544 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[July 1, 1913. 



SANITATION IN CEYLON. 



Sir Patrick Manson, the well-known expert on tropical 

 diseases, recently paid a visit to Ceylon. In an interview before 

 starting for home he said : 



"There is no proper sanitation at all in the planting districts. 

 Whatever sanitation there exists is of a very elementary kind. 

 The Government is doing its best now to improve matters by 

 starting a research institute and laying down the lines of a 

 sanitary system. But much cannot be done without the co-opera- 

 tion of the planters themselves, and such co-operation is very 

 badly needed." 



It is of interest to note that active measures are being taken 

 for the establishment of a Sanitary Department fcjr Ceylon. 

 A committee has been investigating the question. 



MS. WICHEELEY AGAIN IN CEYLON. 



Mr. William Wicherley lately revisited Ceylon to look after 

 his business interests in tlie island. Another object of his visit 

 was to demonstrate a new rubber curing machine, which he 

 described as a cheap portable machine, furnishing not only a 

 ready but economical method of making rubber. 



The speaker gave some interesting facts about rubber seed 

 oil. His own plant at Grand Pass is already shipping prepared 

 kernels yielding oil of very fine quality. The average yield 

 of oil was SO per cent., while the residue has sold very readily 

 at a price equal to that of the best linseed cake. He was 

 to return to England in June and to again visit Ceylon in 

 October. 



CEYLON PLANTERS EVERYWHERE. 



Mr. Jesse Davis, the ubiquitous ex-Ceylon planter, who lately 

 revisited the island, has stated that he had found the Ceylon 

 planter in all parts of the world where he had been, particularly 

 on the East Coast of Africa, where they were planting rubber, 

 coffee and cocoa nuts. 



COST or CEYLON RUBBER PR0DUCTI0^^ 



In a recent newspaper interview the Hon. F. W. Collins, 

 general manager of the Malacca Rubber Plantations, Ltd., 

 summarized the results of a month's stay in Ceylon, during 

 which time he had visited a number of the leading rubber 

 plantations. What struck him most favorably was the low cost 

 of production. On some of the estates he had visited the 

 cost is very much lower than it is in the Straits. This, he 

 understood, was largely due to Tamil labor only being employed. 

 Some estates are said to be putting their rubber in Colombo 

 at as low a cost as Syid. (17 cents). 



With regard to yield, Mr. Collins had found the best Ceylon 

 estates producing under 300 pounds of rubber per acre at seven 

 years' old. At that age, some of the best estates in the Straits 

 run to 450, and even 500 pounds per acre. The greater productiv- 

 ity in the Straits he attributed to climate and soil. 



As to labor, Javanese coolies had been found the most econ- 

 omical in the Straits, but they had to work mainly with Chinese 

 labor, which was plentiful but costly. In conclusion, Mr. Collins 

 said : "We liope either to bring down the pay of the China- 

 men, or to get a larger amount of work from them than we do 

 at present." 



These statements from the general manager of one of the 

 largest Malayan companies, are of interest in connection with 

 the proposed introduction of Chinese labor into Brazil. 



THE NEW CEYLON DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



Official notice has been received from Mr. R. N. Lyne, Direc- 

 tor of Agriculture, Peradeniya, Ceylon, that the Royal Botanic 

 Gardens Department has been replaced by a Department of 

 Agriculture. The hope is expressed by the director that the 

 cordial relations hitherto existing between The India Rubber 

 WoRi.i) and Peradeniya, will be maintained under the new 

 arrangements. 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURE COLLEGE. 



In a letter to the London "Times," Professor Wyndhani 

 Dunstan, president of the International Association of Tropical 

 Agriculture, has advocated the selection of Ceylon as the site of 

 the proposed Tropical Agricultural College. He proceeds to 

 say that Ceylon is best suited for an agricultural college, as it 

 possesses a variety of climates, and opportunities for studying 

 rubber, tea, coconuts, and other tropical crops. It has a large, 

 influential and enterprising planting community, both Europ- 

 ean and native, and also has the advantage of an agricultural 

 department. Training in Ceylon, following a home course, 

 should, in his opinion, qualify agriculturists for any part of the 

 tropical world. 



Commenting on the above and other proposals for a tropical 

 agricultural college, "Tropical Life," of London, remarks: "We 

 feel, therefore, now that East and West have both had their 

 cause fully and carefully laid before the government and the 

 public, it is for them to .see which center should have the first 

 college, until, we hope, in the near future, each will have its 

 college of agriculture." 



The fact is also referred to that there is a budget of 

 il95,000.000, but not a cent for tropical medicine and education. 



WHY RUBBER FELL. 



In discussing the causes of the recent fall in rubber, at an in- 

 terview reported in the "Financial Times," Mr. T. E. Williams, 

 of Messrs. Marling, Evans & Co., London, stock brokers, at- 

 tributed the decline, in the first place, to the tightness and dear- 

 ness of money, both in England and abroad, due to the world- 

 wide prosperity having led to overtrading. Further contributory 

 factors have been the war in the East, the war scares in England, 

 and the trade difficulties in America. 



Mr. Williams further pointed out that of the $450,000,000 in- 

 vested in the plantation industry by English companies, probably 

 three-fourths of the total is under the direct and indirect in- 

 fluence of people who are closely associated with the rubber 

 industry and thoroughly understand the position. Yet there has 

 been no selling of any importance traceable to such sources, 

 those who are most thoroughly conversant with the conditions 

 of the industry evidently showing the greatest confidence in its 

 stability and continued prosperity. 



The opinion was likewise expressed by Mr. Williams that 

 owing to their increasing output, forward sales and lower pro- 

 duction costs, a large number of companies will be able to main- 

 tain a return of 10 to 14 per cent, on the present price of their 

 shares, with rubber where it then stood (about 3s. Ayid.). This, 

 be added, would be subsequently possible, even with rubber on 

 a declining scale of 3.f.. 2s. 9d., and 2s. 6d. in 1914, 1915 and 1916. 

 respectively. 



Regarding the growth of consumption, he added, in every 

 civilized country the horse is being replaced by the motor. The 

 use of commercial cars, requiring solid tires, is growing at a 

 phenomenal rate, while the demands of the electrical and other 

 industries are constantly increasing. 



Finally, Mr. Williams expressed the conviction that the pres- 

 ent low price of rubber is largely due to exceptional circum- 

 stances, which are now well known and will soon pass away. 

 The low prices have permitted the "rubber barons" who had sold 

 forward at 4s. and over, to cover their contracts, and to secure 

 cheap rubber, with the expectation of higher prices when the 

 ordinary trade demand gets into its stride again. 



PENSIONS FOR ASSISTANT PLANTERS. 



The Amsterdam Langkat Co. is said to have formulated a 

 scheme for pensioning assistant planters who have been in 

 its employ for fifteen years, the pension obtainable being 1.000 

 guilders ($400) per year. Monthly premiums are to be paid, on 

 a graduated scale. Pension schemes have also been drawn up 

 by other Dutch companies. 



