18 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[October 1, 1911. 



of the interior ;iiid by accurate estimates of the cost attending 

 construction. 



THE LABOR COMMISSION REPORT. 



While it avowedly does not furnish a complete reply to the 

 problems it was e.\pectcd to solve, the report of the Labor Com- 

 mission quotes tlie opinion generally entertained, that the class 

 of laborer most suited to the present needs of the colony is the 

 East Indian. In default of a sufficient number of recruits 

 being available, then the alternative of, Javanese or West Indian 

 labor is referred to. 



The report is signed by Messrs. Robert Duff, chairman; J. B. 

 Harrison, A. P. Bugle, Jules Pairaudeau, J. Louis Walton, R. 

 H. Lyndon Kerr, James Winter, James Andrew, and J. W. 

 Downer. 



RESULTS AND PROSPECTS OF BALATA INDUSTRY. 



In commenting upon the figures quoted in the Indi.\ Rubber 

 World of September, 1911 (page 485), a writer in a London 

 financial journal remarks that as the whole balata producing 

 area of the colony has not yet been exploited, there is still 

 plenty of room for the development of this valuable economic 

 asset. Balata, it is added, commands its own market (and its 

 own price) quite independently of rubber conditions. For many 

 commercial purposes it is an essential requirement for which 

 no substitute is known. In further illustration of this point, 

 the writer adds : 



"Nature lias already provided the balata forests in lavish 

 profusion ; no planting has to be done, and no expense what- 

 ever is incurred for 'upkeep.' The position is or should be en- 

 tirely governed by good management en the spot. * * * The 

 position of balata today is impregnable and, moreover, is free 

 from most of the drawbacks to which rubber is subject. 

 * * * Balata can afford to smile, and smile again, while 

 rubber sulks in a fit cf acute indigestion. You can grow tap- 

 pable rubber in five short years. But you cannot grow tappable 

 balata under thirty years. Voild le grand secret." 



VENEZUELAN BALATA IN BRITISH GUIANA. 



With reference to the proposal which has been under in- 

 vestigation by the Colonial Government, of repealing the law 

 prohibiting the importation of balata from Venezuela, a state- 

 ment of Senor Monagas, the local Venezuelan Consul, is quoted 

 by the Georgetown Daily Argosy. It is to the following effect ; 



"Not only are Venezuelans willing to pay the equivalent of 

 the royalty duty imposed on locally-obtained balata and the 

 export duty, but they are quite agreeable to paying any other 

 reasonable duty which the Government of this colony may im- 

 pose. In fact, the man who first applied to Sir Frederic Hodg- 

 son for permission to pass his balata via this colony oft'ered to 

 make a deposit of $10,000 for the privilege, but this offer was 

 not accepted in view of the law that obtains at present." 



It is understood that this question forms one of those to be 

 treated by the Commission of Inquiry into the balata industry. 

 the appointment of which has recently been advocated by a 

 deputation from the Balata Association, which waited upon the 

 Acting Governor. 



WORK AT THE GOVERNMENT INDUSTRIAL FARM. 



According to the report of the Government Industrial Farm 

 at Onderneeming for the school year 1910-11, the experimental 

 cultivation of Para rubber (Hevea hrasilicnsis) has been con- 

 siderably extended during the year, seedlings having been 

 planted throughout the coffee fields. 



Lender instructions from the Director of Science and Agri- 

 culture the experimental tapping of five Para rubber trees was 

 commenced towards the close of the year, the half-herring bone 

 system, covering one-quarter of the girth, licing employed. The 



trees are being tapped oh alternate mornings and a careful 

 record of the yield is being kept. 



Other varieties of rubber trees which are being experimented with 

 at the station include SaH""' Jenmani, FuiUuinia Elastica (West 

 .African rubber) and Castilloa Elastica (Central .American rub- 

 ber). The Sapium Jenmani plants are making particularly fast 

 and vigorous growth — the Funtumias are growing slowly but 

 appear healthy and vigorous, w'hile the Castilloa Elastica trees 

 must be reported as having failed. 



"CEARA" RUBBER IN THE BRITISH GUIANA HINTERLAND. 



One of the most competent authorities on the rublier and 

 balata industries of British Guiana is Mr. John Ogilvie, in 

 charge of the balata grants belonging to Messrs. Garnett & Co., 

 Ltd., and who has recently declined the appointment, of local 

 manager offered him by the Amsterdam Balata Company. In a 

 recent interview with a representative of the Georgetown Daily 

 Argosy he spoke as follows with regard to Ceara rubber; 



"Some experiments are being carried out in various parts of 

 the hinterland with Ccara rubber. The trees I have planted are 

 doing fairly well, though my experience has taught me that rub- 

 ber trees will not grow in the savannah unless the ground is 

 carefully prepared. Some of the trees planted by me have 

 attained a good height and are 22 inches in girth^ though on 

 July 25, 1909, when I photographed them first, they were just 

 tiny saplings. They are going to yield in a satisfactory way, 

 tapping experiments already carried out having convinced me 

 thoroughly of that." 



INCORPORATION OF SAIJTOS DE CAIROS & CO., LTD. 



Advices from Georgetown report that the business of Messrs. 

 De Cairos Bros. & Co. has been incorporated and formally regis- 

 tered unded the Companies' Ordinance. The style of the new 

 company, which has a capital of $180,000, is Santos. De Cairos 

 & Co., Ltd. 



FLUCTUATIONS IN BALATA PRICES. 



The following are recorded fluctuations in the prices of block 

 and sheet balata of fair average quality : 



Block Bai..\t.\ (Cents per pound). 



Lowest. Highest. Average. 



1909 42 cents 60cents 51 cents 



1910 58 " 96 " 77 " 



1911 56 " 68 '• 62 " 



Sheet B.\l.\ta (Cents per pound). 



1909 54 cents 62 cents 58 cents 



1910 59 " $1.16 88 " 



1911 76 " 88 " 82 " 



Consumptirn is said to have increased in America, particularly 

 in sheet balata for use in cable manufacturing. 



On THE -AcTicN OF Chromvl Chloride on Ixdi.\ Rubber, by 

 D. Spence and J. C. Galletly. This preliminary communication, 

 after referring to the well-known reactivity of rubber towards 

 sulphur chloride, deals with the action on rubber of chromyl 

 chloride. In their researches, the authors investigated the action 

 of chromyl chloride on rubbers of different liotanical origin, 

 finding that in every case the substance reacts with iiiilia rubber 

 to form a perfectly definite compound. 



Among the experimental features dealt with are. preparation 

 of the chromyl compound, decomposition of the chromyl chloride 

 derivative of rubber by water, production of an aldehyde and 

 decomposition by dialysis. The authors state they are now en- 

 gaged in isolating the aldehyde and the insoluble chromium, 

 with a view to further investigation. 



A BOOK for everybody interested in tires — Ruliber Tires and 

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