186 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[March i, 1905 



THE ADULTERATION OF GUTTA-PERCHA. 



A REPORT on an investigation of the sources of Gutta- 

 percha, made at the instance of the Syndicat deludes 

 et d'Enterprises en Malaisie — a Belgian enterprise — 

 has been contributed by M. Octave J. A. Collet, a 

 member of the commission, to the Bulletin de la Sociiti 

 d'£ltides Coloniales. After detailing visits to the Guttapercha 

 producing regions, and reporting upon the species and number 

 of trees found to exist in them, M. Collet devotes considerable 

 attention to the practice of adulterating Gutta-percha by the 

 Chinese traders at Singapore, bringing out some facts not be- 

 fore generally known. This section of his report is summar- 

 ized in the paragraphs which follow. 



In Surnatra, and in general in all countries yielding this ma- 

 terial, the extraction of Gutta-percha is accomplished by the 

 felling of the tree. In the prostrate trunk annular incisions are 

 made in the bark, at intervals of about 1 2 inches, which quickly 

 become filled with the creamy latex. Within a half hour much 

 of the watery contents of the latex will have run off, after which 

 it is easy to remove the gutta by taking the coagulated mate- 

 rial in hand at one end of the channel cut in the bark, and roll- 

 ing it up into a ball. The gutta is then boiled and molded into 

 shapes which differ according to the region of production. By 

 this crude process a considerable loss of latex results, not only 

 on account of what falls upon the ground, but also because the 

 bark of the felled tree, being inaccessible underneath, yields 

 only part of the gutta contained in it. The gutta which flows 

 into these incisions made in the bark always carries away with 

 it fragments of the latter. 



There are numerous species of Gutta-percha trees, yielding 

 different qualities of gum, and their careless mixture by the na- 

 tive collectors explains in part the infinite variety of the pro- 

 ducts put on the market, even from the same district. These 

 mixtures are most prejudicial to the quality of Gutta percha, 

 rendering the working of it in the factory more difiicult, and 

 its deterioration more rapid. These defects are further pro- 

 duced by adulteration with foreign matters, which are kneaded 

 into the gutta after it has been placed in hot water and re- 

 softened. 



By different routes almost all of the Gutta-percha, produced 

 as it is mostly in the Dutch Indies, is concentrated at Singa- 

 pore. In this town are the storehouses of the Chinamen, who 

 hold almost a monopoly of the gutta trade. The most shame- 

 less adulteration takes place here, to such an extent that any 

 quality asked for by the buyer is produced at will. It is im- 

 possible to determine the original quality of guttas contained in 

 the "reboiled '' goods of Singapore. Although it is very diffi- 

 cult to visit the establishments in Singapore where the manip- 

 ulation of gutta takes place, the mission has been able to in- 

 spect almost all of them, it being believed that we had no com- 

 mercial interest whatsoever. 



The operations are extremely simple, and require only the 

 most primitive outfits. A large caldron, about 60 inches in 

 diameter and 20 inches in depth, is placed over a brick hearth, 

 reminding one of the wash kettles of European laundries. Be- 

 sides, some long sticks and shovels are required for turning and 

 kneading the gutta and to take it out of the boiling water, and 

 some rectangular molds formed of four boards, and a lid or a 

 cover of wood on which weights are laid to hold it in place. 



Into the caldron, filled with boiling water, are thrown pieces 

 of gutta, cut or refused by the buyer ; gutta already in decompo- 



sition and beginning to emanate a characteristic odor; rem- 

 nants of Caoutchouc; gutta of almost no value whatever and 

 harvested only for use as an adulterant ; and, finally, in propor- 

 tions determined according to the quality to be obtained, good 

 gutta of such and such origin, according to the type desired. 

 These having been boiled together, the resulting mass is re- 

 moved from the caldron and placed under a board, on which 

 two men stand, expressing with their weight any excess of 

 water. The mass is also thus flattened, after which it is folded 

 up and again pressed, this operation being repeated until the 

 product takes on a very uniform appearance. 



Finally, the gutta is introduced into the primitive mold al- 

 ready described, under the weighted lid, and left to cool off. 

 This series of manipulations gives to the gutta the looks of 

 a light pasty cake. Many different shapes may be given to the 

 mold, however, and the cakes formed may be cylindrical, 

 cubic, or oblong, according to the original quality one wishes 

 to obtain, and of which the exterior shape is imitated. 



The Chinese are and always will be the necessary interme- 

 diaries between the natives and the buyers of Gutta- percha, 

 because they only can employ the necessary time, they can 

 travel cheaply, and through their fraudulent maneuvers they 

 know how to keep the native to the delivery of the harvested 

 gutta. Called upon to furnish, in constantly increasing quan- 

 tities, a product with which very few Europeans possess a thor- 

 ough acquaintance, the Chinese gradually have substituted in- 

 ferior guttas for good grades. Indeed, the latter hardly exist 

 any more; the lower qualities having become first choice, 

 guttas are sold now that formerly were deemed wholly worth- 

 less. One may say that pure Gutta-percha is a myth. 



The exportation of Gutta-percha from Singapore, which in 

 1844 amounted to the modest total of 100 kilograms, passed 

 ten years later 628 tons, to arrive in i860 to 1820 tons, in 1874 

 to 1290 tons, in 18S4 to 3000 tons, in 1894 to 2500 tons, and in 

 1900 to 5831 tons. 



From these figures it will be seen that the exportation is 

 following an upward tendency, in spite of the destruction of 

 the producing trees. The reason is that under the name of 

 "Gutta-percha the most singular products are now exported. 

 It must be admitted, however, that the demand for gutta has 

 led the natives to penetrate into the remotest virgin forests of 

 Borneo, Sumatra, and the Malay peninsula. The apparent in- 

 crease in production, indicated by the much confused statistics 

 of Singapore, which embrace true and inferior guttas, in spite 

 of the diminution of the sources, is easily explained. The pro- 

 portion of impurities mixed with the gutta is augmenting 

 year by year. The falsification is even taking a scientific 

 form ; for some months a plastic gum, probably Balata, has 

 been imported from London for this purpose. In what other 

 way can the fact be explained, which has so vividly struck us 

 in the course of our journey to Johore, where we saw the 

 Chinese buy pure Gutta-percha at $8 (silver) per catty [ = 1}^ 

 pounds], which brings the price per kilogram up to 33 francs ? 

 What an amount of adulteration is needed to reduce the later 

 selling price 30 to 40 per cent, below the above figure, and to 

 still yield a certain profit. Besides, this simple fact is con- 

 firmed by reading the statistics of Singapore. This town pro- 

 duces no Gutta-percha, and receives the same only in transit. 

 Yet the exports exceed the imports by at least 25 per cent. 



The imports and exports of Gutta-percha at Singapore dur- 



