170 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[Dfxkmber 1, 1916. 



Rubber Planting Notes. 



A NEW RUBBER COAGULANT. 



< < x-^OAGUL-A-TEX" is the name of a new chemical now 

 \^ widely advertised in Far Eastern papers and recom- 

 mended as superior to and more economical than acetic 

 acid as a rubber coagulant. The Chemical Laboratory of the 

 Agricultural Department of the Federated Malay States acquired 

 a sample of Coagulatex for investigation and has published a 

 preliminary note on the subject. 



It consists of a heavy yellow-colored liquid, strongly acid, and, 

 on analysis, found to contain sulphuric and hydrochloric acids, 

 the latter being present in small proportion only togetlier with 

 a small percentage of some mineral constituent of salt. 



The value of this as a coagulant depends almost en- 

 tirely on the sulphuric acid, since other constituents would have 

 little or no effect. B. J. Eaton, author of the preliminary note in 

 question, remarks : 



It is stated in the advertisement that "Coagulatex" contains 

 no vegetable matter; the utility of this statement is somewhat 

 doubtful, as the absence of vegetable matter is by no means an 

 advantage. Many vegetable acids, e. g., citric, tartaric acids, 

 etc., are good coagulents, their chief drawback being cost. Acetic 

 acid is an organic acid, i. c, of vegetable origin, which is a de- 

 cided advantage, since an excess of such an acid is not likely 

 to have such deleterious effect on a substance like rubber as 

 mineral acids like sulphuric and hydrochloric would have. 



ENEMIES OF NEW PLANTATION RUBBER. 



From Kalutara, Ceylon, comes the information that the white 

 ant or termite, and a snail known as the "Kalutara snail" have 

 been added to "bark-rot" as other enemies of plantation rubber 

 in Ceylon. 



Both the termite and the "Kalutara snail" attack the bark of 

 the "tapping area"' of rubber trees. They devour the bark to 

 a considerable depth, but do not attack the cambium. The bark 

 is left by them full of rough shallow cavities which spoil the 

 tapping area. The ants cover these holes with their rnud nests 

 and build little "communication trench-like" channels leading 

 down to their burrows in the ground. As thousands of insects 

 contribute to the work these nests become very large, and it 

 appears that tar applied to the attacked areas, after the de- 

 struction of the nests, is not sufficient to discourage the termites. 



The most efficient method of checking the destructive work of 

 these white ants has been to destroy their earthwork completely 

 by pouring kerosene oil over it and setting it on fire. 



The snails lay thousands of yellowish eggs, about the size of 

 a pepper seed, which they conceal carefully at the foot of the 

 trees on which they live. These eggs are frequently found 3 

 or 4 inches below the surface of the ground, in bunches of 10 

 to 15. 



If not destroyed, these eggs hatch in a few days and tiny 

 snails soon cover the trunk of the tree. At this stage it is an 

 easy matter to destroy the newcomers, 'but once they scatter, it 

 is almost impossible to exterminate all of them until they are 

 large and have done considerable damage to the bark of the 

 Hevea trees attacked. However, Ceylon planters are said to 

 be successfully combating both ants and snails, which they do 

 not consider as a very serious menace to their rubber planta- 

 tions. 



RUBBER IN BRITISH NORTH BORNEO. 



Kuljber production in British North Borneo is increasing. Tlie 

 trees on estates planted five and si.x years ago are now ready 

 for tapping and in various quarters large areas are being placed 

 under cultivation. 



Statistics for the year 1915, just published, show that exports 

 of plantation rubber totaled $1,304,863, while exports of the wild 

 sort amounted to only $1,908. compared with 1914, when the 

 figures were $897,478 and $8,484 for plantation and wild rubber 

 exports, respectively. 



This gain of over $400,000 in the value of rubber exported is 

 not only evidence of the progress of the industry, but of the 

 prosperous condition of rubber estates generally. The exports 

 of crude rubber from North Borneo to the United States, in 

 which the plantation sort was alone represented, amounted to 

 $10,489 in 1915, against $11,503 the previous year, showing a 

 decrease of $1,014. This decline is not peculiar to the rubber 

 industry, for statistics show a falling off in all exports to the 

 United States direct, a tendency probably due to the shortage 

 in shipping facilities. 



The total exports of crude gutta percha amounted to $5,484 

 and $3,347 in 1915 and 1914, respectively. 



^EEDAN RUBBER SALES. 



The first sale of crude rubber under the auspices of the Medan 

 Society for Products Trade was held in that city in September, 

 when more than 12,000 pounds of rubber crepe were sold at 

 auction. These sales will continue and are to be arranged to 

 coincide with the Java-New York steamship sailings. 



RUBBER IN UGANDA. 



The Department of .Agriculture of British Uganda reports that 

 Hevea rubber trees planted in 1906 are giving fair results con- 

 sidering the high altitude (4,500 feet) of the Kakumiro planta- 

 tion where they are growing and the fact that early neglect has 

 allowed a species of couch-grass (Lumbugu) to estabhsh itself 

 among the roots. Seed collected from the trees has been sown 

 in nurseries and has also been distributed to various parts of 

 the protectorate. 



Manihot, planted in July, 1912, at the Kakumiro planta- 

 tion, has made good growth and many of the trees were ready 

 for tapping in 1915. Some trees planted in June, 1912, were 

 tapped heavily during December, 1914, and January, 1915, as they 

 were of irregular growth and it was intended to remove them. 

 The number of trees tapped was 65, with an average girth of 

 19 inches at a height of three feet from the ground. They were 

 tapped 24 times, and yielded 110 ounces of dry rubber. The flow 

 of latex was then but small and the trees therefore were rested 

 with a view of tapping again at a later date. (Further details 

 on the rubber industry in Uganda were given on page 148 of the 

 December 1915 issue of Thk Ixdi.\ Rubber World.) 



RUBBEIl AND BALATA IN BRITISH GUIANA. 



The Department of Lands and Alines of British Guiana has 

 just issued a report on mining and agriculture in the colony, 

 covering the period from .April 1 to December 31, 1915, a change 

 having been made in the financial year to coincide with the 

 calendar year. The financial year heretofore ended March 31. 



The quantity of balata exported during the nine months was 

 1,188,807 pounds, which was 41,394 pounds in excess of the total 

 production for the precediiig 12 months. 



Rubber exports during the nine months amounted to 3,778 

 pounds, against 1,932 pounds during the financial year 1914-1915. 

 All was collected from Hevea Brasiliensis trees on private prop- 

 erties. The estimated area under rubber at the end of the year 

 was 4,687 acres. 



While at present the output of rubber from tliese plantations- 

 is of little importance, the production in the future Will show 

 a rapid advance as the trees now planted come into bearing, 

 the climate and the soil being very favorable to Hevea trees. 



