September i, 1905.] 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



413 



THE RUBBER PLANTING INTEREST. 



AMERICAN CAPITAL IN STRAITS RUBBER. 



A RECENT issue of the Singapore Free Press contains 

 fuller details than had previously been made public in 

 regard to the change of ownership of the largest rub- 

 ber plantation in existence that has been developed to 

 a productive stage. This is located in Malacca, a territory in 

 the British colony of the Straits Settlements in the Malay penin- 

 sula, within a few miles of the city of Malacca. It had its be- 

 ginnings in a small plantatioh made in 1896 by Tan Chay Yan, 

 a wealthy Chinese citizen of that state, and which gave such 

 promise from the first that he was strongly encouraged by 

 English planters to extend the enterprise. This he did until 

 what is known as the Rukit Asahan 

 estate, of 3800 acres, existed. Accord- 

 ing to the Free Press there are at 

 present 3000 acres fully planted to rub- 

 ber, 200 trees to the acre, and 500 trees 

 are now producing rubber. In two 

 years' time a total of 2oooacres will be 

 ready for tapping, and in three and one 

 half years the whole will be tapable. 



Bukit Asahan estate, before the 

 transfer, was owned by the Malacca 

 Rubber and Tapioca Co., with 12 share- 

 holders. Tan Chay Yan ownmg more 

 than half the shares. The other hold- 

 ers are Chinese relatives or intimate 

 friends of the chief owner, with the ex- 

 ception of one solitary European. 



The India Rubber World of May 

 I, 1905 (page 275) mentions the pres- 

 ence in Ceylon of Mr. F. F. McClin- 

 tock, of the United States, represent- 

 ing a Boston rubber house, who was 

 reported to be studying the rubber 

 planting situation. It appears that his 

 work resulted in an option being taken 

 on Bukit Asahan, the option holders 

 being connected with a London finan- 

 cial house of the first standing and 

 with Messrs. Alden, Symington & Co., 

 rubber merchants of London, Boston, 

 and New York. The option holders 

 arrived in London on June 6, when 

 plans at once began to be put in exe- 

 cution for the requisition of the prop- 

 erty, and by July 5 details had been tapping marks 

 agreed upon, including the completion [showmg effects of 

 of a new transaction, the securing of an additional 6000 acres 

 of virgin land, near Bukit Asahan, in Negri Sembilan, one of 

 the Federated Malay States. 



The result is the formation of the Malacca Rubber Planta- 

 tions, Limited, with a capital of ^400,000 [=$1,946,600], of 

 which j^ioo,ooo will be paid in cash to the Malacca Rubber and 

 Tapioca Co., who are to receive also ;Ci33,333 in ordinary 

 shares. It is proposed to subscribe ;^ioo,ooo in cash as work- 

 ing capital, for the development of the new 6000 acres just se- 

 cured in Negri Sembilan. 



The Free Press says that while these may seem large figures, 

 they are in reality small in comparison of the assured prospect- 



ive value of the estate. It is recognized that 200 Para rubber 

 trees to the acre should give a yearly profit per acre of $300 

 (silver) at 4.r. per pound (now bs. ^d.) This shows an annual 

 profit in 3}^ years time of ^Ti 20,000, and the new 6000 acres will 

 also be in course of development. At the same rate the profit 

 on the whole estate in 8 years should reach ^500,000. 



Mr. McClintock was accompanied to London by Low Gek 

 Seng, the chief member of the Chinese syndicate which cooper- 

 ated in the securing of the options. Messrs. Alden, Symington 

 & Co. are the London house associated with George A. Alden 

 & Co., of Boston ; the New York Commercial Co. ; and Adel- 

 bert H. Alden, of Para and Manaos. Mr. Alden is at present 

 in Europe, and is understood to have 

 participated personally in the negotia- 

 tions in London. 



Twenty thousand shares in the new 

 company — 11.500 preferred and 8500 

 common — were offered for subscription 

 in Colombo. The Times of Ceylon 

 stated in May that Bukit Asahan con- 

 tained 80,000 rubber trees 6 years old, 

 which It was estimated should yield 

 80,000 to 100.000 pounds of rubber 

 next year, in addition to which there is 

 some profit to be derived from tapioca. 

 INJURY TO RUBBER TREES FR0IV1 TAP- 

 PING. 

 It has long been appreciated that 

 much injury comes to a rubber tree 

 that is carelessly tapped, particularly 

 where the cutting tool goes through 

 the bark and penetrates the wood. Of 

 course, the specific injury to be guarded 

 against is the rotting of the wood and 

 its attack by insects. Even when the 

 cut heals over and no such danger 

 comes to the tree it is still set back 

 in growth appreciably as is proved by 

 the accompanying illustration. This 

 represents a section oi a. Hei'ea Brasi- 

 liensis grown in the botanic gardens at 

 Singapore, and while it was tapped 

 with reasonable care the bark was pen- 

 etrated even to the wood. It will be 

 seen from a careful examination of the 

 tree section that although several 

 ON HEVEA." inches of woody growth formed over 



ttinginioihewood.] j^e tapped surface the scar still re- 



mained in the interior of the tree. The illustration is an espe- 

 cially interesting one and should carry a warning to planters 

 against careless tapping. It is made from a photograph pre- 

 sented to the Editor of The India Rubber World by Pro- 

 fessor H. N. Ridley, f. l. s., during the former's visit to Singa- 

 pore. 



NEW CEYLON COMPANIES. 

 Grand Central Ceylon Rubber Co., Limited, gazetted at Co- 

 lombo, July 8 ; nominal capital, 2,000,000 rupees [ = $648,866.50] 

 in 20.000 shares, of which one half have been subscribed and 

 fully paid. To acquire the Urumewella estate, in the Kegalle 

 district, on which 669 acres are planted with rubber and further 



