March 1, 1912.] 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



291 



Some Notes on Rubber Planting. 



EUBBEK PLANTATIONS IN JAVA. 



ACCORDING to a recent German consular report, there are 

 about 84,902 acres in Java devoted to private rubber 

 cultivation, in addition to 21,194 owned by the government. 

 Of the private holdings about SO per cent, are in Hevea, 13 per 

 cent, in Ficus and 37 per cent in these two varieties, combined 

 with Manihol Glaziovii and Castilloa elastica. 



The area belonging to the government (21,194 acres) is plant- 

 ed as follows: Ficus, 18,903; Hcvea, 2,151; Castilloa, 140. Na- 

 tive plantations are not included in this list. The government 

 has likewise about 2,595 acres planted with gutta-percha trees. 



JAVA RUBBER PLANTATIONS, LIMITED. 



According to the report presented at the recent meeting of the 

 above company (registered in 1907), the rubber area in that 

 year, consisted of 220 acres Ficus elastica, and 100 in Hevea 

 Brasiliensis. There are at present 2,201 acres in rubber, of 

 which 1885 are in Para rubber. Tapping will be commenced 

 early this year, when it is estimated that 8,000 trees will be avail- 

 able for that purpose. 



MAI^NG RUBBER ESTATES, LIMITED (JAVA). 



Registered March, 1910. According to latest reports, the 

 plantings on the above estates include : Hevea Brasiliensis, 

 138,000 trees; Castilloa, 20,000 trees. The crops are reported to 

 be in a healthy state and to warrant expectations of a steadily 

 increasing revenue. 



DJASINGA RUBBER & PRODUCE COMPANY. LIMITED (JAVA). 



Registered June, 1910; 41,352 acres, of which 7,010 now culti- 

 vated, including 3,037 under rubber. Production, 1911 to end 

 of October, 7,237 pounds. Expect soon to put up rubber factory. 



UNITED SERDANG RUBBER PLANTATIONS, LIMITED (SUMATRA). 



Registered July, 1907; crop last business year, 218,530 pounds; 

 estimates for current year, 433,(XX) pounds. 



TANDJONG RUBBER COMPANY. LIMITED (SUMATRA). 



According to the report of the above company, the trees have 

 reached the producing stage before the period anticipated, which 

 had originally been 1913. The planted area is now 4,521 acres, 

 from which the crop for 1911 is estimated at 50,{XX) pounds, 

 with an increase for 1912 to 140,000 pounds and further consid- 

 erable development in succeeding years. 



SINGAPORE PARA RUBBER ESTATES. 



The crop for the year ended June 30 was 64,157 pounds of dry 

 rubber, while that of 1911-12 is estimated at 120,000 pounds. 

 New coagulating and rubber stores have been built, and con- 

 siderable progress has been made with the erection of the new 

 rubber factory and the installation of the machinery to be there 

 operated. 



WHY PLANTATION RUBBER SELLS. 



In commenting upon market reports from London, the "Malay 

 Mail" remarks : "During six weeks . . . some 1,600 tons of 

 plantation rubber have been purchased in Mincing lane, whose 

 value must be somewhere near il,O0O,0OO. That the increased 

 supplies of Middle East produce have been so readily absorbed 

 is explained by the fact that 'the trade' wants plantation rubber, 

 and will pay higher prices than the current value of hard Para. 

 Plantation material has now been thoroughly tried by manufac- 

 turers and has not been found wanting. It is believed to be 

 more suitable, and probably for many purposes more economical." 



CATCH-CROPS IN CEYLON. 



In dealing with the above question, the "Ceylon Observer" 

 states that the practice of growing catch-crops for four or five 

 years, until the rubber attains the producing stage, is little 

 known in Ceylon, although it has been adopted by some Ma- 

 layan estates. This difference is due, it would seem, to the idea 

 prevalent at the former point that catch-crops materially retard 

 the growth of the rubber, while that system (although in some 

 instances bringing in an appreciable return), has not, as a rule, 

 been depended upon as a source of revenue during the unpro- 

 ductive period, provision having usually been made by the vari- 

 ous companies for that purpose, as part of the original invest- 

 ment. 



SELLING RUBBER FOR NEXT YEAR. 



London advices report that forward contracts for plantation 

 rubber have been made at 4s. Ad. ($1.05}^) for delivery during 

 the first nine months of 1913. The company making this sale is 

 the Lavant Rubber and Tea Co., Limited; owning 1,124 acres 

 in the Kegalla district, Ceylon, 841 acres of which are planted 

 with about 100,000 Para, rubber trees. The blanket crepe turned 

 out by the company has always been appreciated in the London 

 market for its quality. 



STRAITS AND JAVA RUBBER INDUSTRIES. 



Mr. C. E. Welklon, the former Maskeliya and Dimbula planter, 

 who has been making a tour of estates in the East, has ex- 

 pressed the view that in the Straits everything was very 

 flourishing, the rubber being in excellent condition and the 

 necessary Chinese and other labor being available. The climate, 

 in his opinion, contributed to give rubber in that quarter a 

 better chance than in Ceylon or Southern India. 



While the Chinese are satisfactory workers, they are, he 

 considers, more expensive than Tamils. Thej' are, however, 

 excellent tappers, and their capacity to do heavy work makes 

 their acquisition desirable. He was surprised to find in the 

 Straits that every man had his own method of working. 



Sumatra he considered as ranking next to the Straits for 

 rubber, but on the whole he thought Java, with its crops of 

 rubber, tea and coffee, the better place for general progress. 



.\s regards rubber, a good deal of it had been planted at too 

 high an elevation, but where it had been planted at a suitable 

 elevation it would give good results, but not perhaps so good 

 as the Straits or Sumatra. The Dutch planter, though some- 

 what slow, was generally a very capable man. Many of them 

 had passed through agricultural colleges in Holland, while 

 others had passed through engineering schools. 



Mr. Welldon said he could not help feeling that it would not 

 be a bad thing for young Englishmen to go through similar 

 courses of training before taking up planting. He believed it 

 was better for a planter to start life at 21 than at 18 or 19 years 

 of age, and the previous two years or so would be well filled 

 in an agricultural college, an engineering school or even a 

 London office. 



BUYING STOCK IN ASBESTOS COMPANIES. 



If any of our readers should have contemplated the purchase 

 of stock in any of the following four asbestos companies : North 

 .American Asbestos Mines, International Asbestos Mills and 

 Power Co., Northwestern Asbestos Mills Co., or Wyoming Con- 

 solidated Asbestos Co., all located in Denver, Colorado, it might 

 profit them to read the somewhat detailed description of these 

 enterprises given in the financial department of the February 

 issue of "Munsey's Magazine." 



