722 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



ISeitemhek 1. 1919. 



Rubber Planting on the West Coast of Borneo.' 



THE FIRST flftwi seeds to lie planted In Pontianak, West 

 Borneo, were imported from Malacca in 1903 by the 

 Chinese and an Englishman, A. Simons, who later be- 

 came manager of the Kopoewas Rubber Maatschappij, Soengci 

 Dekan Estate. The Chinese and the well-to-do inlanders were 

 the first to experiment with this new industry, and for want 

 of better ground, they planted on old peat beds. In the Chinese 

 districts of Mandor the first rubber planters were formerly 

 Chinese mine-workers, who. when the mines failed, devoted 

 themselves more and more to agriculture. The commerce with 

 Ratavia and other ports of Java is of considerable importance, 

 and West Borneo being only 32 hours by steamer from Singa- 

 pore, is another factor favoring the rapid growth of llie rubber 

 industry in Borneo. 



.-\ Simon, formerly a mining en.uincor, iilanlod ihc Inst seeds 

 around his home at Bengkalon, 

 in the Kapoewas district and 

 at Smitau in the upper Kapoe- 

 was where the oldest rubber 

 trees of that region are found. 

 The climate and ground are 

 well adapted to the cultivation 

 of rubber, and in 1910 many 

 Chinese and inlanders planted 

 their rice fields with Hcvca. 



Hadji Oesoep Saigon, the 

 Nestor of the inland rubber 

 planters, persuaded the Sultan 

 of Pontianak to turn over his 

 grounds around the Kampong 

 to the people for rubber plant- 

 ing, with the result that now 

 there are large plantations in 

 that section where hundreds of 

 coolies and tappers earn their 

 living. Thousands of seeds in 

 small low cases, each contain- 

 ing from 250 to SCO plants, were conveyed to the upper dis- 

 tricts in native boats, and the decks of the little Chinese tong- 

 kans were floating Hftra-nurseries. In the beginning they 

 planted Ficiis elastica, and Manihots also w-ere seen, but these 

 were soon replaced by the hardier Hcvca. 



The Europeans, alarmed by the low rubber prices, did not 

 enlarge their plantations during 1917, and plantations could 

 be obtained for very little money. Seeds were also cheaper, 

 and the inlander, being of the opinion that the present low 

 prices could not prevail, planted every available space with 

 Hevea, the cultivation of which is not difficult. 



In the fourth year the heaviest underbrush is cut down and 

 thenceforth the trees are left to grow without further care. 

 The scarcity of coolie labor does not concern the small planter, 

 for he expects to do the work with the assistance of his wife, 

 children, and other relatives. 



The importance of the native planters in comparison with 

 the Europeans is clearly shown in the e.xport figures. The 

 European production in 1917 was only one-fourth of that of 

 the native production, and only a little more than one-fifth of 

 the total export. The total export for 1917 was estimated at 

 2,970,240 pounds. Of this more or less than 560,000 pounds was 

 of European production. The production of inland and Chinese 

 rubber plantations, appraised at 550 pounds per hectare" per 

 year, brings the producing area to 4,349 hectares, more or less. 

 The unproductive area is even greater, being estimated at 

 8,600 hectares. Planted about 600 trees per bouw^ the total 

 would be 7,250,000 trees. 



V'De Indischc Mercuur.") 



T.vPF'ixG Rubber 



In ordinary soil, production on land wiih ,^0 ti^ (i5 per cent 

 of sand is fairly good, while production on the same ground 

 with 70 to 75 per cent sand is very good, and level ground with 

 a standard of 80 to 85 per cent of fine sand, strange to say, also 

 yields a- fairly good average; trees on the latter, however, 

 should be tapped very early as the ground dries out quickly. 

 In Pcmalang soils, where the amount of sand is 85 per cent 

 (highest sand percentage), the absence of plant diseases is 

 noticeable, ihe growth is quicker, and the bark harder and 

 thiiuier than on rich and old peat soil. The production is 

 above average, apparently due to the ease with which the 

 water is drained from the land in case of floods, while in dry 

 weatlier, at a long period of drought, when the top soil is hot 

 dry. it is cool and moist under the surface. This con- 

 ry farming. 



\arious products, such as 

 vegetables, are planted with 

 Hcvca while the trees are 

 young, even sugar-cane being 

 grown. Coflfee is not a profit- 

 ■ible venture, as the rubber 

 irees cast considerable shade 

 after a few years, retarding 

 the growth of the coffee plants. 

 Plant diseases in general 

 are not numerous, the most 

 important being the Djamocr 

 I'H't^as ("striped canker), and 

 knobbed canker (forming no- 

 dules in the cortex of Hevea). 

 The latter is most generally 

 known in the Pontianak see- 

 In Pontianak the average 

 production of one laborer, tan- 

 ping about 300 trees per il , , 

 Trees from Boats. j^ j,^. ^^ , catties^ for trees 



older than 7 years and 1 to 1"^ catties for trees younger than 7 

 years. On Pematang grounds the production from six-year- 

 old trees is 5 grams per day from one tree. On marshy ground 

 near the shore the average is 3 to 4 grams for 5 to 6-year-old 

 trees. As the trees are very close together and the tapping 

 methods crude, this is considered a good average. The Euro- 

 pean plantations number about eight in that region, and having 

 contract laborers, show better results in general. It has been 

 proved that it is possible for trees older than 10 years and 

 younger than 14 years, planted on good soil and well culti- 

 vated, to yield 2,200 pounds of dry rubber per hectare per year, 

 and it has also been proved that 6 or 7-year-old trees will 

 yield an average of 6 to 10 grams per tree per tapping. 



The most commonly used methods of tapping are the V-cut 

 and the herring-bone with two cuts. Every Chinese and native 

 planter prepares his own rubber. Wealthier planters have 20 

 to 40 tappers who do the work entirely on the European scale. 

 Calenders with smooth and ribbed rollers, a work-shed and a 

 smoke house, nearly all of primitive construction, are their 

 only requirements. Alum is used a great deal as an accelerator, 

 of coagulation, being cheaper and more easily obtained, the 

 large carboys of acetic acid being beyond the means of most 

 of the native planters. Alum also has the advantage of coagu- 

 lating without the danger of its becoming moldy. 



Mixing inferior rubber with Hevea was often done in the 



beginning. Bush rubber having been in water for some time 



»Th. A, de Xe 



