November 1, 1918.; 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



of this character, and the methods have been used on a large 

 scale at the company's warehouses in Singapore since March 

 of this year. The amount of shipping space saved by the adop- 



RUBBER 



tion of this method is readily perceived from the statement that 

 a package of five cubic feet now contains 180 pounds of pale 

 crepe as against 120 pounds under the old method, and a package 

 of smoked sheets of similar dimensions contains 230 to 240 

 pounds as against 180 pounds under the old method of packing. 



THE SITUATION IN MALAYA. 



By Our Regular Corresfondcnt. 



A NEW ROOT DISEASE. 



WHAT wilh import restrictions, scarcity of ship tonnage and 

 a continual battle with tree diseases, the rubber planter 

 in the East is having a thorny time. To add to his troubles, 

 a new root disease has recently been discovered by G. X. Magill, 

 of Changkat Serdang Estate, Taiping. It will be remembered 

 that it was Mr. Magill who also called the attention of rubber 

 planters to the danger of brown bast. 



This new disease appears to be the ordinary Hevea canker on 

 the roots, which on exposure show wounds where the bark has 

 died away, while the sapwood is discolored. The development 

 of the disease seems to be rapid, but detection in the early stages 

 is practically impossible unless every tree is opened up for in- 

 spection and kept so, as the canker is not noticeable until the 

 foliage begins to wither. When the collar and roots are ex- 

 posed, sores are found. 



The crown does not begin to wither until the disease has 

 reached a far-advanced stage, when there appears to be little 

 hope of recovery. Mr. Magill says : 



The actual area of the canker wound may not be very large, 

 but bark running out along the laterals and down the tap root 

 becomes dead and, when gently broken, shows plainly minute 

 dried strands of rubber, which resemble that seen in stem 

 canker, though the coloring of the diseased bark is different. 



There can be at present only one treatment — excise all de- 

 ceased tissue and sapwood infected, but in bad cases this almost 

 means depriving the tree of all its support, whilst in cases where 

 the tap root and laterals are infected there is nothing left but to 

 destroy the tree. 



Paint exposed wound with solignum and when dry put on a 

 cover of tar ; have the area limed and dug over. When a case 

 is finished spray Bordeaux mixture lavishly around and cut a 



deep isolation dram around the area with drains from each hole 

 around the root to it. It is early as yet to say whether the 

 treatment will be effective or not. 



SCHOOL FOR ■■THEE-DRESSERS." 



Now that diseases are forcing themselves so persistently on 

 the attention of all concerned, the question of a trained under- 

 staff, or "tree-dressers" has been revived. "The Malayan Tin 

 and Rubber Journal" suggests that the local government should 

 seek the aid of the Agricultural School of Peradeniya, Ceylon, 

 to undertake a short special course for a selected number of 

 Malayan tree-dressers. A local scheme for a similar institution 

 could then be developed gradually and meanwhile there would 

 be a staflf of tree-dressers already at work by the time their num- 

 ber would be reinforced by others trained in Malaya, 



.\ correspondent of the above journal advocates a school for 

 tree-dressers as the best memorial which planters could estab- 

 lish to the memory of Malcolm Gumming, a former chairman 

 of the Malaya Planters' Association. 



PLANTERS AND MAN-POWER. 



The urgent need of every able-bodied man in Europe led R. G. 

 M. Kindersley to declare at a recent meeting of the Malaya 

 Planters' Association that the time had come when plantations 

 ought to send iTjauy more men for military service, even to the 

 detriment of the estates. 



So far, Malayan plantations have scarcely been inconvenienced. 

 It happens that at present there is overproduction of rubber, so 

 that restriction of output and consequent decrease of the working 

 force is needed. But even if this were not the case, Mr. Kin- 

 dersley questions whether there is any justification for holding 

 back Class A men because it is desired to maintain estates at 

 their present high standard. In his opinion, half the planters 

 could leave the country without affecting the production of rub- 

 ber. He suggests that neighboring estates could arrange for 

 joint management. Furthermore, in view of the fact that con- 

 scription will soon be introduced, it seemed to him to be highly 

 desirable that men willing to volunteer should not be held back 

 until they are sent for. 



THE PRESENT SITUATION. 



The difficult situation in which the rubber industry has been 

 placed by the import regulations of the British and American 

 Government is naturally causing no small amount of concern 

 and discussion. That something must be done and done speedily 

 is felt by every one and certain more or less vague plans have 

 been mentioned. It has been urged that the Goveriment should 

 control rubber as it is controlling Egyptian cotton and .Australian 

 wool. While the rubber problem is admitted to be more com- 

 plex, it is felt that the Government should nevertheless consider 

 the matter seriously and take some kind of immediate action. 



-Again, it has been proposed that the Malayan Government 

 should appoint a special commission, composed of officials, plant- 

 ers, rubber merchants, and rubber estate accountants, with definite 

 instructions to sit daily until a practicable scheme to meet the 

 present and future needs has been formulated, a scheme that 

 could be accepted without reservation by all the rubber interests 

 in the peninsula. 



Others point out that in various countries, allied and enemy, 

 the need for cooperation in different industries has been recog- 

 nized and that there is a growing tendency toward combination. 

 If a combination of rubber growers were formed, guided by 

 intelligence and foresight, the future of the rubber industry 

 might be more than secured. Meanwhile, however, there is 

 much hazy talk and, as is known, production is increasing and 

 prices are falling. 



SOUTH INDIA RUBBER EXPORTS. 



Exports of plantation rubber from South India during 1917 

 were 8,526,748 pounds as compared with 6,009,946 pounds in the 

 preceding year. 



