10 



THE INDIA RUBBER ^A^ORLD 



[October i, 1905 



INTEREST IN "SAPIUM" RUBBER IN THE FAR EAST. 



THE able Colombo journal, Thf Times of Ctylon.on Au- 

 gust 12. printed a cablegram from its London office, 

 referring to a report in the current issue of The 

 India Rubber World (which had just then reached 

 the correspondent), in regard to a new source of Amazon rub- 

 ber, identified by the authorities quoted as Sapiutn aucupariutn. 

 The report mentioned the practice which has grown up in the 

 Amazon region of mixing the latex of this tree with that of the 

 Hevea species (the Pari rubber tree proper), giving rise to 

 questions of what might result from a similar admixture of 

 rubber latices in Ceylon, for example. In addition to printing 

 the London cablegram. The Times of Ceylon obtained a state- 

 ment in regard to Sapiiim species from Mr. Herbert Wright, of 

 the Ceylon botanic gardens, which is printed, together with an 

 editorial comment on the whole subject. 



Below are reproduced the cabled report and Mr. Herbert 

 Wright's comments : 



\From The Times of Cevlon, August /2.] 

 RUBBER FROM PARA. 



MIXED WITH ANOTHER LATEX YIELDING TREE-FORTY 

 PER CENT. OF " SAPIUM."— A SUGGESTION FOR CEYLON. 



[C O P V R 1 c; H T— BY SIM( MARINE TELBGRAI'H.J 



Times of Ceylon Office, 27. Mincing Lane, 

 London, August 12, 8 20 a. m. 



The American consul in Paid, in a report published in The 

 India Rubber World, states that the great bulk of Para rub- 

 ber is not pure, but mixed with the latex of Sapiuni aucufa- 

 rtum, up to probably 40 per cent. 



Sapium aucuparium is a hardy and rapid growing tree. The 

 seeds are small, and although it would hardly be believed, it 

 yields from 7 to S pounds yearly, but requires careful tapping. 



The report expresses the opinion that it would be practicable 

 to grow Sapium aucuparium in Ceylon if it was thought desir- 

 able. 



II. 



[From The Times of Cevlon, August /6.j 

 "SAPIUM aucuparium" AND PARA RUBBER. 



WILD AND cultivated "SAPIUM" SPECIES IN CEYLON. 

 — " SAPIUM AUCUPARIUM " AT PERADENIYA. 



[written for "THE TIMES OF CEYLON."] 



Your letter re mixing Pard rubber latex with the milk from 

 Sapium aucuparium to hand. I regret being unable to give 

 you full information about the Sapium species and their possi- 

 bilities in Ceylon, as I am replying to your queries while on in- 

 spection duty. 



Grown Here and How ir May be Identified.— The real 

 Sapium aucupariutn (Jacquin) is native to tropical America 

 and has. under the name of Sapium biglatidulosum (Mueller 

 Arg.),been grown at Peradeniya for many years. It grows to 

 a fairly large tree — 40 feet high — and seeds freely. This spe- 

 cies can be easily identified by the pair af opposite glands 

 which occur at the base of the leaf blade. I enclose a speci- 

 men leaf showing these glands. 



Tai'imng Experiment.s AT Peradeniya. — The stem, 

 branches, and fruit contain, at Paradeniya, large quantities of 

 white latex, but my tapping experiments in 1902 gave unsatis- 

 factory results, the latex from this species drying to a brittle 

 resinous substance. 



There will be no difficulty in supplying rubber planters with 



seeds or cuttings from the large trees at Paradeniya, but it will 

 perhaps be better to wait and see what product we obtain by 

 mixing the latex of this species with that of Pard rubber. This 

 experiment is now in hand. 



It should be mentioned here that Sapium Laurocerasutn, 

 ( Desfontaines) is sometimes called Sapium aucuparium (Willd- 

 enow). This is not the leal Sapium aucuparium, however, 

 though the stem contains milk from which a poisonous bird- 

 lime is obtained. 



"Sapium " Species in Kalutara, Galle, etc.— Species of 

 Sapium can be found growing wild in Ceylon and India and 

 also in Africa, and far ofl China and Japan. One species in 

 Ceylon, called by the Sinhalese " kiri-makula," and known bo- 

 tanically as Sapium indicum (Willdenow), is noted for the poi- 

 sonous milky juice which it yields on tapping. It is an ever- 

 green tree, its growth is rather slow, and it rarely exceeds 25 

 feet in height. We have no record of the weight of latex ob- 

 tainable from it, and I should imagine the latter to be poor. 

 This species is common in the moist low country, has been re- 

 corded from Kalutara and Galle, and may be recognized by its 

 willow like leaves, greenish yellow flowers, and abundance of 

 milk in young branches and fruits. 



Another species known to some botanists as Sapium ingigne 

 (Royle), to the Tamils as" tilai,"and Sinhalese as " tel-kadura," 

 is to be found in the Trincomalie and JafTna districts. This tree 

 grows to a moderate size, has green flowers, and becomes leaf- 

 less once a year. The stem contains a white milky substance, 

 but not in large quantities. 



Many years ago, about 1820, if my memory serves me well, 

 Sapium sebiferum (Roxburgh), commonly known as the "tallow 

 tree "in China, was introduced to Peradeniya and Hakgala. 

 The seeds are coated with " tallow " which is, according to Dr. 

 Watt, used in place of animal tallow in China for the manufac- 

 ture of candles, in soap making, etc. 



Mixing Not Recommended.— Though we do not know the 

 possible yield or the quality of the latex from any of these 

 species, I am inclined to doubt whether it would be any good 

 attempting to mix the latex from species of Sapium with that 

 from the introduced Para, Ceaid, or Castilloa rubbers, now 

 flourishing in Ceylon. Where the Sapium and Hevea species are 

 growing wild and intermixed with one another, as in the forests 

 of Brazil, there is an excuse for the cooly mixing the latex, but 

 such conditions do not obtain in Ceylon. 



In conclusion, it should be pointed out that the genus Sapium 

 belongs to the same group of plants as Para and Ceara rubber 

 and crotons. Herbert wright. 



Acting Director, Royal Botanic Gardens. 



III. 



[From The Times of Cevlon August /o.] 

 ["SAPIUM " rubber grown IN GUIANA.] 

 Sir: I should have stated in my previous letter that seeds 

 of the rubber producing plant, Sapium higlandulosum or Sapi 

 um aucuparium, the "Touckpong" of British Guinea, were re- 

 ceived from Mr. Jenman in May, 1887. Mr. Jenman then stated 

 that " the tree is quite hardy, of rapid growth, yields abundant 

 milk, and the rubber is of high class quality." Samples of the 

 rubber were shown at the Colonial and Indian Exhibition 

 [London] in 18S6, and were favorably reported on. — I have, 



etc., HERBERT WRIGHT, 



Acting Director, R. B. G, 

 August 17, 1905. 



