Janl-ary 1, 1911.] 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



131 



The Main Street of Goebilt. 



(The town built by the United Malaysian Rubber Co., Limited, in Sara- 

 wak, Borneo — An .Anierican enterprise.] 



yiel'Jc-d 66 catties [=88 pounds]. The reason for the increased 

 yield at the second tapping is that the flow is somewhat sluggish 

 at first, but subsequent tappings give an increased and ready 

 yield. The Malay States trees yield less latex than the Borneo 

 trees, although the late,x is richer in rubber. I think the Borneo 

 trees might with safety be tapped once a week, but if only 40 

 tappings annually are made this means a yield of about 80 catties 

 [^108 pounds] of latex per tree per annum. The latex should 

 yield on an average about 60 to 70 per cent, of solid (wet) jelu- 

 tong, containing about 10 per cent, of rubber. This corresponds 

 to a yield of 6 to 7 pounds of pure rubber per tree. 



For the coagulation of the latex of jelutong the natives employ 

 a number of weird mixtures, generally including kerosene oil on 

 the one hand, and a variety of "powders" on the other. The 

 latter are sold to them by Chinese dealers, and some of the in- 

 gredients I have come across are of little value for the purpose 

 intended. Among the constituents of these "powders'" are copper 

 sulphate, alum, gypsum, and the like. The native method con- 

 sists in adding some of the kerosene and a little of the "powder" 

 and stirring the whole, and then alternatelv a little more kero- 



-ene and powder are added until the whole of the latex sets 

 to a more or less firm block. 



It is surprising that this crude method produces material from 

 which very fair rubber can be extracted. It is. however, equally 

 certain that by improved methods of coagulation much better 

 rubber can be obtained. Mr. Morton, the company's chemist, 

 has recently made a thorough study of methods of coagulating 

 jelutong latex, and has succeeded in devising a method which 

 produces rubber which in appearance and general quality appears 

 to be indistinguishable from the very highest class of plantation 

 Hevca, to wit, a light amber, strong, clean sheet. The organiza- 

 tion of introducing rational methods of coagulation is being 

 rapidly perfected, and it is likely that within a short period the 

 methods of jelutong production and handling will be completely 

 revolutionized. 



Commercial jelutong contains roughly 70 per cent, of water 

 and 30 per cent, of solids, the latter consisting, broadly, of one- 

 third rubber and two-thirds resin. A number of processes have 

 been devised for extracting water and resin from commercial 

 jelutong and deresinated rubbers of this type are now being pro- 

 duced on a considerable scale. The Goebilt works of the United 

 Malaysian Rubber Co. were established with a view to working 

 a novel process of this kind in connection with large conces- 

 sions over jelutong bearing areas. 



Goebilt lies close to the month of the Kuching river, which is 

 navigable for a considerable distance. There is a weekly steam- 

 ship service between Goebilt and Singapore, The Goebilt works 

 are on a scale of unprecedented magnitude and have been planned 

 with a view to the production of 10,000 pounds of finished rubber 

 per day. Equally remarkable is the extraordinarily rapid de- 

 velopment of the factor^'. Clearing of the site commenced in 

 April, 1909, and in October of the same year trial runs of the 

 plant had commenced. During the same period there had been 

 erected in addition to the factory buildings proper, coolie lines, 

 bungalows for Europeans, storehouses and so on, A bare year 

 after clearing of the jungle had commenced there was a popula- 

 tion of probably 500 to 600 souls ; practically every necessity of 

 life could be obtained, and there was, in short, an organization 

 such as one expects to find in a well ordered civilized com- 

 munity. 



Although for obvious reasons I cannot give a description of the 

 general methods and processes employed at th^works, a few 

 details which will give some idea of the magnitude of the en- 

 terprise may be of interest. The landing arrangements consist 

 of a large stone pier or seawall and of a wooden pier. The 

 main works consist of a steel building 200 x 75 feet, equipped 

 .vith electric and steam power. This building contains the rolls, 

 extractors, pumps, stills, and other parts essential to the process. 

 The boiler house, which is separate, contains three Heine boilers 

 capable of developing 750 h p. In addition there is an engine 



Xew Construction at GoEBtLT. 



[Plant of the United Malaysian Rubber Co.] 



Group of Officers. 

 [Plant of the United Malaysian Rubber Co.) 



