Mav 1, 1906.] 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



257 



ning has been made already in Ceylon, and (2) in the mak- 

 ing of machinery specially fitted for use in the rubber facto- 

 ry, for dealing with the clean dry plantation rubber as distin- 

 guished from rubber now used, containing a large percent- 

 age of impurities. Not only the machinery trades are in- 

 vited to become interested, but likewise the manufacturers 

 of rubber goods for the reason, that it is important that they 

 become informed as to the mode of preparation of cultivated 

 rubber and other questions connected with it. As Dr. Wil- 

 lis says to the rubber manufacturers : "It will offer you an 

 unrivaled opportunity for getting into touch with the pro- 

 ducers and perhaps for making contracts for supplj- of rub- 

 ber prepared to suit your own requirements." 



No import duty will be charged upon articles entered for 

 exhibition. Entries may be addressed : !■". B. Denham, Ksq., 

 c. c. s , The Secretariart, Colombo, Ceylon, to reach him 

 before July 31, and goods should be forwarded from Europe 

 not later than that date. 



BURVS RUBBER LATBX PROTECTOR. 



TO THE EiHTOu OF The Indi.\ Klhhek World: In reply 

 to your inquiry as regards my rubber "latex pro- 

 tector," I beg to inform you that the "protector" is a 

 zinc collar about 2 feet in diameter, adjustable to anj' size of 

 tree — acting as an umbrella, protecting the latex in the 

 cups beneath from being washed away by rain or fouled by 

 impurities such as sand, dirt, pieces of bark off the tree, etc. 

 I am not yet satisfied with the material and shape of the 

 protector as made locally, and expect to set a perfect one 

 made in London next June, at a rate of say 25 cents each. 

 I may add that I have also invented a very useful tapping 

 platform or ladder with legs and concave pedestal, to fit 

 trunk of tree. This is for tapping branches of high trees 

 and only weighs 12 pounds and folds up. I have received 

 good reports on the latter from various planters — this ladder 

 is useful for a variety of purposes. a. h. bury. 



" Orange Hill," Ragama, Ceylon, March 19. 1906. 



[The invention referred to was mentioned in The India 

 Rubber World, March i, 1906 (page 192). A letter from 

 another Ceylon source says : " This is a sort of sheet metal 

 umbrella for fixing round the trunk of the tree to prevent 

 rain from washing into the incisions, mixing the latex and 

 flooding the collecting cups. The appliance was tried by 

 several planters but there are obvious objections to its use, 

 such as the necessarj' compression round the stem to retain 

 it in position ; the difficulty of making the connection quite 

 water tight so that rain will not run down the stem past the 

 collar through spaces left ; the fact that the appliance will 

 only protect the portion of the stem immediately under it in 

 the case of heavy slanting rain ; and the expense of provid- 

 ing the appliance for everj' tree in a plantation. "] 



DRAFT ON RUBBER IN ENGLAND. 



TO the Editor of The Indi.\ Rubber World : The 

 question of Draft on Rubber has been under discussion 

 for some long time, and correspondence between London and 

 Liverpool has resulted, we are glad to say, in an. arrange- 

 ment having been come to by all the largest importers, 

 merchants, dealers and brokers of Pard, Peruvian, Boliv- 



ian, and African rubbers, that the old. and often vexatious 

 system hitherto in vogue should be done away with and in 

 its place that from July 2 next, draft on all rubbers shall be 

 uniform viz.: J4 per cent, on the gross amount (sterling), 

 irrespective of the weight of the package or the tare. 



It is proposed to include Plantation, and if the proposal is 

 agreed to it will be added to the rules of both the London and 

 Liverpool associations. 



It is obvious that it will be an advantage to merchants and 

 planters who ship their rubber in small cases, say under 200 

 pounds weight, and they will gain b3- the new proposal, and 

 the tare of the case will no longer be a factor to be consid- 

 ered. Shippers can use any kind of cases most convenient 

 to them, without having to allow extra draft. We recom- 

 mend cases of about i '4 cwt. net where possible. On small 

 packages of 50 pounds under the old system a draft of i 

 pound was allowed, which is equal to 2 per cent, and the new- 

 rule brings it down to an uniform yi per cent., whatever the 

 size of the package may be. We would point out that there 

 would be no advantage to the planter in packing into cases 

 of 200 pounds or 400 pounds as the draft on the first would 

 be I pound and the second 2 pounds — ^viz., yi per cent. — and 

 we think the new proposal should commend itself to all as a 

 reasonable and fair arrangement, between sellers and buj'ers, 

 and one by which accounts and calculations will be simpli- 

 fied, and the injustice to shippers ol small packages done 

 away with. Large and small lots will all be on the same 

 footing. Yours faithfully, lewis & peat. 



6, Mincing lane, E. C.. London, April 5. 1906. 



RUBBER IN THE FAR EAST. 



STEPS have been takuM in London to form a company 

 with ^225.000 capital [=$1,094,963] to take over sev- 

 eral important Ceylon rubber planting enterprises, includ- 

 ing Kepitigalla, in Matale, Ceylon, the management of 

 which, by Mr. Francis J. Hollowa}', has been reported on 

 more than once in The lNni.\ Rubber World, including a 

 special article by Mr. Etherington in the issue of Januarj' i, 

 1906 (page 107). Mr. Holloway was recently in London to 

 arrange for the sale of Kepitigalla. " A well known rubber 

 expert and financier" of Cej'lon, interviewed recently by 

 The Times of Ceylon, considered Kepitigalla to be the finest 

 rubber estate in the East, and that position he thought it 

 would maintain for a number of )-ears. The " Ceylon Hand 

 Book and Directory" for 1905-06 refers to Kepitigalla as 

 embracing 943 acres of which 913 are planted to rubber in 

 cacao. 



The new company is The Kepitigalla Rubber E.states, 

 Limited. Books for public subscription to the stock were 

 opened in London on April 9. Thedirectors named are for the 

 most part planters in Ceylon. The secretary and registered 

 offices are Charles Lewis Talbot, 62, Old Broad street, E. C, 

 London. The prospectus mentions that 3412 acres are em- 

 braced, of which 2421 are under cultivation. Thenet profits 

 for 1905 are certified to have been ^12,324, mainly from 

 rubber. Mr. Hollowa}- is to be manager. 



The investigations on the rubber canker in Ceylon, by Mr. 

 J. B. Camithers, have been reported on fully in The India 

 Rubber World. Mr. Carruthers is now in the Federated 

 Malay States in the capacity of director of agriculture, and, 

 according to The Times of Ceylon, the possibility of the spread 



