THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
April t, 1898.1 
A few trees, twelve years old, prodnced 3 pounds each, 
but in no instance were the tappings exhaustive. 
samples have been sent to Mincing Lane for opinion 
and valuation. 
Tapping. — The trees were tapped with almost 
V-shaped cuts, a few inches apart, with a channel 
down the centre from the lower branches to the base. 
An ordinary pruning knife was used to make the first 
cuts, and about a quarter of an inch of the outer bark 
removed, care being taken not to cut too deeply. So 
soon as this commenced to callus, which varies from 
two to several days, the edges of the cuts were lightly 
shaved with a very sharp chisel every day, with an oc- 
casional interval, until the decided quantity had been 
exuded. The rubber was collected in locally made tin 
boxes, 6 inches by 4 inches by 2 inches, nailed at the 
base of the tree, with the lid partially opened so as to 
prevent wet or dirt from falling in. When full this 
was allowed to dry, and the water pressed out (a 
pinch of salt appears to expedite the coagulation), 
and then kept in smoke for about a week to prevent 
mildew. 
Time or Tapping. — Para rubber has a short resting 
season, when most of the leaves fall off. The flowers 
usually appear first, and when the tree is in full foli- 
age tapping can be commencec, and carried on with 
different trees until again deciduous The first cuts 
can be made at any time of the day, and may be left 
for weeks in the event of exceptionally wet weather, 
but the subsequent tappings should always be done in 
the evening as the rubber soon ceases to exu<ie with 
the influence of the sun. 
COFFEE IN HAWAII. 
A British consular report on Coffee Culture 
in the Hawaii islands gives a very fair ac- 
count of cultivation, hut nothing specially 
new. The estimates, however, are worth refer- 
ring to. They include the purchase of 100 acres 
of Government land at 10 dollars (say £2) per 
Dollars. 
Outlay, 1st year = 
2nd year 
3rd year 
. . 6,955 
. . 3,080 
. . 5,070 
By 20,000 lb. (below 2cwt. per acre) 
of coffee at 18 cwt. 
15,105 
. . 3,600 
Outlay, 4th year 
11,505 
. . 6,220 
By 60,000 lb. coffee 
17,725 
.. 10,800 
Outlay, 5th year 
6,925 
.. 7,570 
By 85,000 lb. coffee . . 
14,495 
. . 15,300 
Credit at the end of 6 years 
805 
We then get an outlay in the sixth year of 
8,820 dollars and a credit of 100,000 Ih. of coffee 
equal to 18,000 dollars, and in the seventh 
year the crop is 125,000 Ih. against the following 
outlay - Dollars. 
Manager’s salary . . . . 1,200 
Labour, 12 Japanese . . . . 2,160 
Picking, pulping, and drying 125,000 lb. 
of coffee, at 4 c. . . . . 6,000 
Hulling, polishing, and grading 126,000 
lb., at 1 c. . . .. .. 1,250 
Sundries ; bags, freight, etc. . . 1,200 
10,810 
The result after 7 years is a balance to credit of 
21,676 dollars, (not counting interest) and of 
course a valuable property. 
6 ?^ 
THE JAVA COFFEE CROP. 
The first Government estimate for the growing 
Java crop is 128,000 piculs, against 490,000 piculs 
this season. The new Private crop is estimated at 
190,000 piculs, against 600,000 piculs. 
The duty payments and deliveries of coffee in the 
Zollverein in 1897 were 1.35,790 tons, against 129,900 
tons in 1896; in Holland, 73,476 tons, against 67,117 
tons in 1896. — American Grocer, 
^ 
PLANTING NOTES. 
The San Jose Scale.— We (London Times) 
learn from tlie Deutsche Landwirthschafts-Zcitung 
that the German Minister of Agriculture is taking 
active measures with regard to the possible in- 
festation of furit-trees by the San Jose “ Schil- 
dlaus.” A small committe of well-known ento- 
mologists and botanists has been appointed to 
investigate the matter, and steps are being taken 
to render fruit-growers and other cultivators 
familiar with the appearance and the life-liistory 
of the dreaded Aspidiotus perniciosus. 
Coffee in India seems doomed, though it is 
fighting bravely against heavy odds. An Indian 
contemporary says: — The coffee crops just gathered 
in the Ouchterlony Valley and in South Wynaad 
are lamentably poor, and are said to be the 
worst on record. No estate has yielded anything 
like an average crop. Planters are hopeful and are 
already looking forward to the present year’s 
yield, which promises to be good should the early 
spring showers fall at the right time. 
Ceylon Tea Companies —An interesting 
article from the Financial Neios on this subject 
is quoted in our daily columns. It deals with the 
steady increase in the consumption of Ceylon 
tea and shows by figures how it continues to 
be one of the most distinct features of the tea 
trade. Ceylon tea is considered to be at pre- 
sent one of the best investments on the market 
and in proof of this statistics of dividends 
are given ; butoady of a few of the most flourish- 
ing Companies. 
Planting in Badulla.— In another column 
we give some interesting notes on this subject from 
a correspondent. The low price of tea and the 
high price of rice we touched upon, the state- 
ment being made in regard to the latter 
topic that so far as the writer can see there is 
no reason why a greater proportion of the food 
stuffs w’hich are daily consumed should not be 
grown by the labourers them.selves. Our corres- 
pondent also considers it folly to construct the 
railway to the North on the 6 ft. 6 in, gauge. 
The Largest Coffee Estate in Brazil com- 
prises 110,000 acres of which 13,000 are planted 
with coffee, and 20,000 more are suitable for 
coffee trees. It was sold recently for $5,838,000. 
The trees in bearing rose from 1,300,000 in 1892 
to 2,096,500 in 1895. The profit in 1895 was 
$637,000: the estimated profit for 1896 is set at 
$711,000. The total number of trees in this 
plantation was, in June 1896, 4,426,604, of 
various ages, and it is estimated that two- thirds 
of the trees being new, from 1897 onwards, an 
average harvest of 100,000 bags (13,200,000 pounds) 
may be expected, and that, in three or four 
years, the yield may increase to 250,000 bags 
or about 32,500,000 pounds per annum. The 
next largest estate in Brazil is of 9,785 acres, 
with 1,800,000 trees, populated by nine colonies 
with 260 families, furnishing some 1,500 laborers. 
There are several other plantations on which 
grow more than 1,0000,000 coffee trees.— Pfan- 
ters' Monthly. 
