August i, 1909.] 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



401 



The Editor's Book Table. 



INTEENATIONAL BUBBEB CONFERENCE, 



Tl 1 P. official record of the conferences held in connection 

 with the International Rubber Exhibition (London, ipoS"* 

 has now come from the press, and proves to be an im- 

 portant contribution to the literature of india-rubber. The vari- 

 ous lectures and discussions were reported verbatim, and the 

 papers read arc printed in full. The result is a volume of 272 

 pages, on which the prmtcr has put a great deal more matter 

 than is contained on the ordinary book page. The editing of 

 the book has been excellently done by Dr. David Spence, who 

 also translated into English several papers presented in other 

 languages. The editor's work has been far from perfunctory, 

 what, with providing a general introduction, notes introducing 

 the different papers, and frequent footnotes. He has supplied 

 also a table of rubber yielding species, with their geographical 

 and botanical origin, which is the fullest and most accurate to 

 date. 



While the most distinctive characteristic of the rubber show 

 was its representation of the planting interest, there was upper- 

 most in the minds of those present the forest rubber of Brazil — 

 the real "Para" rubber. The conditions of its production, its 

 quality, how far it may be imitated on plantations, and other 

 like questions are of concern to planters whose ambition is to 

 produce something at least as good as native rubber, if not 

 better. The first lectures presented here, therefore, relate to 

 Brazilian rubber — by Mr. N. H. Witt, long in the Amazon trade, 

 and Mr. H. Vasconcollos, special commissioner from Brazil. 



Next come eight papers, relating to the present position of 

 rubber cultivation in various countries. Mr. Herbert Wright 

 treated of the Eastern rubber industry in general, Mr. J. B. 

 Carruthers of that in the Malay Peninsula in particular. Sir 

 Daniel Morris dealt with the West Indies, Dr. Olsson-Seffer and 

 the Editor of The Inui.^ Rubber World with Mexico, and M. 

 Henri Jumelle with Madagascar, the latter being a field less 

 known in relation to its rubber resources than almost any other. 

 There are papers dealing with the progress of rubber culture and 

 the extent which it has attained, being followed by a series of 

 nine papers on problems in relation to the cultivation of rubber. 



Drs. Frank and Marckvvald discussed a new method of coagula- 

 tion. M. Van den Kerckhove the packing and storing of rubber 

 in the Colonies, Professor F. E. Lloyd the Mexican guayule 

 plant and its product, and so on. Mr. Carruthers discussed 

 "Clean Weeding versus Cover Planting," while Mr. Beadle and 

 Dr. Stevens presented an interesting paper on the possible utiliza- 

 tion as a material for paper making of the lalang grass, which 

 up to date has proved such a nuisance on Malayan rubber 

 plantations. 



The chemistry of india-rubber and allied subjects forms the 

 ne.xt division of this book, beginning with Mr. Pearson's "Syn- 

 thetic Rubber I Have Met." Dr. Spence contributed a study of 

 the latex of rubber-producing plants. Dr. Rudolph Ditmar a paper 

 on the absorption and diffusion of gases by india-rubber and the 

 application of these processes in aerial navigation, and so on. 

 Only four lectures bore directly upon the manufacture of rub- 

 ber goods, and these belonged in the field of cliemistry, with 

 the exception of one by Dr. P. Schidrowitz on the relation of 

 the manufacturer to the consumer. 



It is not designed here to review in detail the Rubber Confer- 

 ence Handbook, or even to mention all the items which compose 

 it, but rather to give an idea of the general character of the 

 contents. It should be added that the authors of the various 

 papers are men of distinction in their various fields of work, 

 and that what they have added to the world's knowledge of 

 rubber in this volume is of no little value. 



THE CULTIVATION .'VND PREPAR.\TION OF PAKA RUBBER. By 

 W. H. Johnson, F.L.S. - - - Second edition, rewritten and greatly en- 

 l.-irRcd. • - • London; Crosby, Lockwood & Son. 1909. [CTolli. 8vo. 

