March 1, 1916.; 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



317 



Rubber Planting Notes. 



RUBBER TAPPING IN SOUTH KURG, INDIA. yields of rubber per acre. 



Occasional references to exceptionally heavy yields of rubber 



COXSIDHKABLI-: falliiiK off iii the yield of latex from the P^"" ^"^ ^V plantation companies tend to cause the fact to be 



Ceara rubber trees has been noted in South Kurg, India, overlooked that the average production of the whole planted 



during the prevalence of overcast wet weather. Better ^""^^ °^ ^^Y Sivcn estate is on quite a moderate scale, says the 



j'ields are obtained when the nights are clear and dewy, provided London "Fmancial Times." Some interest was aroused a few years 



there be no wind to dry up the latex in the cuts and stop its flow. ^^° ^^ ^ >''^'<^ of 1,300 pounds per acre on a small part of one 



The latex that is thus dried in the wounds is sometimes collected estate, but this excessive output was followed by a drop in the 



as scrap rubber, other times it is left to assist bark renewal. 'ollowing year. Even the giant producers do not as a rule aver- 



Vertical tapping is most easily performed by the coolies, who are ^^.^ ^^ pounds per acre over the whole planted area, although 



expected to bring in 60 to 80 ounces of latex a day. It takes less ""^ ,'^ generally explained by tlie inclusion of large areas not in 



time and they can attend to a greater number of trees than with earmg. 



the herring-bone or half herring-bone systems, but the most ^"^lo Malay reached 345 pounds per acre over the whole 



economical method has to be determined by the quantitv of latex P'^^'^d portion last year, Batu Caves 356 pounds and Batu Tiga 



-the trees yield under each system. ^^^ . Pounds per acre, and others which exceed the 300 pounds 



Ti, ,.• 1 ^ ■ • 1 L 1 <• '''"'' include Ulu Rantau, Tremelbye, Sungei Salak Suneei 



The vertical system consists in cutting a vertical channel from diuccu^.l r- ,x, -'""sci oaidK, oungei 



1 • u. r u <; r . . • t.- <: ■ L r , , j Buloh, Seaheld. Rubber Estates of Johore. Perak Pataline Lon- 



a height of about 6 feet to within 6 inches of the ground and , , . . ^, Tr , r- , ,- j-ci^^, jraianng, Lon 



iu ■ n -jru-i. iTi ■L c J- "on Asiatic, Kurau, Kua a Se angor, Kamuning and Chersonese 



then paring oflf one side of this channel. It has been found im- -ri.ru- L. . , . . , "'""8 <"'" '-uersonese. 



ui .,. .L J ■ ^1 t. 1 11 ■'ne following table shows the yield per acre of a number of 



practicable to tap during the southwest monsoon so that, allow- • , , j- i^ci a^ic oj a iiumoer oi 



c -u-ujijri r L J ■ companies whose reports have recent y appeared • 



mg for one inch in breadth of the surface to be pared away in i- y a^ijciicu. 



a month, three inches breadth is necessary for the three months POUNDS PER PLANTED ACRE. 



season during which Ceara is tapped. Tapping can be continued Biaunstcn pounds '?62' 'i'u' 



for an extra month in May, after the growth of new leaves, but Lang"en''^fTavai i?'^ '^^ 



the best yields are always obtained during November, December Lumut ..'..-. '.'.'.'.'.l'.'.'.\'.[[['.'.'.'. 173 226 



and January. ^■'.'mi""'" - -V.\v.v.v.\v.'.v.';;: i!! :::::::: I!! m 243 



If the consumption of bark surface is 6 feet by 3 inches a sea- t n'i'i'.',i'^ ~, i,i,,ti.; '.]'..'.'.'.'.'.['.[.[.[ 190 257 



son, it will allow only two wounds being made in a tree 36 1 lu- above list may be regarded as a representative selection 



•inches in circumference, one on each half of the tree a season, of good class companies. It will be seen that on the basis of a 



as the tapping must be arranged so that the newest bark will yield in full bearing of 400 pounds to 500 pounds per acre there 



not be cut until it is three years old. exists plenty of scope for increase from the present planted 



Paring of the bark on each side of the vertical channel is not acreage. 



advisable because it leaves too large a wound. 



