Miscellaneous Economic Products. 
! 37 
scattered rubbercontained in the indigenous forests in a wild condition, but considering the 
of exotic rubber trees in localities often unsuited to the., would be better 
encouragement and culture as may be necessary for Us best development. I have not yet seen an acre of it which could not have and 
evidently in this as m practically every other crop, one acre fully stocked is more economically reaped than 20 acres of scattered wild growth. V it ng o e year, ago on his 
plant in connection with the rubber-forests of Natal Maputa I said, “Tree-planting in Natal,” P. Davis & Sons, Maritzburg, “as a natural product there may be a considerab e 
d 8 twit i r;:d d ;lt e l ;T S , 0f MapU,a,andl bUt lherc can 1,e no doubt that «*•»** culture alone can give L plant the commercial value which 
evidently it is te ded to bear. The culture has all to be learned as yet, for though the same species extends north along east and west Central Africa, and yields an enormous 
value of rubber there from wild plants its culture has nowhere been taken up. How many years it will take to grow to latex-bearing size, what is the best age and size for tapping, 
h tTTl V * 2 ? intCreStinB ****** have all to be worked out by patient experiment. But meantime all that can be 
A d rhlt is the nosibon^ da! Th "f w ' | transpknt without difficulty when well cut back, and that rather dry sandy ridges arc its favourite home.” 
And that is the po ition to-day The vine fruits freely, the fruit is edible to man and beast, the seeds pass through birds in a fit condition for germination and are distributed to 
some extent in this manner. Mr. Johnson says, The Mozambique Company have expended considerable sums of money with the object of increasing the stock of plants in 
its own reserves. Many thousands of seed and young plants have been planted, and efforts have been made to assist the natural methods of propagation in the forest by layering 
the vines E sewhere he states In thick forest however comparatively few of the plants appear to develop beyond the seedling stage owing probably to the absence of sufficient 
light. If that be the cause, in localities where timber has practically no value at present, more light is obtainable at low cost by ringing a fair proportion of the trees. 
As has already been mentioned, about half of the rubber from Magenja da Costa and Nhamacurra is obtained from Mascarcnhasia elastica, a tree common there along 
the running streams, but never found away from living water. The tree bleeds more slowly than Landolphia Kirkii, and the latex is less dense ; it however coagulates freely on 
exposure smeared on the body of the collector. Mr. Johnson states “ The resultant rubber, although slightly inferior in quality to that yielded by Landolphia Kirkii, exhibits 
excellent physical properties. Investigations conducted by the Company’s administrative officials show that this tree is abundant in several districts in these Territories (/>., 
Manica and Sofala, T.R.S.), and steps are being taken to test its productive capacity. 
In the “ Kew Bulletin,” No. 7, 1907, page 283, is given an interesting account concerning this tree by Dr. Otto Stapf, from which it appears that the tree occurs in 
British East Africa and German East Africa, and that it yields the ball-rubber called Mgoa rubber in the Zanzibar trade. From a sample sent by Mr. E. Battiscombe, Acting 
Conservator of Forests at Niarobi, B.E.A., collected near Mombasa, the following report was prepared by the Director of the Imperial Institute : Mark and weight of sample : 
Rubber from Shimba Hills, East Africa Protectorate,’ 104 grams. Description— Single ball of rubber, about 2^ inches in diameter, evidently formed by winding threads of 
rubber upon a central mass ; it was light-brown, and contained a considerable quantity of vegetable impurity. The rubber was fairly strong. Result of examination : 
Sample as 
Composition ok 
Received. 
Dry Rudder. 
PER CENT. 
PER CENT. 
Moisture - 
- 
- 
- 
10 
_ 
Caoutchouc 
- 
69 
j 6'6 
Resin 
- 
- 
61 
6 8 
Proteids 
- 
- 
- 
3’5 
3'9 
Insoluble matter 
- 
- 
11-4 
127 
Ash 
- 
• 
■ 
2*29 
2 ’54 
.Lanuuipnia ruoDer ; it is 01 very lair quality, tnougn tne amount ot insoluble matter is rather high, l his detect could be remedied by careful collection so as to exclude, as far 
as possible, fragments of bark from the rubber. Consignments of this rubber, if well prepared, would be readily saleable at satisfactory prices.” 
Herr Hedde, Government Gardener at Dar-es-Salam, investigated the subject there in 1899, but reported rather unfavourably. However, “Attempts to take 
Mascarenhasia elastica into cultivation have been so far successful, as the plants grew fast even in dry soil, and flowered and fruited in their fifth year ; but the flow of latex at 
that age was far too scanty.” 
S 
