Vol,. XII. No. 303. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



395 



RUBBER INDUSTRY. 



SELLING METHODS FOR PLANTATION 

 PARA. 



An importiint meeting of Chairmen and Directors of 

 rubber plantation companies has just been held in London, to 

 consider certain proposals for improving the present methods 

 for marketing plantation rubber. (Tb^ economic side of the 

 plantation Para rubber industry hais been dealt with in the 

 Agriridtural Xew^, Vol. XII, pp. 271, 277, 323, 342,377.) 



A lengthy report on the meeting appears in the India 

 RiMer ■loiirnal {Qc\ohe'[ 2.5, 1913). It is learnt from this 

 that the combination principle ha.s been agreed to, and it has 

 been left to the Rubber Growers' Association to propound 

 a scheme. 



The Chairman (Mr. A. A. Beauman, Chairman of the 

 Mubber Share Trust and Finance Co., Ltd.) stated in the 

 course of his speech that he would vote for Mr. Emerson's 

 resolution embodying his central selling agency scheme. For 

 the growers, Mr. Herbert Wright proposed an amendment of 

 Mr. Owen's resolution. 



The object of Mr. Herbert Wright's amendment was to 

 introduce a definite step, such as could not be attained by 

 adopting Mr. Owen's resolution. Mr. Wright requested the 

 meeting to vote purely and simply on the desirability of 

 ertecting combination among sellers. This amendment was 

 seconded by Mr. W. F. de B. McClaren. 



At the conclusion of the meeeting the amendment was 

 put to the vote and declared carried, only fourteen hands 

 being raised against it. Many of those present did not vote. 

 The Chairman voted against the amendment. 



It may be added that the meeting at which the above 

 proceedings took place was highly representative and influ- 

 ential, and one of the largest that has ever taken place in 

 connexion with the rubber industry. 



In regard to the production and consumption of rubber, 

 the following estimates, may interest readers of the Agri- 

 cultural Neirx : — 



World's production in tona. 



I. — ACTUAL. 



Con- 



INFLUENCE OF POSITION AND SLOPE OF 

 INCISION ON YIELD OF LATEX. 

 Javanese experiments are described in the Monthlij 

 Bulletin of Aijrirult)iral Intnlligence and Plant Diaeasti 

 (September 1913), by means of which an attempt was made 

 to determine the inlluenoe of the position and slope of tha 

 incision on the yield of latex. Incisions of equal length 

 made at equal heights and in the same direction 2 inche.'j 

 apart gave the same results. Such incisions any givea 

 number of inches apart, and distributed all round the trunk, 

 also gave the same results. 



In connexion with Fig. 29, A is equal in length 

 to BC; if the yield for A is taken as 100, two series of 

 experiments gave 1197 and 1239 for B + C. In other 

 words, the double incision gave about 20 per cent, more latex 

 than the single incision. 



Referring to Fig. 30, it was found that the left-hand 

 tapping C, gave latex equal to 100 when the right-hand 

 tapping D gave 85-7, or approximately 14 per cent. less. 



In interpreting the results, reference is made to Fetch's 

 discovery in Ceylon that left-hand tapping usually yields 

 more latex than right-hand tapping. This was explained on 

 the ground that the fibres of Hevea are not absolutely 

 vertical. In the experiments under consideration the investi- 

 gator attempted to confirm Fetch's hypothesis, which was 

 based on observations obtained with only a small number of 



\ 



^ SO. 



individuals. This was accomplished by successfully establish- 

 ing experimentally the truth of the following equation : — 

 Yield of AB ^ Yield of EC 

 Sin(a + b) Sin (b-a) 



AB represents the length of the left-hand cut and BG 

 that of the right-hand cut; a-f b (corresponding angle to 

 b-a) represents the angle formed on the bark by BA and 

 KA, KA being the line [larailel to the latex tubes and runn- 

 ing through the top end of the cut. Similarly b - a is tha 

 angle formed by BC the right-hand cut and the line pass- 

 ing through the upper end parallel to the latex vessels. 

 (See Fig. 31.) 



The following conclusions are drawn : (1) Fetch's 

 hypothesis is a rational one ; (2) as a method of tapping the 

 half herring bone to the left is preferred to the herring bone 

 or half herring bone to the right ; (3) the ideal angle, would 

 be at right angles to the latex tubes, but as the incision 

 would then be almost horizontal, some arrangement like 

 a gutter, would be necessary to guide the flow. 



