352 



THE INDIA RUBBER '^^ORLD 



[August i, 1902. 



to those who use the ordinary dry heater. Governor Bourn's 

 best results have come from the use of carbonate of ammo- 

 nium, and he has also used both the bromine and iodide of 

 ammonium. The net result of his experiments proves that the 

 value of the stocii is increased about 10 per cent., while the 

 time of curing is cut down about two-thirds. Governor Bourn 

 has patented his process and it is understood that he is soon to 

 use it on quite a large scale. 



MINIATURE VACUUM DRYING CHAMBERS FOR THB LABORATORY. 

 Almost all of the leading rubber factories to day have rub- 



ber plants in miniature in the laboratory for experimental 



work. Such companies will be glad to Icnow that it is now 

 possible to secure a small vacuum drying chamber for the dry- 

 ing of rubber, gums, and the various ingredients used in com- 

 pounding. These dryers are cylindrical, have a door at one 

 end, with three hollow shelves inside through which heated 

 water, oil, or exhaust steam may be circulated as a heating 

 medium. Although the first miniature sample was made only 

 a few days ago, word comes that ten of them have already 

 been placed in rubber mills. [Alex. P. Mende, No. 125 East 

 Sixty-second street. New York.] 



CRUDE RUBBER AND PLANTING INTERESTS. 



" CASTILLOA EI.ASTICA " RUBBER DRIED IN THE SUN. 



SENOR JOAQUIN JIMENEZ, an extensive sugar and 

 coffee planter of Tuxtepec (Oaxaca), Mexico, is in- 

 terested also in the cultivation of India-rubber, hav- 

 ing planted up to date some 10,000 trees, though, per- 

 haps, this number is not now standing. Recently he permitted 

 some of his six and eight year old trees to be tapped by men 

 sent to his place by a Vera Cruz trader, who extracted and 

 cured about 700 pounds of rubber for which they paid 80 

 cents. Mexican. The trees tapped yielded an average of about 

 one pound per tree. There are on the plantation half a dozen 

 trees, planted fifteen or sixteen years ago, one of which is sup- 

 posed to have yielded II pounds of rubber this season. The 

 rubber here referred to was prepared without the addition of 

 any coagulating agent, the latex having been poured over a 

 coRee patio (drying floor) and dried in the sun. 

 RUBBER IN THE MALAY STATES. 

 The annual report for 1901 of the United Planters' Associa- 

 tion of the Federated Malay States again speaks hopefully of 

 the rubber plantations in that region, though without giving 

 any details of later date than have appeared already in The 

 India Rubber World. In regard to Ftctis elastica the report 

 says : " The unsuitability of this tree for planting among cofTee 

 to some extent accounts, no doubt, for the preference shown 

 to Para. Nevertheless, when put out on soil which it likes, 

 growth has been very fine, but it has shown itself to be a tree 

 which will not flourish anywhere and everywhere, and for it to 

 make a vigorous start it appears essential that there should be 

 a fairly rich surface humus or lots of ash after a recent burn. 

 On rain washed and impoverished hillsides it sulks from the 

 day it is planted, but grows splendidly on practically bottom- 

 less peat if well drained." 



RUBBER AT THE TRINIDAD BOTANIC GARDENS. 

 In the annual report for 1901-02 Superintendent John H. 

 Hart writes that the Casiil/oa e/as/i'ca planted in 1898 is now 

 over 25 feet in height and some of the trees have stems 5 

 inches in diameter. It has been found that rubber fluids or 

 latex from these young trees produce rubber, but inferior in 

 quality to older trees. Mr. Hart is still of the opinion that 

 trees of this species less than eight or ten years old cannot be 

 depended upon to furnish rubber of good quality. Although 

 chemically rubber is contained in younger plants, yet it is not 

 in such a condition that it can be made of market value. The 

 Para rubber trees (Hevea nrasz'lienszs) put out in 1898, at the 

 same time as the Castilloa trees, fully equal to the latter in 

 height, but have not so large a stem in circumference. They 

 are, however, doing well and promise to thrive in the climate 

 of Trinidad. The Lagos rubber trees (Funtumia elastica) made 



a splendid growth during the year, some of the trees being now 

 over 20 feet high, with a stem diameter of 4 inches. From 

 present appearances this tree seems to be able to stand more 

 hardship than any other variety under experiment. A section 

 has been planted with Balata {Mimusopa glohosa), in the first 

 place to make sure of seed supplies of a valuable timber and, 

 secondly, to afford opportunity for illustrating by experiment 

 the age of the tree best suited for producing the Balata of 

 commerce. 



RUBBER EXPLOITING IN PERU. 

 A REPORT by the United States secretary of legation at Lima, 

 Peru, in regard to the formation of two rubber exploiting com- 

 panies was referred to in The India Rukber World of June 

 I [page 280] It has been learned that the company with 

 £2(1,000 capital, to operate in the province of Sandia, depart- 

 ment of Puno, Peru, is the Tambopata Gum Co., organized by 

 Sefior Pedro D. Gallagher, of Lima. The new company to lake 

 possession of 50,000 acres of rubber lands near Marcapata,' in 

 the department of Cuzco, and east of the city of that name, 

 was organized by Don Manuel Elguera, also of Lima, and 

 a brother of the mayor of that city. It was Sefior Elguera, 

 by the way, who secured the concession in the Beni country, 

 in Bolivia, now being exploited by The Andes Co., of Balti- 

 more, Maryland. 



PLANTING MANICOBA RUBBER IN SERGIPE. 



In a report on the little state of Sergipe (Brazil), the coast 

 line of which lies between the ports of Pernambuco and Bahia, 

 the United States consul, Mr. Henry W. Furniss, mentions that 

 in 1898 the state appointed a commission to report upon the 

 introduction of the Ceara variety of rubber for cultivation, 

 should it prove advisable. The commission visited Ceara, 

 where the mani<;oba rubber trees were originally found wild 

 and are now under extensive cultivation, and as a result of 

 their investigation mani(;oba has been planted in various parts 

 of Sergipe. The consul has seen two plantations, one with 

 about 17,000 trees and the other with more than 20,000, both 

 three years of age and apparently in a flourishing condition. 

 Manic;oba is grown from seed, planted at the commencement of 

 the rainy season, 12 to 15 feet apart, usually three seeds to a 

 hill, the most vigorous resulting plant being left to stand. Some 

 planters file one end of the hard seed — which much resembles 

 the seed of the castor bean — to assist germination; others 

 soak the seeds before planting, but generally the seed is planted 

 without previous preparation. It is said that the plant will 

 grow on rundown sugar lands. It is cultivated on the sandy 

 soils of Ceara, but it doubtless will succeed best on good farm- 

 ing land. The tree requires little attention, in many places 

 the soil receiving no cultivation, and reaches a height of from 



