98 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[November 1, 1914. 



International Rubber Conference. 



Predominance of Papers by Rubber Chemists. 



IN examining the papers read at the recent International 

 Congress held in conjunction with this year's Rubber 

 Exhibition in London, one i- --truck by the great change 

 that lias taken place since the previous Congress in the sub- 

 jects chosen for discussion. Whereas, three years ago, the 

 paper-, nearly all dealt with rubber in one or other of its 

 botanical aspects, on the present occasion the chemist and 

 the manufacturer practically monopolized the stage. The 

 great majority of the papers were intensely technical, whilst 

 the van. 'ii- debatable points were almost exclusively thrashed 

 out by rubber chemists. In illustration of this it may be men- 

 tioned that while de Wildeman's contribution on "The Cul- 

 tivation of the Rubber Vine in Central Africa" seemed to 

 arouse hardly a vestige of interest, Helbronner's paper on "The 

 Vulcanization of Rubber by Ultra-Violet Kays" and Schidrowitz's 

 discourse on "Variability" met with receptions indicative of the 

 most acute interest. 



This change of ground from the field of cultivation to the 

 realm of the chemist was duly noted by the chairman, Dr. 

 Torrey. His remarks in this connection are worth recording. 

 "The first paper at the last Congress," he said, "was one 

 which led to the most active and spirited discussion I have 

 ever heard on any paper, and at the end of the time the 

 entire conference practically demanded that there should be 

 more time given for the discussion. The result was that on 

 the next day an extra two hours had to be assigned to it. 

 And what do you suppose the subject was? Well, it was 

 'The Forest Growth of Funtumia Elastica.' If the first paper 

 at this Congress had opened on that subject it would have 

 cleared the room in twenty minutes. That was three years 

 ago and I mention the incident just to show how things have 

 moved on." 



HEVEA WITHOUT A RIVAL. 



Much has been learned in the meantime as to the capacity 

 and economic value of the various latex yielding trees. In 

 point of fact it may be said that so far as the planter is con- 

 cerned, a process of elimination has been going on which has 

 left Hevea Brasiliensis without a rival in the estimation of 

 the rubber grower of the Orient. The planter of the Middle 

 East is generally familiar with Castilloa, Ceara and Ficus, and 

 after much experimenting he has discarded them all in turn 

 as unworthy to bold a candle to Hevea as a plantation tree. 

 In Java and Sumatra, some years ago, the Dutch laid out 

 many hundreds of acres with Rambong. These trees are now 

 steadily cut out to give place t.. Hevea and. in some 

 Fiats trees have been felled by the hundred to make 

 i>r tin- more reliable and better yielding native of Brazil. 



As to the value and treatment of various species growing 

 wild in the African forest, with the fall in prices and the rise 

 of the plantation industry, .mowers and consumers have lost 

 all interest. Hence the papers at this conference dealt almost 

 exclusively either with the treatment of Hevea, the treatment 

 of tin product, or the behavior of the same wdien subjected 

 to various chemical processes. 



OLD PROBLEM REVIEWED. 

 To the Hon scientific, or rather to the practical, mind, one 

 of the most interesting papers was that by A. Irving on "A Com- 

 parison of Wild and Plantation Rubber." The author, in addition 

 to being a plant, i . i some experience in both Ceylon and Malaya. 

 was recently commissioned by the Brazilian Government to 

 visit the Amazon Valley, with a view to introducing better 

 methods of production and to advise as to the establishment 



of a plantation industry in that region. One or two points in 

 his discourse may be referred to. The fact, for example, 

 that trees in the Amazon are generally at least thirty years 

 old before they can be profitably tapped — comparing with 

 four years in the case of plantation trees — may have con- 

 siderable bearing upon the relative quality of the rubber pro- 

 duced. Mr. Irving also remarked that he had often been 

 asked what reserves of rubber trees there were in the Amazon 

 Basin. His reply was that there were many millions of un- 

 worked trees in the country, but their inaccessibility rendered 

 them an unrealizable asset with rubber at its present price. 

 The discussion that ensued was a very interesting one, for 

 it revolved round the question as to whether the Eastern 

 plantations are in reality operating with the best variety of 

 Hevea. The late Dr. Huber, who made a wide tour of the 

 plantation zone, is generally credited with the definite state- 

 ment that it is the true Hevea that has been planted in the 

 Orient. Mr. Irving stated, however, that he had seen as many 

 as six different varieties growing together in Brazil and was 

 informed by all with whom he came in contact that Wickham 

 bad not succeeded in getting the best variety of rubber seed, 

 namely, that of the Black Hevea. Wickham holds a contrary 

 view and lias asserted it with ample testimony on more than 

 one occasion. Dr. Werner Esch, who was prominent in 

 most of the discussions, said that he had heard Dr. Huber 

 himself state that the variety of Hevea found on Mid-Eastern 

 estates was other than that recognized as the best in the Amazon 

 Valley. He disputed the general interpretation given to 

 Huber's words and reiterated the statement that this authority 

 had personally told him the plantations have not got the 

 same tree. The mystery thus becomes deeper than ever. 

 It is, however, one that is scarcely likely to perturb the planta- 

 tion industry. 



PREFERENCE FOR UNSMOKED RUBBER. 

 Vnother practical paper was on the "Advantages and De- 

 le, t s of Plantation Rubber," by Mr. W. A. Williams, the 

 general works superintendent of the North British Rubber Co., 

 Ltd. He contended that the introduction of plantation rubber 

 had been the means of displacing "mediums" to a very great 

 extent, simply because its use in the factory had given less 

 trouble in manufacturing operations and better results with 

 an attendant reduction in the manufacturing cost. As a 

 displacer of mediums, he said, plantation rubber had made 

 a bold bid for the market and had been successful. In other 

 respects Mr. Williams gave expression to views which are 

 certainly unorthodox, albeit the more interesting on that 

 account. After repeated trials he had found that unsmoked 

 biscuits and sheet gave the best all-round results, and were 

 to be recommended for the reasons that for strength and 

 uniformity they were quite as good as smoked sheet and were 

 undoubtedly superior to creped ..r blocked rubber. With 

 creped rubber he was afraid the planters had sacrificed every- 

 thing to appearance, the one object apparently being the 

 turning out of a nicely finished, attractive looking product. 

 Creping and grinding of the rubber should, in his opinion. 

 be left entirely to the factory side and it should be the aim 

 ..f planters to turn out their rubber as strong as they possibly 

 could. In conclusion, he put in a plea for a closer working 

 relationship between producers and consumers. 



This paper gave rise to very little discussion. Here it may 

 be observed that very few manufacturers supported the con- 

 ference, presumably on the ground that such experience as 



