June i, rSgJiJ THE TROPICAL AGRICULTDRIST. 
S33 
6. Time of 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 foliage tapping can be commenced 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 evenings as the rubber soon 
ceased to exude with the inflaauoe of the sun. 
7. Planting. — Most of the trees at Kuala Kangsar 
are planted on wet land, subject to be fleodad every 
year. Some, however, are on high dry laud, but my 
experiments are not sufficiently complete to say if 
there is any difference in the yield of rubber on dry, 
against wet, land. 
8. The tree appears to be the most adaptable of 
any rubber tree, growing from swampy lands to an 
elevation of several hundred feet, and seems to thrive 
on any ordinary soil. The material point in its cnlti- 
vatiou is close planting. I recommend not more than 
15 feet apart. 
9. Remarks. — I am of opinion that a tree 5 6 yegtrs 
old is capable of producing IJ'lb. and a tree 13 years 
old 6 lb. of rubber without injury. The cost of tap- 
ping, drying, and preparing, I should estimate, work- 
ing on a la''ge scale, about 30 cents per lb. The 
present London value for dry rubber Is from 3s 6d to 
8s 8d (sterling) per lb, I would add that I shall be 
able to offer so)iie further remarks when my experi- 
ments are completed, and when I receive an opinion 
on the samples sent home,— I have, etc , R. Debry, 
Superintendent of Government Gardens, 
38, Mincing Lane, E.C., 19th Nov. 1897, 
To R. Derry, Dear Sir, — I have received your 
samples of Para rubber and beg to report on same 
aS follows : — 
No. 1. Matta Grossa in character, fairly clear, im- 
perfectly smoked, but apparently good, strong rubber, 
* No. 2. Do. do. do. slightly preferable, 
Value 2s 9d to 3s per lb. 
The market is very good an! you should ship all 
you can, try and smoke it a little more and keep 
the bulk up to the standard you sent me. As a rule 
the rubber from the Straits is much inferior to that 
coming from South America, but your samples are 
quite equal to Para. You seem to have more care- 
fully prepared it, ordinary Straits rubber, imper- 
fectly collected and prepared, is worth about Is per 
lb. less than the samples you have sent. 
I hope to do fairly well for you in the pepper, the 
market keeps good. — Yours, etc., W. Figg, 
for W. J. & H. Thompson, 
A crop of 100,000 lb. of rubber from the 
Cullotlen trees to sell at even 2s 6d per lb. 
(£12,50J) is not to be despised ! — It is 
out intention very shortly to issue a new 
edition of our manual “ All about Rubber- 
growing, &c. ,” and to bring the information up 
to date, so far as we can collect it from official 
reports and from private planting experience 
made available to us. 
CACAO ANALYSES. 
Mr. De Sanctis and other gentlemen intere.sted 
in this subject will be glad to learn that we 
have this day found papers th.at have been sought 
for dining several weeks, giving very elaborate 
analyses of cacao soils, pods, various part of 
fruit (of different varieties — specially PYrastero) of 
kernels dried and fermented, of the pulp, etc., etc. 
And also reports of a series of experiments with 
manure in cacao plots. Can our readers guess where 
these very extensive analyses have taken place ? 
In the “ Government Laboratory British Guiana”! 
So,^ a second-rate Colony like Sir James Long- 
den’s Demerara,” can afford a Government 
Laboratory for many years back ; while the first 
of Grown Colonies has nothing of the kind ! 
_ ^\e are sending on the analyses and other 
information to Mr. Cochran to aid him in his 
present researches. We hope afterwards to em- 
body all the material parts in an up-to-date Cacao 
Planters’ Manual. 
— ' 
EXPORT OF TEA FROM CHINA TO 
GREAT BRITAIN. 
1597-98. 1896-97. 
lb. lb. 
Canton and Macao . . 5,948,7.52 6,287,826 
Shanghai and Hankow .. 15,201,201 19.119,120 
Foochoiv .. ..12,160,708 12,749,506 
Amoy .. .. 68.0,651 616,350 
33,996,312 38,774,808 
EXPORT OF TEA FROM JAPAN TO UNITED .STATES 
AND CANADA. 
1897-98. 1896-97. 
lb. lb. 
Yokohama .. ,. 26,826,182 27,567.053 
Kobe ,. .. 15,776,817 14,961,212 
42,611,909 42,528,272 
CEYLON TEA COMPANY 
MEETINGS. 
CEYLON TEA PLANTATIONS 
COMPANY, LTD. 
(From our ovm Reporter.) 
The annual general meeting of shareholders in 
the Ceylon Tea Plantations Company, Limited, 
was held at the offices, 20 Eastcheap, London, 
on Wednesday, April 27. Mr. H. K. Rutherford 
presided over a large gathering, being supported 
by Messrs. David Reid, H. Todd and G. Talbot, 
directors. 
The Secretary, Sir Wm. Johnston, read the 
notice convening the meeting. 
The Chairman : — As the report and accounts 
have been in your hands for some time, I presume 
it is your pleasure that they, as usual, be taken 
as read. Many shareholders doubtless have been 
somewhat anxious to see the kind of accounts 
and report this Company would present for 1897, 
as on all sides you must have heard that Ceylon 
and Indian Tea Comp.nnies generally have had a 
disappointing year. Well, I dare say it was a relief 
to you to see that, notwithstanding the many ad- 
verse conditions under which the enterprise 
suffered, your Company has done well. We have 
made a profit of .£42,199 3s Od, atid are in a posi- 
tion to comfortably pay the usual 15 ))cr cent 
dividend for the eleventh year in succession, to 
add to reserve ,£5,000, to write off for deprecia- 
tion £5,000, and to carry forrvard £3,121 10s 9d to 
next year (applause.) Although we have no reason 
to complain of these re.snlts, still, speaking generally, 
the tea industry of Ceylon lias had its first shock 
in the year that li.as gone, and as you have been 
told in the report that the les.sened profits have 
•arisen from the ri.se in e.xcliange, the loss in sup- 
plying rice to the coolies and fall in the price of tea, 
it will, I am sure, be interesting to yort to 
understand the bearing these factors have on the 
industry as a whole and also to what extent they 
affect your Company in particular. In the year 
Prepared with a pinch of salt. 