Another method of vertical tapping is to leave strins of cortex ^ ,, ilcken-down latex coagulating method. 

 between the cuts in order to assist in bark renewal. The advan- , ^ he acetic acid and similar methods of coagulating rubber 

 tage of this system is that the guards of the tapping knives can , '^"^ ^^''^ '°"S '^"" ^''^ accepted process in the Far East, there- 

 be set so as to guard against injurv to the cambium. Where °7 ^ new method, recently patented, is interesting. A. C. 

 •strips of bark are left between the cuts, the guard of the tapping ""ij^" ^"'^ ^^- ^- ^- °°^" ^'^ ^^e inventors. 

 knife moves over the hard upper rind in advance of the cutting .^J^^ apparatus consists of a circular zinc latex tank provided 

 ilade. If this guard has been properly set the cambium can not ""*^^ "=°^^'' ^"^ =""'"S device. An injector with a 1/32-inch 

 te touched. A tapped surface never recovers the smoothness of °Pf"'"8^ "', ^"^'l '° ^^^ ^"^^""^ °* ^he tank, and connected by a 

 the original bark except when new layers of wood and bark '""^'l'' '"'^"^ ^'.^^ another tank that contains benzine and 

 grow in from the sides over bad wounds. methylated spirit-the precipitating mixture. 



T-, , ^ . , , , , , . , • . , . ,, , ine latex is hrst measured, and then put in the tank and 



The best yields have so far been obtained from full herring- ,■ . ,,:, .. x i • i i ... 

 , , . ■^ , .1 , .,■.,.,.., ,1 stirred. When it commences to thicken the precipitating mix- 

 bone tapping, but the drawback is that half of the tappable sur- . • , j • . ^u .,. i u i ■ ■ , ■ 

 r u . u 1 J u J t r- ■ '"re IS forced into the tank by a foot pump, stirring being con- 

 face has to be worked on each season and the Ceara tree is too ,.• j • tu >• -ru , c • ,? f r 

 ,,.,.., 1 , , X T- , r , ■ ■ tinned in the meantime. The coagulum forms rapidly, and after 

 delicate to stand such treatment. Experts are of the opinion u » • ^ i v • j r i , ■ - j 

 ,, ,. ,,, ^ , , , , , ■ ■ cj- a short interval it is removed from the tank and creped. 

 that coolies should not be ordered to bring in a fixed quantity 



of Iate.x daily, as thev are likely to be led to make too deep cuts 



thus damaging the trees. Daily tappings are preferable for Ceara "■°°°^ ^^ landslides in java. 



to tapping on alternate days. , Some anxiety was recently caused among those interested in 



Java rubber plantations by news from Batavia of landslides and 

 floods. The opinion is expressed in the London rubber share 

 FRENCH AFRICAN RUBBER. market that the disaster will not aflfect the rubber planting in- 

 Writing on the subject of commercial relations between dustry as most of the rubber estates are remote from the scene 

 French Equatorial .Africa and the Russian Empire the "Petit Bui- of the inundations. 



letin de rOfBce Colonial," published in Bordeaux. France, states 



that rubber is probably the only product of this French colony vodka synthetic rubber and the ceylon planters. 

 that possibly could be sold in almost unlimited quantities in Rus- The story that the Russian Government was going to use its 

 sia. Up to the outbreak of the war, this trade was monopolized vast stock of vodka for making synthetic rubber created no more 

 by German traders and brokers who imported the rubber, mixed than passing comment in Ceylon. The rubber planters still re- 

 it with other qualities, and resold it to the Russian manufac- member artichoke rubber and other va«ue synthetic rubber an- 

 turers. The purchsers were thus unable to appreciate the quali- nouncements and require sometliinc; more definite to make them 

 ties of "nerve," elasticity and strength of the French .African believe that synthetic rubber manufacturing had been e.'tabiished 

 "wild rubber. on a commercial basis. 



