November i, 1902.] 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



43 



being much larger and more thrifty than those further from the 

 open space, though Dr. Spire fails to mention the character of 

 the growth, if any, in contact with the smaller trees. These 

 trees range from 32)^ to 40 feet in height. The same condi- 

 tions apply to a third planting, made in 1889. 



In May, 1901, Dr. Van Romburgh caused some of the above 

 Castilloa trees to be tapped, for the benefit of Dr. Spire. The 

 Malays use for this purpose an implement similar to a butch- 

 er's cleaver, with which gashes, 5 to 8 centimeters [ = 2 to y,i 

 inches] long, and about 5 millimeters [= 1/5 inch] deep, are 

 cut in the bark, obliquely, on opposite sides, and converging 

 to a common line, from which the latex may be gathered. 

 The cutting extends up the trunk as high as 3 to 4 meters. 

 Two of the trees had been bled before, and the resulting scars 

 were so thick that they interfered with the fresh tapping, but 

 at least, 150 gashes were cut in those two trees that day. The 

 sap flowed freely into a tin pail supported by a hook beneath 

 the lowest cut, and to provide against any loss, large banana 

 leaves were placed at the base of the trunk to catch any sap 

 that might go astray. The latex was at times very white, and 

 again of a brownish cast, while some incisions brought out 

 only a blackish humor which exuded very slowly. The flow 

 did not appear to depend upon which side the tree was cut. 



The pails of latex, together with what was collected on the 

 banana leaves, were taken to the laboratory and kneaded in 

 water, next passed over a hne copper sieve, and then put away 

 to settle. In time the rubber floated, the remaining watery 

 material being drawn oflf from the bottom from day to day. 

 At the end of the eighth day the cake of rubber was removed 

 and placed under a press to remove any remaining water. Re- 

 turning to the field on the day following the tapping, the man 

 in charge collected from the wounds on the trunks any shreds 

 of rubber that had resulted from the spontaneous coagulation 

 of latex, which, when cleaned, were as valuable as that pre- 

 pared mechanically. 



In general practice the collection of the latex is performed 

 wholly by Malays, an overseer assigning to each worker a cer- 

 tain number of trees which he must visit each day. At least 

 J{ catty [=about i pound] of Caoutchouc must be delivered 

 daily, for which the worker is paid 10 cents, gold, without re- 

 gard to the hours of labor. The men are watched closely to 

 prevent the reckless tapping of the trees and their ultimate 

 destruction. When brought to the factory the latex is cleansed 

 by women in running water, then exposed to the air, but in the 

 shade, for three or four days to dry, and finally sacked for ship- 

 ment. The cost of collecting, cleansing, drying, and sacking, 

 amounts to about 3 florms a picul [=$1.21 for 132 pounds.] A 

 Castilloa tree eight years old should yield an average of 175 

 grams [ = i5'(j pound] of rubber. In 1900, 2849 Castilloas yield- 

 ed 7 piculs [=924 pounds] which sold for 2100 florins [$844.20]. 

 A neat little income is derived from the sale of seeds, the usual 

 price being 6 francs per kilogram (3000 or 4000 seeds). They 

 are packed in layers of charcoal dust and will keep for twenty 

 days. Many seeds are shipped from Loebang, particularly to 

 Sumatra, where the culture of Castilloa elastica has been begun 

 on a large scale, as at Tebbing Teuggi Deli, near the north- 

 western extremity of the island. 



To return to the details of the tapping done under Dr. Van 

 Romburgh's supervision, the weight of latex obtained from six 

 of the trees tapped on two days was as follows ; 



ist Day. 2d Day. Total. 



First two trees grams 28 130 158 



Second two trees 220 290 510 



Third two trees 125 205 33° 



Total 373 625 998 



The result in dry Caoutchouc was 340 grams for the first 

 day's tapping and 600 grams for the second, or a total of 940, 

 equal to slightly over 2 pounds, of a quality then valued at 5 

 florins per kilogram [ = 91 cents a pound]. The two trees in- 

 dicated in the table as giving the largest yield were planted in 

 1884, and are not elsewhere mentioned in Dr. Spire's article. 



Dr. Spire learned from Dr. Van Romburgh that in 1886 there 

 were planted at the botanic station at Tjidjerock 60 Castilloa 

 seedlings, supplied by Mr. Hofland, already mentioned. Half 

 were planted in moist and swampy land, and the remainder in 

 a high and dry location. The former did not thrive, and were 

 transplanted. In 1891 they all fruited and 20,000 seeds were 

 gathered. The details of planting are not given, but in 1893 

 there were 10,000 trees standing as the result. Later plantings 

 were made from seeds from the same source, so that by 1900 

 there were about 26,000 trees standing, but none had been 

 tapped at last accounts. 



In August, 1901, Dr. Spire visited the Castilloa plantations at 

 Pamanoekan. On the premises of Mr. Van Gent, and situated 

 near his coffee factory, was a tract planted to rubber in argil- 

 laceous, ferruginous soil, which had been burnt over at one 

 time with a view to erecting buildings there. The plants were 

 about 10 feet apart, but had attained an average height of 2 

 meters and the crowns were touching each other. In the same 

 vicinity another and larger tract of 50 bouws [= 871-^ acres] 

 had been planted for 19 months. At the same date the pro- 

 prietor had planted Castilloa seedlings along paths in his coffee 

 estate, and these had attained an average height of 4 meters. 

 At one time a thousand Castilloa trees on his plantation had 

 been attacked, apparently by some fungus growth, and were 

 removed and burned. 



Dr. Spire also visited the plantations of Mr. Dinet, at Loe- 

 bang, where Ficus elastica and Castilloa were growing mixed, 

 about 18 months from planting. The young rubber, set in 

 ground covered with cocoanut palms, had not thriven well, 

 especially the Castilloa, which only in a few cases had grown 

 up to 2 meters. This slow growth was attributed to the 

 hardness of the ground caused by the interlacing roots of the 

 palms, and the owner was attempting the diflScult task of 

 eradicating the latter. Mr. Dinet was convinced in favor of 

 growing the two kinds of rubber together. The Castilloa 

 grows much more rapidly than the Ficus, but does not inter- 

 fere with it. The altitude here is only a few meters above sea 

 level. Experiments in planting Castilloa in the neighborhood 

 of Korwang, at an altitude of 3500 feet, were unsuccessful. 



At the state plantation of Gutta-percha, at Tjipetir, 2000 feet 

 above the sea, Dr. Spire noticed some Castilloas. One tract, 

 planted 18 months before, showed satisfactory growth, and on 

 another, trees 28 months old measured from 55 to 60 inches 

 high. About 100 eight year old trees were as well developed as 

 those at Tjikeumeuh. In some of the coffee and cinchona 

 plantations in the eastern part of the island a few specimens of 

 Castilloa may be found, which, though receiving no attention, 

 have developed well. One, six years old, was 42^^ feet high 

 and 32>^ inches in girth. 



Herr Rudolf Schlechter, of Germany, who visited Sumatra 

 last year, in an account of his trip in Der Tropenpflamer (Ber- 

 lin), mentions two plantations of Castilloa— \.\\ax of Mr. Runge, 

 Deli Moeda. and one at Haut Tador. In the first named the two 

 year old trees were 12 feet high and at 3 feet from the ground 

 measured 1 1.8 inches in circumference. At Haut Tador he 

 saw 50.000 Castilloa plants in a nursery, awaiting the rainy sea- 

 son, to be planted with Ficus. At Boeloe there were 76 Cas- 

 tilloas, one planted in 1898 measuring 17.7 inches in circumfer- 

 ence. The latex was abundant, but charged with resin. 



