May 1, 1917.] 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



483 



Rubber Planting Notes. 



KUBBER PEODTTCTION IN SOUTH INDIA. 



ACCORDING to Lucien Memminger, American Consul at 

 Madras, India, the ten principal rubber plantations of South 

 India produced over 3}4 million pounds of rubber last year. 

 A study of the detailed report showing the crops harvested in 

 1915 and 1916, and the estimates for 1916, indicates that in each 

 case the 1916 yield was considerably above that of 1915 ; that on 

 most estates the estimate has been considerably exceeded ; that the 

 Rani Travancore Co., which up to the end of 1915 was the largest 

 rubber producing company in Southern India has now been dis- 

 placed by the Malayalam Rubber Produce Co. With prices nearly 

 approaching the average of 1915 and lower costs of production in 

 most cases, some very substantial dividends may be expected. In 

 this respect so far the Pudukad and Cochin companies are lead- 

 ing with interim dividends aggregating 40 per cent and 30 per 

 cent, respectively. 



RUBBER PLANTING IN SIAM. 



Up to the present the rubber exports from Siam have not 

 been very significant. On the only rubber plantation of import- 

 ance in southern Siam 25,000 trees were planted about 6 years 

 ago. Of these 20,000 are now ready for tapping. Considerable 

 quantities of rubber are said to come from northern Siam, how- 

 ever. In the districts of Trang and Setul, Siamese Malay States, 

 some attention is being given to rubber planting, but as far as can 

 be ascertained, the production has, until now, been of little im- 

 portance. 



WEEKLY AUCTIONS AT MEDAN. 



The Medan Produce Trade Association has decided to arrange 

 to hold rubber auction sales weekly, instead of fortnightly, as is 

 now tlie case. These sales may be private or public, according 

 to the wishes of the sellers. Only members of the association 

 will be permitted to take part In these sales, whether public or 

 private. 



A DEFECT COMMON IN SHEET RUBBER. 



■Sheet rubber frequently shows a dark line near and parallel 

 to the edges. The cause of this has been investigated by Dr. 

 P. Arens, who explains the cause as follows : 



The cause of this line is a very simple one. The strength of 

 the rubber, coagulated in the pans, is not the same in every part. 

 The surface, which is exposed to the air, especially near the 

 edges, is somewhat stronger than the rest. 



When the sheet is rolled and insufficient precautions taken, this 

 surface is less stretched than the other parts of the coagulum, 

 with the result that the latter protrudes beyond the original mar- 

 gin of the sheet. This original margin retains its position a 

 certain distance inside the newly formed edge and, since it was 

 the hardest part of the coagulated mass, it is not so compressible 

 as the rest and therefore forms a distinct ridge. 



To avoid this, certain measures have to be taken, when putting 

 the sheet through the rollers. The sheet must pass through the 

 rollers in the same position it had in the coagulating pan, j. e., 

 the upper surface in the latter kept uppermost when put in the 

 rollers. The sheet should be gripped by the rollers in the middle 

 of the small side first, so that the edges pass through the rollers 

 somewhat later than the middle. The edges must be turned 

 down a little, whilst the sheet is passing through the rollers. 

 If this is done, the margin of the sheet, hardened in the coagu- 

 lating pan, will also form the margin of the sheet after rolling, 

 and therefore no prominent line will be visible. 



It is advisable not to fill the pans too full, as the prominent 

 line will be more easily formed on a thick sheet than on a thin 

 one. 



A good material on which to train the coolies for this work 

 is sheets the surface of which is darkened by oxidation in the 

 coagulating pans. If these sheets are rolled in the proper man- 

 ner, no white margin should be visible after rolling. 



BELGIAN CONGO PROSPEROUS. 



Despite the conditions imposed by the war, Belgian Congo 

 prospers. The Governor General of the colony is reported to 

 have said that the revenue is expected to show a surplus of 

 ' 8.000,000 francs over the estimates in the current budget. 



The figures for the rubber exports show a slight decline, 

 4,428,945 pounds in 1915 as against 4,892,166 pounds in 1914, 

 but the increase in the price of rubber is again drawing the atten- 

 tion of buyers to the Congo product, the value of which had 

 depreciated in 1914. 



INCREASES IN THE GOLD COAST TRADE. 



Figures for the trade of the Gold Coast show a decided in- 

 crease, not so much in the quantities imported and exported, as 

 in the values. The imports for the year 1915 amounted to 

 £3,116,686, that is, 1 per cent less than in 1914, while the ex- 

 ports for 1915 were £5,814,810, or 30 per cent more than in 1914. 

 The increased prices in all goods are largely responsible for these 

 high figures and the profits are said to have been enormous. 



The exports of rubber for 1915 were 647,982 pounds, valued 

 at £25,167, as against 654,133 pounds valued at £21,631 in 1914, 

 furnish a very fair illustration of the truth of the above. 



GERMAN EAST AFRICA REOPENED FOR FOREIGN COMMERCE. 



Communication with German East Africa is being gradually 

 reestablished. The British Postmaster General has also an- 

 nounced the establishment of a parcel post service to the south- 

 ern portion of German East Africa. All ships engaged in for- 

 eign commerce must clear at either Tanga or Dar-es-Salaam, 

 on license of the British customs authorities. 



PLANTATION RUBBER IN BRITISH GUIANA. 



The Department of Science and Agriculture reports the area 

 of rubber under cultivation for the year 1915 as being 4,687 

 acres, a decrease of 275 acres as compared with returns for 1914. 

 This is due to the throwing out of areas planted with sapium 

 rubber, as well as the abandonment of some small areas of Para 

 rubber, the soils having proved unsuited for its cultivation. 



Experimental tapping was continued at the Issorora and Onder- 

 neeming stations and for part of the year at Christianburg. 



At Issorora the crop for the 12 months ending January, 1916, 

 was 1,000 pounds of dry rubber (854 pounds biscuit and 146 

 pounds of other grades), obtained from 428 trees of from 5 to 7 

 years old, an average of over 2'4 pounds of dry rubber per tree. 



In one experiment 300 trees, tapped by a man and a boy, yielded 

 873 pounds of dry rubber, which cost $58.40 to collect, or less 

 than 7 cents per pound. Most of the produce was sold in Lon- 

 don in February, 1916, at a price of 81 cents per pound for bis- 

 cuit and 68 cents per pound for scrap and other lower grades. 



The latex of the other 128 trees was mainly used for the prep- 

 aration of "ball" rubber by smoked coagulation, similar to the 

 Brazilian method. 



At Onderneeming the crop was 310 pounds of dry rubber (257 

 pounds biscuit and 53 pounds scrap, etc.). Part of this was sold 

 in February, 1916, at 81 cents for biscuit and 68 cents for scrap. 



At Christianburg 128 trees were tapped. One year's tapping 

 yielded 201 pounds of dry rubber (161 pounds biscuit and 40 

 pounds scrap, etc.). A part sold in September, 1915, brought 

 56 cents per pound ; the remainder realized in February, 1916, 

 81 cents for biscuit and 58 cents for scrap. 



The results obtained at the experiment stations were, there- 

 fore, highly satisfactory. The same is said of the returns for 

 1916; the yields from tlie trees are very good and brought the 

 highest prices. 



