204 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[March i, igog. 



Dk. W. R 



[Director of th 



I'romp de Ha, 



government gutta-percha 

 estate, Tjipetir, Java.] 



leaf to the acre, and the year following 2,744 kilos [=6.037 

 pounds] of fresh leaf. From the older trees they fomid that 

 the fallen leaves amounted to about 25 kilos [=55 pounds] a 

 tree. These figures are of course only approximate, as the 

 experiments are still going on, but they are successful and show 



wonderful skill, 

 forethought, and 

 thoroughness. Be- 

 yond all this the 

 a 1 m o n d shaped 

 seed has been 

 found to produce a 

 vegetable fat with 

 a high melting 

 point which can be 

 used in the arts. 

 It is planned that 

 the real tapping of 

 trees shall begin 

 in 1915. The plant- 

 ing now embraces 

 2,240 acres, and the 

 estimate is made 

 that it will pro- 

 duce 1 1 kilos of 

 dry gutta - percha 

 per acre, or a total 

 of 26.840 kilos 

 1=: 59,048 pounds] 

 a year. 



The amount of 

 gutta-percha which has gone into commercial use during the last 

 half century is evidence that a tremendous number of trees 

 yielding this gum existed at the time when the material first 

 came to the notice of luanufacturers. but just a> the largest 

 bank account will some tiiue disappear if constantly drawn upon 

 without any additions being made to it. the native gutta-percha 

 resources in the regions which formerly supplied the world's 

 principal needs for this material have become well nigh ex- 

 hausted. It is almost impossible now to find a native specimen 

 of the best gutta-percha species. The practicability from a scien- 

 tific standpoint of producing gutta-percha under cultivalion li.-iving 

 been established, the owners 

 of priviate capital naturally 

 hesitated to undertake plant- 

 ing, on account of the sup- 

 posed length of time whic'i 

 would be requisite for re- 

 turns, since the gutta-percha 

 trees felled by the collectors 

 were commonly supposed t ) 

 be a century old. 



A well established govern- 

 ment, however, such as t!i:t 

 in the Dutch colonies, ac- 

 customed to making invc;t- 

 ments for the future as wtil 

 as for the present, and par- 

 ticularly investments not ex- 

 pected to yield direct divi- 

 dends, can well afford to 

 finance such an enterprise .'is 

 planting gutta-percha, regard- 

 less of the length of time 

 which must elapse before the 

 trees become productive. 

 There is all the more reason 

 for the Dutch government to 



undertake this work in the fact that gutta-percha trees occur 

 naturally over so small an area, and that embraced principally in 

 the Dutch possessions. There is now being laid a cable, insulated 

 with gutta-percha, between Germany and Brazil — to be one of the 

 longest cables in the world — and there is no indication that the 

 age of cable building is passing. Ultimately, at the present rate 

 of consumption, there will be no forest gutta-percha, and all the 

 activity of the Dutch government and such private enterprise as it 

 may inspire can hardly lead to overproduction of this important 

 material when the world's need for it becomes acute. 



It is true that gutta-percha trees under cultivation may mature 

 at an earlier age than where they are scattered in forests, just 

 as has proved true of Hcvea rubber in Ceylon and Malaya. The 

 fact is also important that science has demonstrated the possibility 

 of obtaining gutta-percha froip young trees. The most important 

 substitute for gutta-percha yet known is balata, of which impor- 

 tant native resources still exist, and in connection with which 

 some facts are given in a brief article which follows. 



MORE BALATA FROM BRITISH GUIANA. 



■"PHE collection of balata in British Guiana is coming under a 

 *■ somewhat changed control. The Balata and Rubber Corpo- 

 rati.in. Limited, registered in London December 2, 1908, with an 

 authorized capital of £r6o,coo [^ $778,640] to acquire lands in 

 British Guiana and elsewhere, and to deal in balata and india- 

 rubber, have taken over the concessions of The British Guiana 

 Rubber Corporation, Limited, incorporated in 1906, and various 

 other balata concessions in the colony. Colonel Link, who was 

 representative in British Guiana of the older company, has been 

 appointed general manager of the new. The collection of balata 

 in the colony has been increasing steadily of late, and doubtless 

 the export will become still larger under the more systematic 

 management, by a large controlling company, of a business which 

 hitherto has beeu carried on always under numerous difficulties. 

 The exports for the calendar year 1908 was 1,124,955 pounds^ 

 compared to 991,280 pounds for the previous year. The exports^ 

 with values, for five fiscal years (to March 31) have been: 



Pounds. Value. 



In i903-'04 531.399 ^216,895 



In I004-'05 501,509 182,607 



In Tgo5-'ofi 550,691 I93,495 



In r9o6-'o7 634,242 240,510 



In i907-'o8 973,269 368,538 



CULTIVATED GUTT.VPERCHA TREES AT TJIPETIR. 

 [Palatiuium oblongifolium ; age 22 J^ years.] 



