389 
Botanic Gardens in Singapore but the greatest care should be 
taken not to injure the roots by cutting or bruising them under any 
circumstances. As the authors remark they do not advance any 
opinion as to the effects of manuring old trees, as indeed no experi- 
ments have yet been made as fa as records go in Ceylon on this 
subject. Experiments have been nade however in Singapore and 
we hope to publish the results shortly. As far as growth of trees is 
concerned liberal manuring with cowdung has not shown any im- 
provement. The increase, if any, in latex on the manured trees has 
not yet been worked out. Perhaps the most instructive part of the 
whole paper lies in the chemistry of the decaying leaves and twigs 
where the authors show that in sweeping off the ground 10,000 lbs. 
of fallen leaves and twigs (about 75 piculs) about 58 lbs. lime, 36 
lbs. magnesia, 22 lbs. potash and 12 lbs. phosphoric acid are remov- 
ed right away from the ground. Of course in a nice clean kept 
estate with the ground absolutely bare more plant food will be 
washed away by the rain from the surface, so that in time the 
plants would be starved and the soil rendered absolutely sterile and 
useless. — Editor. 
PLANTATION RUBBER ON THE EUROPEAN 
CONTINENT. 
“Times of Ceylon,” 
22nd September , 1905. 
September 19th, 1905, will be an historic day in the Antwerp 
rubber trade, for on Tuesday -last the first consignments of Malaya 
and Ceylon rubber appeared in the regular,catalogue, and were pub 
Hcly sold at prices which were doubtless the talk of the trade in this 
important and growing continental centre. Considering the occa- 
sion an interesting one:, we cabled to the largest rubber brokers in 
Antwerp for the results ; and, although one word is indecipherable 
and is not altered on repetition, we believe we have put the right 
interpretation 01 it. Knowing that we had the catalogue, the 
Antwerp firm has told us that the sale was very good, and, as it is 
very rare for rubber there to be sold -at less than its valuation, we 
take it that the prices average out at 33 centimes more , (which is 
the indecipherable word) instead of less, for the new article. We 
extract from the middle of page 7 of a closely-printed catalogue the 
six entries, just as they appear in the original : — 
Par St. Fos. 
Nos. 
Taxes. Quantities. 
f. c. 
2745 
17*40 env. 
296 kit 
2746 
1 5*00 „ 
12 „ 
2747 
1300 „ 
13 » 
Straits Biscuits, minces et en major, clairs, agglomerds 
par series, de belle quality, en partie un peu moisis entre 
les biscuits, (dont env. 12 k. marchandise ancienne, pressde 
et un peu poiss.) 
Rambong Biscuits, marchandise nerv., un peu charg. 
d’ecorces. 
Straits Scrap, dechets, pp. clairs, un peu charg. d’im- 
puretes, mais de belle qualite. 
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