 IV- "11 -f 178. Price, js. 6d., net.] 



This work, in its original form the first book devoted to the 

 cultivation of Para rubber alone, in the revised edition represents- 

 the latest word on the subject. From whatever point of view it 

 docs not suffer in comparison with any work on rubber culture ; 

 in fact, it rather appears to us to deserve the palm as a practical 

 treatise for planters or those intending to become such. The 

 author, while director of the Gold Coast Colony, West Africa, 

 w-as commissioned by his government to visit Ceylon to study the 

 methods employed there in the cultivation and preparation of Para 

 rubber, with a view to its introduction into his colony. Mr. 

 Johnson already had demonstrated that the output of native 

 rubber was on the decline, and it was reasoned tliat if rubber 

 was to be cultivated, the best species should be planted, if it 

 should be found adapted to West African conditions. 



The first edition of this work was the result. It was concluded 

 at the Kew Gardens, where the author dated his preface in Sep- 

 tember, 1904 — before the world had become impressed with the 

 practical character of rubber culture as being developed in the 

 East. Meanwhile Mr, Johnson has accepted the position of di- 

 rector of agriculture for that important region in East Africa 

 controlled by the Companhia do Mucambique — a Portuguese en- 

 terprise. Here it is part of his work to supervise both the devel- 

 opment of native rubber resources and the introduction of rubber 

 planting; hence he has kept in touch with the progress made in 

 the cultural production of Para rubber. The preface to this 

 later edition was dated at Beira, East Africa, in December, 1908. 



The new book contains about y/z times as much matter as the 

 first edition, and 33 illustrations instead of 4, as in the former vol- 

 ume. It is thus practically a new work, although the original 

 chapters are retained, subject to revision where this has been ren- 

 dered necessary by the progress of time. As we have said, this book 

 is eminently practical in character. Where it touches upon points 

 outside the authors personal experience or observation, credit is 

 given for his authorities. 



The subjects treated embrace seed selection, seed growing, site 

 for plantation, choice of soils, manuring, planting and care of 

 young plants, pests, collection of latex, coagulation, dr\ing and 

 packing rubber for export, and so on. There are details of yields 

 of rubber, preliminary to detailed estimates for the establishment 

 and maintenance of a Para rubber plantation, the latter being 

 based upon actual practice in Ceylon and the Federated Malay 

 States. The author evidently regards an average of 2 pounds 

 per tree, 150 trees per acre, as a normal yield from and after the 

 eighth year, without going into the question of the productive 

 capacity of trees beyond eleven or twelve years. The cost of 

 putting rubber on the market is figured at Js. 6rf. 



The illustrations relate mainly to devices or apparatus for ex- 

 tracting latex and preparing rubber for the market. The me- 

 chanical side of the subject is of particular interest, since so 

 many of the machines pictured have come into existence since 

 the origin of rubber culture, being designed for this purpose alone. 

 IN CURRENT PERIODICALS, 



Le Fictis clastica a Java, Plantation de Bandjaran. By J, Kerbirt. 

 [Consideration of the advantages of planting this species as compared with 

 Ilcvca Brasilicnsis]=Journal d'Agncullure Tropicale, Paris, IX-92, (Peb. 

 29. '09). Pp. 41-45- 



Etude generale sur le ficus elnstica (Roxb.). By Georges Vernet.= 

 Le Caoutchouc ct la Cutui-Percha, Paris. VI-60 (Feb. 15, '09). Pp. 

 2659-2672. 



The Congo Question. By Felix H. Hunicke. [Relates i)articularly to the 

 conditions — as regards both the Congo government and concessionaire com- 

 panies — of rubber gathering by the natives; deals to some extent with the 

 American Congo Co.] = TAc North American Review, iicw York. 

 CLXXXIX-4 (Apr. '09). Pp. 604-614. 



