April I, 1907.] 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



') 



RUBBER PLANTING INTERESTS. 



PRODUCTION IN THE FAR EAST. 



' I ' 1 IH (.xpiirts 111 iil.-iination rulihiT Iron: Ceylon and the 

 •'■ Malay States during 1906, according to The limes of Ceylon, 

 totaled 1,190,879 pounds, against 397,347 pounds in 1905. The 

 share of Ceylon in this total is somewhat less than had been sup- 

 posed, seeing that all the exports from Ceylon were credited to 

 that island until a corrected statement came out at the end of 

 the year. It now appears that the rubber of Ceylon production 

 exported during the year was 327,024 pounds, leaving 863.855 

 pounds for the production of the Malay peninsula. The approxi- 

 mate value to the planters of the Ceylon produce is estimated by 

 the Times at about 1,250,000 rupees, which works out at about 

 $405,543 (gold), or $1.24 per pound, including all grades. 



The 1906 yield of rubber on some of the Federated Malay States 

 plantations is reported as follows : 



Pounds. 



Highlands and Lowlands Para Rubber Co 130.365 



The .\nglo-Malay Rubber Co. (about) 100.000 



Pataling I'tubber Estates Syndicate 43.380 



Consolidated Malay Rubber Estates 32,500 



Vallambrosa Rubber Co. (nine months) 99.258 



The yield of the Kepitigalla estate, in Ceylon, was 31,000 

 pounds. 



THE NEW •BLOCK" KUBBEH. 



To The Editor of The Inui.v Rubber World: At the Ceylon 

 Rubber Exhibition it was suggested by Dr. Willis that it might 

 be advisable, instead of, as at present, drying the plantation rub- 

 ber till it only contains about Y2 per cent, of moisture, to block 

 it in the wet freshly coagulated condition. Experiments with 

 tliis object were at once carried out by Mr. Kelway Bamber, the 

 Ceylon government chemist. He prepared the rubber with creo- 

 sote (to prevent decay and mold) and blocked it at once, getting 

 blocks containing about 9 per cent, of water. These sold in Lon- 

 don for 5.?. 6d. per pound, against s^. yd. to $s. gd. for the ordin- 

 ary dry Ceylon rubber, thus really getting a much better price. 

 A circular (Circular and .'Xgricultural Journal of the Royal Bo- 

 tanic Gardens, Pcradeniya — Vol. IV, No. 1) has been lately 

 issued dealing with this matter, and it would seem likely that 

 the old way of making dry biscuits or sheets will soon be e-xtinct. 



JOHN C. WILLIS. 

 Director Royal I^tanic Cnrclens. 

 Pcradeniya. Ceylon. 18 January. 1907. 



VAN DEN KERCKHOVE'S "FUMERO. 



The illustration relates 

 to the "Fumero," for co- 

 agulating rubber by a 

 smoking process, patented 

 by Gustave Van den 

 Kerckhove, of Brussels, 

 and mentioned in The 

 Indi.\ Rubber World 

 March i. 1907 (page 200). 

 Thedevice proper is really 

 only a small furnace, the 

 latex being coagulated on 

 a paddle in the hands of 

 the operator, revolved 

 over the furnace, in the 

 escaping smoke. The screw 

 half way up the side of 

 the fire chamber is far 

 regulating the smoke. For 

 fuel, palm nuts are prefer- 

 able, but if these arc lack- 



Fumero V. D. K. '"g' th<; ''ai''^ "f ■'•">■ ''■ee 



may be used, but not dry 

 wood. Dried leaves may also be used. This device is intended 

 for use in the East. 



rubber TAPPING AT 'LA ZACUALPA." 



The management of La Zacualpa Rubber Plantation Co. having 

 decided to discard the machete for tapping Costilloa trees on 

 their plantation in Chiapas (.Mexico), their manager, Mr. C. A. 

 Lesher, set apart devising a more suitable tapping tool, from 

 which rr.ost satisfactory results are reported. The tool consists 

 of a loop of steel in a handle some 18 inches long and having 

 inside of it a long steel finger which is forced forward or back 

 by a thumb screw to regulate the depth of the cut. They are 

 used in various sizes, depending upon the age of the tree, an 1 

 therefore the thickness of the bark to be cut through. Tl.e tool 



M.vnac.er C. a. Lesiier and H 



Rubber Tai'I'ixg Tool. 



is very sharp on the entire lower edge of the loop. This allows 

 a sharp, clean, quick cut to be made. At present one man can 

 tap from 60 to 70 trees in a day. The latex is caught in cups or 

 pans: it is strained twice, to rid it of foreign matter; washed 

 four times, allowed to coagulate, and run between powerful rollers 

 to express the water. By the washing process it is believed that 

 the greater part of the resins are removed from the rubber, and 

 while the shrinkage is greater, the resulting product is superior 

 and is expected to bring a better price. 



BRIEF MENTION. 



Mr. H. K. Rutherford, of London, prominently interested in 

 tea planting and a director in a number of rubber planting com- 

 panies, was a recent visitor to Ceylon and the Malay States. 



