September 1, 1917.] 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



745 



Negri Sembilan together produce to-day more rubber than the 

 whole of South America put together! 



The total exports from Singapore in 1916 were 48,650 tons ; in 

 1915 the amount was 38,283 tons, of which 12,824 tons went to 

 Great Britain, 1,998 tons to European countries, 1,230 tons to 

 Japan, and 21,075 tons to the United States. Exports from the 

 Federated Malay States now constitute about half the world's 

 output and w-ere 62,763 tons in 1916 as compared with 44,524 

 tons in 1915. 



The increase in direct sales to America is best illustrated by 

 the following: 



1913. 1914. 1915. 



Direct shipments tons 2,508 4,S10 21,075 



ACREAGE UNDER RUBBER. 

 Government figures available refer to estates over 100 acres in 

 extent and show a grand total at the end of 1915 of 833,069 

 acres planted in rubber with a reserve of 917,185 acres. 



Further grants of land have been made during the year, but 

 the government of the Federated Malay States has since decided 

 to discontinue the issue of land grants of more than 50 acres in 

 extent, pending the return of labor, capital and administrative 

 conditions to normal. 



POSSIBLE RESTRICTION OF EXPORTS. 



The prohibition of rubber exports from Ceylon is regarded 

 with anxiety here, and it is feared that a similar prohibition will 

 be applied to Malaya. There is a rumor that the exports to the 

 United Kingdom are to be reduced to 2,000 tons monthly. In 

 view of this condition, schemes for limiting the output — alternate 

 day tapping or complete abandonment throughout the country 

 of Sunday tapping — have been suggested. There are authorities, 

 however, who consider that the position would hardly be as 

 serious as it sounds if more rubber could be shipped direct to 

 the United States via the Pacific Ocean. It is pointed out in this 

 connection that America has become the greatest consumer of 

 rubber, and that of the large quantities entering the country only 

 22 per cent came from Great Britain. An interesting question is 

 whether America will have to pay more or less for the rubber. 

 To some, the former appears probable, since a demand is here 

 concerned that must be satisfied, while others point to the pos- 

 sibility of operators in Singapore taking advantage of the situa- 

 tion created by the restriction of imports to depress the local 

 market, and suggest that the authorities should fix a minimum 

 price or take some other means to protect the planter. 

 RUBBER SEED OIL EXPERIMENTS. 



Experiments are being made in the Federated Malay States re- 

 garding the commercial possibilities of rubber seed oil. The 

 establishment of local crushing plants is being considered, the 

 oil to be shipped to Great Britain and the cake used as cattle 

 food or manure. 



One of the chief difficulties in establishing a local crushing 

 industry is the fact that the crop season for rubber seed lasts 

 only about two months. Tests are therefore being made to dis- 

 cover whether rubber seed can be preserved for any length of 

 time. 



THE F. M. S. AGRICULTURAL CONFERENCE. 



A T the Federated Malay States Agricultural Conference. 

 ** held at Kuala Lumpur late in April, several interesting 

 papers on various departments of plantation practice were read 

 by T. J. Gumming, E. W. King, W. R. Shelton Agar, R. M. 

 Richards, W. N. C. Belgrave, A. P. Vesterdal, F. G. Spring and 

 others. Further facts were developed by the discussion in which 

 many planters participated. 



RUBBER CULTIVATION AND DISEASES. 

 It was stated that before attempting manuring in the case of 

 poor areas, working of the soil should be tried, especially with 



plough and harrows. A loose topsoil was of vital importance 

 and rubber trees responded very well to proper treatment in re- 

 spect to cultivation. Tillage in circular plots around the trees 

 was recommended in the case of previously planted areas, the 

 best time for this being the wet season, as the abundant mois- 

 ture could then be conserved for the dry season. 



Experiments in manuring showed that lines did more harm 

 than good. Kainit seemed to have no efifect. The best result 

 was obtained on blocks receiving bonemeal at the rate of 400 

 pounds to the acre ; but the effect of the same quantity of super- 

 phosphate was not far behind. Satisfactory results were also 

 obtained with basic slag. 



In connection with thinning-out. pollarding was not recom- 

 mended. Pollards yielded little latex, led to careless tapping 

 and prevented adjacent trees from benefiting fully. The most 

 satisfactory way was to cut out the tree about two feet below 

 ground level, removing as many side roots as possible without 

 interfering with adjacent trees. As to the method of thinning- 

 out, it was held that with 20 by 20 planting, as a general rule, 

 as soon as 90 per cent of the trees were tappable, the rest might 

 be dispensed with right away. After that, as soon as the natural 

 development of trees showed signs of being checked the num- 

 ber per acre should be reduced. 



The usefulness of clean-clearing to prevent the spread of dis- 

 eases was also emphasized. The best way of getting rid of tim- 

 ber was by "double felling," that was, to allow clearings to grow 

 up again for a year after the first felling and then refell and 

 burn off. To prevent the spread of diseases, trenching deep 

 enough to sever lateral roots and wide enough to include all 

 afifected roots, was recommended. The best time for clean clear- 

 ing was before planting, but as the expense of this was very 

 great, smaller stumps and roots could be taken up, while the 

 large stumps could be trenched. 



VARIABILITY OF PLANTATION RUBBER. 



B. J. Eaton read an important paper on "Preparation of 

 Plantation Para Rubber With Special Reference to Future Con- 

 siderations." The researches of the F. M. S. Agricultural De- 

 partment, he said, showed that variable methods of preparation 

 were responsible for variability of the product. .According to 

 him, the uniformity of fine hard Para was due to the length of 

 time taken in preparation, averaging any variations in condi- 

 tions. He pointed out that market demands made it impossible 

 for estates to produce one uniform type of rubber, so uniformity 

 could apply strictly to only one type of rubber. For the present 

 at least, three or four grades must be made, including two first 

 grades — Pale crepe and No. 1 lower grade crepe— consisting of 

 lump, skimmings and picked scrap — and No. 2 lower grade 

 crepe of bar shavings and earth scrap. 



In discussing the better grades, he considered the problem of 

 continuing the production of Pale crepe and Smoked sheet, or 

 of substituting the so-called "Slab" rubber for Smoked sheet. 

 His conclusions are given in detail on page 716 of this issue. 



RUBBER IN THE BRITISH COLONIES. 



Rubber as a crop in India is growing in prominence, especially 

 in Burma and Madras. The exports of raw rubber from India 

 in the year 1916 were 6,229,242 pounds, valued at £970,916, as 

 compared with 4,840,640 pounds, valued at £756,994, in 1915. 

 Of the exports in 1916, 3,847,125 pounds, valued at £643,718, were 

 shipped to the United Kingdom. 



The total value of rubber exported from Uganda during 1916 

 was £5,374 as against £3,159 in 1915. The crop suffers little 

 from pests or diseases and promises to become of importance. 

 In 1915-16 only 5,538 pounds of wild rubber were exported. 



The export of rubber from Zanzibar is mainly derived from 

 Landolphia kirkii, of which a considerable quantity grows wild 

 in a forest in Pemba. 2,384 pounds, valued at £213, were ex- 

 ported in 1915. The cultivation of Ceara, which was taken up 



