159 



The capsules of the small seeded varieties commence to ripen in 

 from 4 to 6 months from the time of sowing and those of the large 

 seeded varieties from 7 to 10 months according to variety and the 

 prevailing climate conditions. Owing to the irregular ripening of 

 this crop, the harvesting is a somewhat tedious process, but as the 

 work involved is not laborious, it could be done by women and 

 children. 



As the capsule dehisces and scatters the seed immediately they 

 are ripe, it is necessary to look over the plants at least once a week, 

 collecting those sufficiently ripened. The seeds after collecting 

 require drying and may then be stored in bags in a dry place until 

 sold or pressed for oil. 



The average yield per acre (pure crop) is given as 4 to 6 cwt. of 

 seeds average good crop. 



From the foregoing it would seem that it is not altogether a 

 suitable Catch Crop for rubber owing to its habit of exhausting the 

 soil. When practical, however, this plant could be planted as a 

 border to rubber, but this is largely a question of the quality of soil 

 in individual Estates. 



J. W. A. 



MR. H. A. WICKHAM COMING OUT TO 

 CEYLON WITH A CURING MACHINE. 



The father of the plantation rubber industry, Mr. H. A. 

 Wickham, is due in Colombo towards the end of the month, the 

 chief purpose of his visit being to introduce a machine which 

 embodies his ideas, acquired in the home of Hard Fine Para, as ta 

 the curing of rubber. Mr. Wickham has every hope that his machine 

 will have a great effect upon the plantation rubber industry. During 

 his stay in England, Mr. Wickham has been making arrangements 

 with regard to the machine, but owing to the time it has taken to- 

 settle matters, has been delayed longer than he expected, otherwise 

 he would have been in the Island now. 



We understand that Mr. Wickham claims that his machine 

 imitates the well-known smoking process employed by the natives on 

 the Amazon, each layer of rubber being smoked and the article 

 consequently thoroughly permeated by the disinfectant fumes. It is 

 Mr.Wickham's contention that under the present processes some of 

 the best qualities of the rubber are lost, carried away in the washing,, 

 and it will be interesting to watch how far he will be able to 

 substantiate his claim by the production of samples of superior 

 resiliency and tensile strength than the present first quality rubber 

 turned out on estates. It is also claimed that the machine will turn 

 out a perfectly uniform quality, whereas at present the rubber from 

 the same estate varies considerably. (Times of Ceylon 6th June, 1912), 



