May I, 1905.] 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



275 



THE RUBBER PLANTING INTEREST. 



AN AMERICAN ON CEYLON RUBBER. 



A RECENT visit to Ceylon by Mr. F. F. McClintock, a 

 representative of Messrs. George A. Alden & Co., crude 

 rubber importers of Boston, Massachusetts, to report 

 to his firm on the prospects of the supply of rubber 

 from the plantations of Hevea in the Far East, is referred to 

 at length in The Times of Ceylon, which prints an interview 

 with Mr. McClintock. Some extracts from this gentleman's 

 statements to the Colombo newspaper follow, in a somewhat 

 condensed style : 



My tirm have sent me to Ceylon to report on the stability and future 

 possibilities of the Ihvia, which you have apparently so successfully 

 transplanted from the Amazon, and to study what scientific cultivation 

 anJ intelligent gathering and curing can accomplish. This painstaking 

 care his already made its influence felt in distant lands, and I can show 

 you a sample of Cear:i rubber, as formerly shipped, without regard to 

 the dirt and bark contained, as well as a sample of recent shipments in 

 which greater care has been e.»cercised,* due, I am convinced, to the suc- 

 cess attending your own efforts to get the best results. 



This Ccara rubber will not and never can compete with Ilevea. They 

 are quite unlike in toughness and elasticity, and in this connection I 

 cinnot too strongly impress upon your planters the desirability of in- 

 creasing their acreage. A glut of fine Para rubber is quite as impossible, 

 it seems tome, as an overproduction of gold, and prices must be main- 

 tained and even advanced with the steadily increasing demand. 



America has a reputation, I believe, of wanting the best, and a dis- 

 position to pay for it, and at home we find the Pari rubber the best and 

 therefore the cheapest. But 75 per cent, of all the African Congo and 

 50 per cent, of the Benguela rubber is sold in America. 



Ceylon rubber commands a higher price than the fine Para rubber 

 from Brazil, not because it is better or stronger, but because you have 

 collected and dried it with so much care. Your Ceylon rubber shrinks 

 but 3 per cent, against an 18 per cent, shrinkage of Upriver and 20 per 

 cent, of Islands fine, from the Amazon. At the satne time, the quantity 

 of Ceylon rubber so far received in .America is so small, and its possibil- 

 ities so unknown, that our large manufacturers have not used it com- 

 mercially, as it would necessitate a change of formula or perhaps a 

 change of machinery to introduce it ; and until they are assured that a 

 constant supply in sufficient quantities is available they are not likely to 

 become important users ; yet there are many smaller factories to whom 

 the Ceylon product is a boon. Because of the absence of moisture it is 

 ready for immediate use, and the time gained in this way permits quicker 

 returns from their manufacture. 



In some of the shipments of Ceylon rubber we find a considerable dif- 

 ference in strength, but whether this is due to the acetic acid which I 

 understand you use to accelerate the coagulation, or because the latex is 

 from immature trees, I am now unable to say. I have bought samples 

 showing this difference. 



I notice that it is all Para rubber in Ceylon, I am glad of it. Para 

 rubber is the thing for you. There are all sorts of precious stones, but 

 none are equal to diamonds. Pari rubber is the diamond among rubbers. 

 There is an impression in Ceylon that the Para rubber produced here is 

 the finest in the world. That is a mistake. Some Ceylon rubber is as 

 good as the best, I admit, but it is no better. The advantage of your 

 rubber is simply its dryness, and there is no doubt it is a very desirable 

 rubber. 



Referring to the samples mentioned by Mr. McClintock, The 

 Times says: "He had two biscuits, of practically the same 

 thickness, of Ceylon ' Pari ' rubber. One was so tough that 

 it could hardly be stretched ; the other could easily be torn by 

 the finger. As Mr. McClintock points out, he is desirous of 



• Probably plantation " Manii;oba," from Cear;i, Brazil. — Thk India Rubrer 

 World, 



learning what causes the difference in the two biscuits." The 

 Times reproduces at length some statistics supplied by Mr. 

 McClintock, showing that, while the United States import so 

 largely the other grades of rubbers mentioned in his interview, 

 they also take more than half the exports from the Amazon, 

 as this condensed statement will show : 



Vkak. .■\raerica. Europe. Total. 



ig02 tons 12,580 i2,6go 25,270 



IQ03 l3.Sgo 12,990 26.880 



1904 (II months) 12,430 10,180 22,610 



Total 38,900 35.860 74,760 



Meanwhile the United States imported via Europe 12 10 tons 

 of Para rubber in 1902 ; 1412 tons in 1903 ; and 898 tons in 1 1 

 months of 1904. 



A TEST OF CEYLON RUBBER. 



The Times 0/ Ceylon prints a report made by a Scotch rub- 

 ber manufacturer on a sample of Ceylon rubber, in which the 

 following appears : 



I carried out experiments to determine the respective merits of Malay 

 States and Ceylon biscuits, as compared with Brazil Para. Taking 

 strips of each 3 inches long by % inch square, and with a load of 7)^ 

 pounds, the following elongations took place : Malay States, 9)^ inches ; 

 Ceylon, lo/ij inches ; Brazilian Para, 13 '2 inches : so that you will see 

 that the Brazilian Para is much superior to either of the other two. 

 There is not much difference between the Ceylon and Malay, though 

 the former shows up better. 



While such test is interesting, it is by no means conclusive 

 as a record of the comparative value of the three types of rub- 

 ber. A much more valuable — and indeed the final — test would 

 bt in compounding and vulcanizing each of the three grades 

 under varying conditions, and making tests of resiliency, etc. 



CEYLON AND MALAY STATES NOTES. 



The Times of Ceylon [March 10] reports: " It is believed in 

 many quarters that Sir Thomas Lipton has become largely in- 

 terested in Ceylon rubber estates, and there is no doubt that a 

 large scheme is on foot to take up a very large block of land, 

 probably considerably over 10,000 acres, in the Kelani Valley 

 and other parts of the Low Country, for purposes of rubber 

 cultivation. The local market for rubber shares is firm and 

 there is no reason to doubt the public confidence continuing." 



A later report refers to the formation of the Grand Central 

 Ceylon Rubber Co., Limited, with a capital of 3,000,000 rupees 

 [=$1,000,000, gold], fully subscribed, to take up and develop a 

 large tract in the Kelani valley, of which 1000 acres is under- 

 stood to be practically all under rubber, including 200 acres 3 to 

 4 years old. It should be added that one half the shaie issue 

 is taken by the vendors in chief payment, and that only 50 per 

 cent, on the shares allotted to the public is being called up. The 

 chairman of the company is the Hon. J. N. Campbell, and Car- 

 son & Co., of Colombo, are agents and secretaries. 



The Seremban Estate Rubber Co., Limited, have accepted 

 an offer of 4.75 rupees per pound [=$1.5*] for their 1905 crop, 

 estimated at 20,000 pounds, delivered at the Colombo wharf. 

 This is considered equivalent to 7 shillings in the London mar- 

 ket. The Seremban company was formed in Ceylon in 1903, 

 to acquire an estate in the Federated Malay States, on which 

 there are now over 400 acres of rubber 7 and 8 years old. Sales 

 of the 100 rupee shares of the company have been made recently 

 at Colombo at 370 rupees The 190J crop of Halwatura es- 



