December 1, 1913.] 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



155 



A 



RUBBER NOTES FROM BRITISH GUIANA. 



By Our Rci^uUir Correspondent. 



NOTEWORTHY feature in connection with the progress 

 of the rubber plantations in this colony is the fact that 

 a few Ceara rubber trees {Manihot Glaziovii) have now arrived 

 at a tappable age and size. A writer in the "Chronicle" refers 

 to this fact and points out that Mr. R. N. Lyne, now Director 

 of Agriculture in Ceylon, who was formerly Director of Agri- 

 culture in Mozambique and Zanzibar, in the course of a recent 

 report, deals with the correct method of obtaining latex from 

 the Miinihot tree; which, of course, differs essentially from the 

 manner adopted in the case of Para trees. He says : 



''The principle of stabbing or pricking is now generally ac- 

 cepted as the most successful system for the East Coast of 

 Africa, but it is important that this system should be applied in 

 the right manner. The stabs should be made with the flat of the 

 knife held horizontally, not vertically . . . and they should 

 be made close together. The trunk of the tree may be divided 

 for the purpose of tapping into two or three parts, vertically, 

 each part being sub-divided laterally into three or four sections 

 according to the girth of the tree. . . . Tappings may fol- 

 low one another for three or four days, and then an interval 

 of a fortnight or twenty days allowed to intervene. This may 

 continue for as long as the tree is in leaf, which may be, perhaps, 

 nine months out of twelve. A 3 per cent, solution of acetic 

 acid brushed on the trunk of the tree before tapping may be 

 used as a coagulating mixture, but carbolic acid, which makes 

 the rubber harder, is now being used in German East Africa 

 either by itself or mixed with acetic acid." 



PROGRESS IN TRINIDAD. 



The world of rubber, as a rule, devotes but little attention to 

 those countries where rubber growing is only in the experi- 

 mental stages. In these days the struggle for supremacy be- 

 tween Brazil and the East claims the general attention. It is 

 interesting, however, to note what is being done in our neighbor- 

 ing colony of Trinidad, where a little progress is being made. 

 The extent of that progress is described fully in a report just 

 issued by Mr. A. E. Collens, Assistant Government Analyst and 

 Officer in Charge of the special experiments. This report in- 

 forms us that rubber plants were introduced into Trinidad as far 

 back as 1876. In that year, two Hei'ea Brasiliensis plants were 

 received from Kew Gardens, London, and planted in the local 

 Botanic Gardens. Records published four years later refer to 

 them as being over twefity feet high. In 1S78, Hei'ea Gnyanen- 

 sis was introduced, and in 1880, Hevea pauciflora, Castilloo elas- 

 tica, and a number of Landolphia plants. 



A couple of Hevea trees then planted are now over eighty feet 

 in height, their yield is comparatively high, and the latex is of 

 good quality. Other varieties than those tnentioned were in- 

 troduced at later periods, but only the Hevea plants have thriven. 



As regards the latest experiments, we have it from the report 

 that last year experimental work was conducted on twenty- 

 five trees, which are said to be growing on extremely poor soil, 

 in districts where the average annual rainfall is about si.xty 

 inches. 



"Some of these trees," Mr. Collens says, "are more advanced 

 and larger in girth than the rest, and it is possible that the 

 smaller ones may be supplies put in to replace others. The 

 trees at St. Clair were originally interplanted among CastUloa 

 rubber, but soon outstripped it, and the CastUloa trees were 

 accordingly cut down. Situated among these trees are some 

 which bear distinctive features. . . . Their salient differ- 

 ences are: bark, coppery or rust colored, instead of gray; bark, 

 thin and usually only slightly over a quarter inch in thickness, 

 in some cases much less ; latex, creamy yellow ; rubber, slightly 

 sticky and inferior in elasticity; leaves, semi-transparent, with 

 reticulated or criss-cross veins, especially noticeable when the 



sunlight is passing through the leaves; seeds, larger than those 

 of Hevea Brasilicnsis, round-angled grayish blotched, and some- 

 what elastic or yielding when pressed. . . . General char- 

 acters of tree : tall, good growth, umbrageous, fairly dense 

 foliage." 



The report further states that eight additional trees, of a 

 similar type to the above, when tapped, yielded in two months, 

 47.4 ounces of dry rubber, being an average of 5.9 ounces, approx- 

 imately. A trial shipment of what is described as "inferior 

 rubber" was recently made and realized $1.02 per pound, when 

 I'ine Para was selling at $1.08 and upward. 



"The biscuits," continues the report, "were prepared by coagu- 

 lation with a dilute solution of sulphuric acid, and at the In- 

 ternational Rubber Exhibition in New York last year were re- 

 ported on as follows : 'Fine, well-prepared, smoked Hevea bis- 

 cuits in excellent condition. These biscuits show little room for 

 improvement.' 



"Specimens of blocked sheets, prepared by immediate coagu- 

 lation either by pyroligneous, acetic or sulphuric acids, were re- 

 ported on by the examiners appointed for the West Indian ex- 

 hibits as follows: 'Good tough Hevea sheets, apparently ex- 

 cellent quality, some paler than others.' The biscuits prepared 

 by slow coagulation with sulphuric acid were stated to be: 

 'Fine smoked Hevea biscuits, good color and thickness and in 

 excellent condition . . . about the best Hei'ea on the Stand.' 

 l-"or those made with lime juice, pyroligneous acid and sulphuric 

 acid, without smoking, the report was : 'Fair average quality, 

 un.smoked Hevea biscuits.' " 



According to the tone of the report as a whole, we find a 

 record of good qualities of rubber, but small yields. 



BALATA. 



The balata season may now be said to be practically over, and 

 it is extremely doubtful whether we shall see many more balata 

 seasons. As compared with last year, of course, the yield this 

 season has been good; the drought of last year practically sus- 

 pending bleeding operations. There is as yet no intimation of 

 any more local balata companies ceasing operations. 



DIMINISHED EEVENTTE FROM SURINAM IMPORT DUTIES. 



Reports from Surinam are to the effect that the receipts from 

 import duties for the six months ending June last amounted to 

 $32,000 less than for the corresponding period of 1912. 



This falling off is attributed to the depressed condition of the 

 agricultural and balata industries. Hopes are, however, enter- 

 tained that the purchasing capacity of the bleeders will be in- 

 creased during the second half of the current year, through the 

 larger supplies of balata now coming forward. 



RUBBER BUYING AND CULTIVATION IN THE BAHAMAS. 



The November issue of this paper contained a news item con- 

 cerning the enterprise of a Boston syndicate in planting the 

 Cryptostegia grandiftora in the Bahamas. Additional informa- 

 tion has since been received. The proposed operations will be 

 under the general charge of Dr. Charles S. Dolley, formerly 

 Dean of the Biological Department of the University of Penn- 

 sylvania, who has lately been associated with several companies 

 in Mexico City as Industrial Biologist and Chemist. He is as- 

 sisted by Mr. W. M. Musgrave, an industrial chemist of Mexico 

 City. Members of the syndicate already control about 25,000 

 acres of land in Mexico. Owing, however, to the unsettled con- 

 ditions in that country, it was decided to make the first attempt 

 to utilize this plant on a commercial scale in the Bahama Islands. 



AUTOMOBrLES IN URUGUAY. 



It is estimated that there are about 2,500 motor cars in 

 Uruguay, one-half of the number being in Montevideo. This 

 fact is attributed to the hundred miles of macadamized roads 

 which traverse the agricultural parts of the country. Ameri- 

 can machines are said to number about one-half of the total. 



