298 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[March 1, 1913. 



ice. Further, a comparison is made between service life of hose 

 purchased from November 1, 1910, to November 1, 1912, under 

 the spccilication described and hose purchased the previous two 

 years without specifications. 



Make "A" represents hose purchased about November 1, 1910, 

 under specification, but there is no record of tests ; so this hose 

 is not considered except in the comparison with the non-specifica- 

 tion hose. 



"C" has a high Hfe, and the tests shovif results well within the 

 requirements. 



"E" hose has a fairly low hfe, and the tests show tlie quality of 

 the hose to be the poorest of the makes considered. 



"G" hose shows an average life of only ten months, but it 

 will be interesting to note that the most of this hose was placed 

 in service in November, 1911, and the record of failures covers 

 only three pieces. This is but % of 1 per cent, of the hose pur- 

 chased of this make. The indications are that a high average life 

 may be expected from this hose when a sufficient number of 

 lengths have been removed to give accurate data. The quality 

 of the hose as shown by the tests would confirm this belief. 



A study of the information collected shows : 



1st — The desirability of purchasing hose under proper specifica- 

 tion as the consumption has dropped from 4.3 pieces of non- 

 specification hose per car per year to 2.5 pieces of specification 

 hose. 



2d — That the service life of steam hose is largely dependent 

 on the quality of the friction between the layers of duck, as in- 

 dicated by tests made after removal of test hose from the 

 digester. 



3d— Tests made of this hose before being subjected to steam 

 pressure do not give much information as to the suitability of 

 the hose for the required service. This indicates that a satis- 

 factory specification need not include this steam test. It is 

 thought, however, that better steam hose can be procured by 

 raising the friction test and stretch test. A specification now 

 being tried requires that the properties before and after the 

 digester test be the same. 



PRIVATE ENTERPRISE IN THE BELGIAN CONGO. 



ACCORDING to a statement of Grisar & Co., Antwerp, in their 

 annual review, the cession to private enterprise of the gath- 

 ering of vegetable products in the domains of the Belgian Congo, 

 has been of general application, since July 1, 1912. The Governor- 

 General has given instructions to his staff to promote in every 

 way the establishment of business houses and the success of their 

 operations. 



While it is possible that the lactiferous stores of some forests 

 may have been in some degree exhausted by several years of 

 uninterrupted tapping, it is not less true that a good many dis- 

 tricts are immensely rich in plants yielding latex, some of which 

 have never been exploited. The hope is expressed that com- 

 panies and individuals will now devote their efforts to deriving 

 the utmost possible advantages from the resources of the colony 

 in rubber and gum copal. 



It is to be regretted that since immense zones of territory 

 came into the control of individuals, the blacks, stimulated by 

 competition, abandoned their previous rational methods of cul- 

 tivation, and are now delivering rubber of an inferior grade, 

 lots of good quality forming the exception. Hence, it is hoped 

 that conservative measures will be adopted, to preserve to the 

 colony its principal article of export. This end would be at- 

 tained by refusing permission to export rubber badly coagulated, 

 imperfectly dried or defectively packed. Rubber containing an 

 excess of impurities, indicating a fraudulent intention, should 

 also be stopped. Such regulations have been, it is added, adopted 

 in certain French West .African colonies, to the general benefit. 



But, it is urged, these measures can only be regarded as palli- 

 atives. The idea must be more and more developed, that the 

 future belongs to the planters, whose trees, under rational treat- 



ment, will supply the industry with a product of high quality, at 

 prices with which the forest industries cannot compete. 



With the object of promoting the creation of agricultural or 

 planting enterprises, the Government accords the right of occu- 

 pation for five years, of open domain lands, with the privilege, 

 at the expiration of that time, of purchasing or leasing them. 



Facilities are granted to parties desirous of establishing and 

 operating factories, for the acquisition of suitable locations on 

 lease or by purchase. 



UNIFORMITY IN PLANTATION RUBBER. 



IN COMMENTING editorially upon this subject, the "Times of 

 ^ Ceylon" remarks that when there is a type of rubber pro- 

 duced in fairly large quantities, of uniform and known quality, 

 it is naturally much sought for, being set apart for the manufac- 

 ture of particular articles, for which it has been found suitable. 

 If such a quality is not available when required, considerable 

 inconvenience results. 



Attention is called to the fact that the usual forms of planta- 

 tion rubber are subject to varied treatment on different estates, 

 and even, sometimes, on the same estate. They are coagulated 

 with such varied percentages of acetic acid (sometimes with 

 different acids), that the buyer never knows what he is to expect 

 at the different auctions. As a result, Brazilian rubber, such as 

 fine hard Para, which can always be depended upon, has a 

 material advantage over its competitor. 



The concluding words of the article thus emphasize its salient 

 points : 



"Whether or not it turns out that Eastern producers have 

 been proceeding on erroneous lines, and will have ultimately to 

 fall back on the old Brazilian methods of treatment, it is certain 

 that either collectively or individually they will sooner or later 

 have to standardize their factory work. It is, of course, open 

 to sufficiently large producers to settle the matter for them- 

 selves ; for by producing rubber of uniform qualities they can 

 secure a steady market for their own marks. This is prac- 

 tically what has been done by the estates which realize such 

 excellent prices for their smoked sheet." 



This opinion on the part of the "Times of Ceylon" is founded 

 upon the results of the personal investigations made by its 

 editor at the late rubber exposition. It will therefore doubtless 

 be appreciated by planters, as illustrating the practical side of 

 the question from the standpoint of an acknowledged expert. 



THE RUBBER CTJRING PATENTS SYNDICATE. 



According to the "Malay Mail," an English company has been 

 registered with a capital of £45.000 ($225,000) for the general 

 purpose of acquiring inventions relating to the drying, smok- 

 ing, curing and coagulating of rubber latex. The objects of 

 the company include the adoption of an agreement with the Rub- 

 ber Chemical Co., Limited. The process specially in view con- 

 sists of a portable and simple smoking apparatus, the working 

 of which is said by those who have seen it. to be efltective and 

 at the same time cheap. 



NEW PLANTATION PROCESSES. 



E.xclusive patent rights in the Straits Settlements have been 

 granted Mr. Noel Fisher, of the Harpenden Estate, Selangor, 

 for a spout to be used in tapping rubber trees. Similar rights 

 have been granted Mr. D. W. Weigel, Colombo, for a process 

 of coagulating and defecating latex; as well as to Mr. Walter 

 Jackson, of Singapore, for a compound intended to produce 

 smoke for curing rubber. 



TRADE MARKS FOR PLANTATION RUBBER. 



In line with the idea of standard qualities of plantation rub- 

 ber, is the registration of trade marks by rubber plantations. 

 English advices report that the Highlands and Lowlands Para 

 Rubber Co. has taken out a trade mark. This consists of its 

 established shipping mark — a crescent and star, with the word 

 "Highlands." 



