
they  are  not  likely  to  trouble  to  preserve  the  trees  ! 
As  one  object  of  this  article  is  to  show  that 
rubber-cultivation  may  be  more  profitable  in 
the  long  run  than  rubber-piracy,  it  is  necessary 
to  quote  figures  as  to  profits  made  by  such 
cultivators.  Here,  unfortunately,  one  has  to  go 
to  the  other  side  of  the  world  for  startlers. 
A typical  estimate  of  a 500-acre  rubber  farm  in 
Nicaragua  made  the  eighth  year’s  profits 
£44,337  10s ! •*  And  the  yield  increases  every 
year,  witii  no  outlay  e.vcept  for  weeding  and 
harvesting.” 
This  calculation  could  scarcely  apply  to  Queens- 
land, because  the  cost  of  even  kanaka  labor 
would  be  more  than  that  of  Nicaraguan.  But 
in  a plantation  of  trees  planted  15  ft.  apart, 
coffee,  sugarcane,  and  other  shade-loving  plants, 
yielding  yearly  crops,  might  be  sown. 
The  life  of  a rubber-tree  has  never  been  e.vactly 
stated,  but  the  New  York  World  mentioned 
in  1892 : — 
“Three  young  trees  transplanted  from  the 
forest  to  a cultivated  field  in  Soconusco,  Mexico, 
are  now  said  to  be  seven  feet  in  diameter, 
and  have  yielded  rubber  for  more  than  35  years  ; 
the  present  product  averaging  more  than  50  lb. 
of  gum  per  year.” 
I'he  average  increase  is  estimated  to  be  1 lb. 
of  rubber  for  each  year  of  the  tree’s  life,  up 
to  a certain  age.  Trees  tapped  in  the  wet 
season  are  said  to  yield  five  times  as  much  milk 
as  when  tapped  in  the  dry. 
GENERAL  ITEMS. 
A correspondent  wilting  on  scour  in  calves  to  an 
Australian  contemporary  gives  the  following 
remedy: — “Take  a two  quart  pot  and  fill 
it  loosely  with  young  gum  leaves ; pour  in  as 
much  water  as  it  will  hold  and  boil  for  a quarter 
of  an  hour.  Mix  a tablespoonful  of  flour  and  one 
teaspoonful  salt  smoothly  in  as  much  of  the 
ir,fu.sion  (when  cool)  as  will  half  fill  a lemonade 
bottle,  and  give  it  to  the  calf  twice  a day,  a 
little  less  oi  more  according  to  its  age.  I have 
never  lost  a calf  under  this  treatment,  though  it 
may  have  to  be  continued  several  days  or  a week.” 
In  a review  of  the  agricultural  progress  of 
India  in  the  Indian  AgriculUirist,  we  read  that 
“The  most  important  matter  is  the  proper 
education  of  the  agriculturist,  for  the  Government 
of  India  still  hold  to  the  opinion  expressed  in 
the  opening  resolution  of  1881,  and  again  in  the 
resolutions  convening  the  Conferences  of  1890, 
1893,  and  1895-96,  that  no  important  reforms  can 
be  safely  or  widely  introduced  into  the  agricultural 
system  without  the  general  co-operation  of  the  farm- 
ing classes,  from  whom  intelligent  and  willing  aid 
cannot  be  expected  ‘ until  their  education  has  been 
so  directed  as  to  enable  tiiem  to  appreciate,  and 
where  expedient  to  adopt,  the  results  obtained 
by  the  systematic  and  continuous  inquiries  of 
experts.’  This  view  has  been  strongly  confirmed 
by  the  various  Conferences  which  have  recently 
discussed  the  question,  and  has  been  supported 
by  all  local  governments  and  administrations.” 
In  Agricultural  Ledger  No.  23  on  iron  jjloughs 
we  read  that  in  a great  many  parts  of  the  Madras 
Presidency,  during  the  last  10  or  15  years, 
irjn  ploughs  have  come  into  use  and  are  now 
generally  preferred  to  the  heavy  country  ploughs 
for  bringing  waste  and  under  cultivation,  as  well  as 
for  clearing  cultivated  land  of  deep-rooted  grasses 
at  intervals  of  three  years  and  upwards. 
All  ryots  who  have  tried  them  are  of  opinion 
that  with  iron  ploughs  a given  area  can  be 
ploughed  much  sooner  than  with  the  heavy  wooden 
implement,  while  the  cost  of  thoroughly  clearing 
land  with  hand  implements  is  Rio  or  R20  per  acre, 
the  cost  by  means  of  the  iron  plough  is  not  more 
than  one-fifth  as  much.  Experienced  ryots  say 
that  the  productiveness  of  land  is  not  materially 
increased  by  deep  tillage  with  iroti  ploughs,  in 
the  first  year  after  the  ploughing,  but  that  it  is 
in  subsequent  years.  Iron  ploughs  are,  therefore, 
highly  appreciated  for  the  comparative  cheapness 
and  rapidity  of  their  work,  and  are  often  hired 
by  the  ryot  at  about  6 annas  a day,  or  from  RlO 
to  R15  if  hired  by  the  month ....  Many  a man 
who  has  no  land  whatever  purchases  an  iron  idough 
simply  with  the  intention  of  making  a profit  by 
hiring  it  to  the  ryots. 
We  ha  ve  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  the 
following -.—Agricultural  Journal  of  the  Cape  of 
Good  Hope  ; Sugar  .Journal  and  Tropical  Cultivator 
(Queensland)  ; Agricultural  Gazette  of  New  South 
Wales;  The  Central  African  Planter  ; Australian 
Tropiculturist  (Brisbane)  ; Indian  Agriculturist; 
Indian  Agricultural  Ledgers  Nos.  39,  40  and  41  ; 
The  Rural  Californian  ; Agricultural  Gazette  (Bar- 
badoes)  ; The  Ceylon  Review  ; St.  Thomas’  College 
Magazine;  Royal  College  Magazine;  Our  Boys; 
Report  of  the  Department  of  Land  Records,  Agri- 
culture, Madras  ; The  Scottish  Farmer  ; Journal 
of  the  Hoyal  Agricultural  Society,  England  ; Pro- 
ceedings of  the  Royal  Physical  Society  ; Proceed- 
ing ot  the  Highland  and  Agricultural  Society 
of  Scotland. 
We  are  in  receipt  of  a copy  of  an  elementary 
work  on  English  Grammar,  edited  by  Mr.  L.  E. 
Blaz4,  B.A.  The  little  work  supplies  a decided 
want,  and  does  credit  to  the  author.  We  want 
more  of  these  “indigenous”  handbooks,  written  by 
com|»etent  authorities,  and  specially  adapted  to  the 
requirements  of  the  Ceylone.se  youth. 
