288 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[June i, 1906. 



Straits Settlements (Bertram) Rubber Co., I.iniitcd, lias 

 been floated in London, with .^!i75,ooo [ = #851,637.50] capi- 

 tal, to acquire and develop the valuable Bertram estate, in 

 the province of Wellesley, Straits Settlements, on which the 

 planting of Para rubber has been begun, and which interest 

 is intended to become the chief dependence of the new com- 

 pany. The directorate embraces members of the boards of 

 several other rubber planting companies, and the chairman 

 is Sir J. West Ridgeway, G. c. m. g., late governor of Ceylon. 

 Secretary and offices: H. Read Smith, f. c. i. s., 16, St. 

 Helens place, E. C, London. 



At a meeting ol the Sabaragamuwa (Ceylon) Planters 

 Association on September 2 the (ollowing acreage ol lea inter- 

 planted with rubber this season was reported : Rakwana dis- 

 trict, 535; Balangoda, no; Ratnapura 2361; total 3026. The 

 new land opened lor rubber this season in the same districts is 

 reported at 2340 acres, and the estimated openings for next 

 season 5300 acres. 



COAGULATING RUBBER WITH "KOALATEX." 



A FIRM of manufacturing chemists in Hamburg supply 

 The Iniu.v Ri ishick Woki.ii with the following details with 

 regard to a compound which they terra ' Koalatex " : 



"There e.xist several methods for the transformation of 

 proto-rubber, which finds itself in each rubber milk, into 

 rubber. Even the best rubber milks do not give good rub- 

 bers, if a bad method of preparation or a non practicable 

 coagulator has been used. All rubber milks contain a bigger 

 or smaller proportion of foreign substances, which, partly, 

 may be easilj' removed. The most trouble is caused by the 

 albuminoid matters which accompany the proto-rubber ond, 

 if not carefully removed, cause fermentation, overheating, 

 and a bad smell of the rubber. In fact it is very diflRcult to 

 remove fiuantitatively the albuminoid matters, even from 

 Ilevea rubber milk. Therefore it is necessary to use as co- 

 agulators only such chemicals as have a high disinfecting 

 and preserving action. Liquid acids, as sulphuric, h3dro- 

 chloric, and acetic <-icid are not practicable for use of planta- 

 tions, which mostly do not have good communications, and 

 the transportation of these lifjuid acids is very dangerous 

 and costU'. l?esides, these acids have nearly not at all any 

 disinfecting or preserving value, and they do not prevent 

 the becoming black of some kinds of rubber, especially after 

 drying. There exist some organic acids which have not only 

 a good coagulating action, but also have the superioritj- of 

 being efheacious disinfectors and preservators, but their 

 prices are extremelj' high. Owing to the far seeing exami- 

 nations and experiments of a highly prominent crude rubber 

 expert, the rubber coagulation problem has been solved by 

 the compound 'Koalatex', which is a good acting coagu- 

 lator, gives light coloured rubbers, which remain light after 

 being dried. Koalatex prevents must, is easily transport- 

 able and safe, and has a low price." 



The firm referred to are Lehmann & Voss. It is under- 

 stood that the price of the compound is about 20 cents per 

 pound. 



PLANTATION RUBBER FROM NICARAGUA. 



The Bluefields newspaper. The American, notes the ship- 

 ment from that port, by Mr. John C. Horter, to the Horter 

 Culture Co. (New Orleans), of a fine lot of cultivated rubber, 

 from the ' ' Day tonia ' ' and ■ ' Tennessee ' ' plantations. "This 

 rubber, " says the newspaper, " according to expert opinion, 



is to be classed with the best which has been grown here and 

 weighs I '4 tons. In conversation with Mr. Horter, that 

 gentlenmn assured us that this is the largest quantitj' of 

 cultivated rubber in one shipment which has, up to date, 

 been despatched from any Spanish-American port to the 

 United States." The shipment comprised 2500 pounds and 

 was made by the steamer Imperator, on April 19. 



BETTER CONDITIONS IN SUMATRA. 

 Tiiic Pinang Gazette \\gax<. that- the government of Nether- 

 lands India has decided to abolish the export duty on plan- 

 tation rubber grown in .Sumatra. This, it adds, is sure to 

 further enhance the value of the rubber estates in Nether- 

 lands India. The real intention, however, is, says The Times 

 of Ceylon, to encourage capital to come into the country ; and 

 when Mr. Kelwaj' Bamber, of Ceylon, recently visited Suma- 

 tra, he found a marked improvement in the attitude of the 

 .luthorities towards British investors. 



TAPPING RUBBER IN MEXICO. 



Me.xicwn Plantation Association (Chicago, Illinois) advise 

 The iNni.v Ruuher World that they have on their planta- 

 tion " Lumija, " in the Mexican state of Chiapas, 75,000 rub- 

 ber trees 6 years old. They will commence tapping this 

 year, on an experimental scale. Their coffee is beginning to 

 be productive, and they have been paying dividends from 

 side crops, together with the profit from the plantation 

 store. 



"La Esmalta ■' plantation, in Oaxaca, owned by the Bing- 

 hamlon Tropical Plantation Co. (Binghamton, New York), a 

 company incorporated in 1902, contains some 1500 planted 

 rubber trees which were standing on the property when pur- 

 chased. The company report that last year 10 of these trees 

 (from 7 to 10 years old) yielded under experimental tapping in 

 January 1 1 pounds of dry rubber. This year in the same month 

 the 10 trees yielded 17 pounds ol rubber weighed immediately 

 after coagulation, and weighing 1 5 pounds after 3 or 4 months. 

 One tree, supposed to be 15 years old, is reported to have 

 yielded 2: pounds at a single bleeding. 



MEXICAN PLANTATION COMPANY PUBLICATIONS. 



Oax.ac.^ Rubber Co., New York.=Third .'\niiual Inspector'.s Re- 

 port. By George S. Delano and Caleb B. Leach. S pages. 



Tehuantepec Rubber Culture Co., New York.i-Plantatioii Rubio. 

 Report of Official Inspector \V. H. Hyde, 1905. 26 pages. 



Chacamas Plantation Co., Chicago. =Report on Method of Rub 

 ber Planting on the Chacamas Plantation, Slate of Chiapas, Mex- 

 ico. By Charles W. Rickard, plantation manager. 23 pages. 



Wisconsin Rubber Co., Madison, Wisconsin. = Report of M. C. 

 I'itzgerald, Second Inspector, Elected January 28, 1906. 24 pages. 



The North .A.merican Rubber Culture Co.. Kansas City, Mis.souri. 

 = Annual Report of the General Manager, Printed April i, 1905. 

 12 pages. Annual Report, iqo6. 12 pages. 



Conservative Ruliber Production Co., San Francisco = Report of 

 G. R. Taylor, of Fresno, California, on the Property- Owned by the 

 Conipajiy. 16 pages. 



Mexican Mutual Planters Co., Chicago. =La Junta ; 5000 acres of 

 Fore.st Jungle now a Cultivated Plantation. 36' pages + map. A 

 Plantation ; not a Prospect. 32 pages. 



Batavia Co., Minneapolis. Minnesota. =Annual Report No. 3. 

 Batavia Plantation. J. E. Rhodes, Inspector. 1906. 42 pages. 



The Obispo Rubber Plantation Co., New York. =Fifth Annual 

 Inspector's Report [by R. M. Johnson] on the Obispo Rubber 

 Plantation and Financial Statement of the Republic Development 

 Co., Contractors. igo6. [With a report on the Pittsburg-Obispo 

 plantation.] 27 pages. 



