414 
to the Chairman of Agriculture calling attention to the importance 
of this exhibit. 
Ceylon planters seem to know the way to advertise their pro- 
duce and get a good reputation for it. We wonder when the 
Federated Malay States planters will follow suit. It does not 
appear that anv samples were sent to the Exhibition by them, 
although there does not seem any reason why a big show should 
not have been sent from this country. Meanwhile Ceylon with a 
smaller area of plantations and rubber which is certainly no better 
than that of the Native States is getting its rubber well known all 
over the world by persistently and thoroughly advertising, and 
no otic hears much about Malay Peninsula rubber. 
A new Tapping Punch . — Mr. FREUDWEILER of hi la, Sumatra, 
has invented an useful punch for tapping trees. r ! his tool is a 
east steel instrument about eight inches in length. With a round 
handle, and an enlarged portion at the other end flattened and i i 
inches across which is narrowed to a double cutting edge of strong- 
steel something after the manner of a compressed wadpunch. The 
instrument is used with a hammer so that a strip of bark three- 
sixteenths of an inch wide and an inch long can be punched out 
readily and cleanly, and can be removed through a square space 
behind the cutting portion. One advantage of this tool is that the 
cutting edge docs not penetrate the wood, which can readily be felt 
when the handle of the tool is struck. It can be used very quickly, 
and with a little practice makes a good clean cut of the size re- 
quired. It is especially suitable for old trees which have thick 
or rough bark b’’t can be used for any younger ones. 
Messrs. JAEGER, & Co. are agents for this tool. 
RUBBER IN THE MALAY PENINSULA. 
The fame of the rubber planting industry of the Malay Peninsula 
is spreading, and we find letters and information on the subject in 
various quarters. We cull the following notes from home papers, 
the second letter being in the Aberdeen Free Press . Of the first 
notes the writer is presumably a Ceylon planter who has recently 
visited the Federated Malay States. He signs himsell ‘'Peripate- 
tic Planter,’’ and says: “Now that a good deal of attention is being 
drawn to this part of the world and its rubber producing capabili- 
ties, a few impartial words on the subject from a planter of another 
country who has been visiting the place may be of interest. 1 he 
industry is quite in its infancy. Only one estate to my knowledge 
has yet started sending rubber to market in commercial quantities : 
many important points relating to the real value of the business 
are so far merely matters of conjecture. Still, if things turn out 
right, and prices only remain as they are, the planters are 
justified in the great expectations they have tor the future. 
'The best rubber has recently been selling at 5*. and more 
per lb., a truly phenomenal price, when one considers that ivory 
