358 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[August i, 190S. 



THE EDITOR'S BOOK TABLE. 



OX THE PLANTATION. CULTIVATION, AND CURING OF PASA 

 Indian Rubber (Hei'ca Brasiliaisis). With an Account of its Introduc- 

 tion from the West to the Eastern Tropics. Cy II. A. Wickham, some 

 time commissioner for the introduction of the Para (Hez-ea) indian rub- 

 ber tree for the government of India and inspector of forests B. H. 

 With illustrations by the author. London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Triibner 

 & Co.. Limited. igo8. [Cloth. 8vo. Pp. vi + 78+10 plates. Price, 

 3J. 6rf., net.] 



'HIS is a book of no little historic interest, on account of 



T 



the agency of its author in the introduction into India of 

 the original specimens of Hevea Brasiliensis irom which have 

 been derived practically all of the millions of trees of this species 

 now under cultivation in the old world. Mr. Wickham repro- 

 duces from an earlier work of his, published in 1871, a sketch of 

 the leaf and fruit of the South American rubber tree, which 

 he believes to have been probably the first drawing of this 

 species ever made from nature. This drawing, with the speci- 

 mens sent to the royal gardens at Kew, enabled the late Sir 

 Joseph Hooker, then director, to determine botanically the tree 

 producing "Para rubber." The name given was Hevea Bras- 

 ilioisis, though the specimens in question really came from the 

 headwaters of the Orinoco. 



Mr. (later Sir) Clements R. Markham, then connected with 

 the India office, and who had successfully introduced Cinchona 

 ( Peruvian bark) cultivation into India, was interested in fol- 

 lowing this up by introducing rubber culture there, and the re- 

 sult was the despatch of Mr. Wickham to the Amazon to pro- 

 cure seeds. The record of his experiences is an interesting 

 story of adventure, and his expedition was eminently success- 

 ful. He was able to obtain upwards of 7000 seeds of Hevea 

 from large trees which were being or had been worked for rub- 

 ber in the forests covering the broad plateaux between the Tapa- 

 jos and Madeira rivers. These seeds were sent to Kew and germi- 

 nated, and the plants sent to the Far East, notably to the botanic 

 garden at Peradeniya. Mr. Wickham points out that his sug- 

 gestions regarding the proper habitat of Hevea -were not 

 adopted, and hence the results attained in the case of many 

 of the plants were less satisfactory than might otherwise have 

 been the case. In support of this contention Mr. Wickham's 

 original suggestions are reprinted in this book. 



Mr. Wickham, who still maintains a lively interest in rubber, 

 and is a rubber planter himself, is under the impression that it 

 is a mistake to clear land for Heiea, as is now done in Ceylon 

 and IMalaya, asserting that this species is to be treated rather 

 on lines of forestry than those applicable to garden or orchard 

 planting. He considers the loss of humus and surface soil in- 

 volved in the practice of burning over land a very serious mat- 

 ter, and his plan is designed to conserve as .far as possible the 

 natural plant food accumulation of the surface soil. He recom- 

 mends wide planting and the "topping"' of the young trees to 

 assist them in attaining large girth in the lower bole — the crop 

 area of the trunk. He deprecates cultivation of the soil around 

 the Hevea for the reason that it damages the roots near the 

 surface, and termites (white ants) are prone to attack the 

 wounded roots of young trees with the result of ultimately 

 killing them. 



Mr. Wickham is strongly inclined to favor the smoking of 

 Hevea rubber on plantations, feeling that the superior quality of 

 Amazon rubber is due in part to the smoke cure. By the way, he 

 has patented a machine, illustrated in the book, which provides 

 a rotating device for exposing thin layers of latex for treatment 

 by smoke, the rubber being coagulated on the inner surface of 

 a cylinder. Mr. Wickham believes in planting rubber for rub- 

 ber's sake, and not in connection with any catch crops, and 

 he agrees with Mr. Herbert Wright that the proper system of 

 tapping involves the drawing of supplies of latex by merely cut- 

 ting, and not excising or stripping oflF lactiferous tissues. This 

 book no doubt will be read with wide interest, though it is not 

 oflfered as a complete manual of rubber culture. 



Xo explanation is offered by the author of his use of the term 



"Indian rubber" — a form of spelling which does not appear in 

 any other modern work- on the subject. 



YEAR BOOK OF THE RUBBER PLANTERS' ASSOCIATION OF 



Mexico. 1907-08. Mexico: Printed at Hall's Printing Establishment. 



1908. [Paper. 8vo. Pp. 45-] 



This is the official report of proceedings at the first general 

 meeting of the Rubber Planters' Association of Mexico, held in 

 October last, prefaced by a brief history of the movement which 

 led to the formation of this body. 



IN CURRENT PERIODICALS. 



Notes on Termcs gestroi and Other Termites [white ants] Found on 

 Rubber Estates in the federated Malay States. By H. E. Pratt = .-lgri- 

 cultural Bulletin of the Straits and Federated Malay States, Singapore. 

 VI = 5 (May, '08). Pp. 157-169. 



Observations sur la Culture, I'Exploitation et le Rendement du "Mani- 

 toba." By Augosto Cardozo, governor of Inhambane. Portuguese East 

 Africa. =/Dii™a; d'Agricultiire Troficale, Paris. VIII-84 (June, '08). 

 Pp. 163-167. 



THE LATE HENRY B. CHAMBERLAIN. 



NOT only as a matter of history but because of his many 

 friends in the rubber trade. The Indi.\ Rubber World now 

 reproduces the only photograph in existence of the late Henry 

 B. Chamberlain. 



Mr. Chamberlain, it will be remembered, was for many years a 



manufacturing chem- 

 ist in Waltham, Mas- 

 sachusetts. In the 

 early "eighties" he be- 

 gan the ' manufacture 

 of g;lden sulphuret of 

 antimony, with a 

 small factory in New- 

 tonville, Mass., in- 

 venting not only the 

 process used but de- 

 signing the machin- 

 ery. He manufac- 

 tured and sold the 

 product himself and 

 thus came in contact 

 with all of the rubber 

 manufacturers who 

 used antimony. In 

 1S99 the business was 

 converted into a cor- 

 poration known as the 

 Atlas Chemical Co.. 

 Mr. Chamberlain died November 2, 1905 in his seventy-second 

 year, leaving his interest in the business in trust for the benefit 

 of his brother and others. Mr. Chamberlain has very much of a 

 character — witty and ofttimes caustic in his remarks, but always 

 with a kindly twinkle in his eye that belied his sometimes sur- 

 prisingly crisp rejoinders. He was exceedingly well informed, 

 and his visits to the various manufacturers were always con- 

 sidered treats. 



The L-\te H 



Ch.^mberl.aix. 



HYDROLENE B-260. 



A RUBBER assistant that is now being used in connection with 

 the reclaiming of rubber, and also rubber compounding, is 

 known as Hydrolene B-260. From a sample submitted to The 

 India Rubeer W'orld, it would seem to be a petroleum product, 

 and is used in reclaiming rubber, instead of stock oil or residuum. 

 The manufacturers advise the use of from 3 to 10 per cent, in 

 reclaiming, and direct that it be cut in small pieces, and thor- 

 oughly mixed with powdered shoddy before devulcanization. It 

 is said that after devulcanization no trace of Hydrolene can be 

 found. Used as a rubber substitute, from 10 to 25 per cent, is 

 advised, and the claim is that it prevents drying out, and blister- 

 ing, and also mitigates the harsh acticn of free sulphur. 



