168 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[December 1, 1914. 



HALF SALARIES TO EUROPEAN ESTATE MANAGERS. 



At a recent meeting of the Planters' Association of Malaya, 

 a proposal was made for reducing the salaries of Euro] 

 managers and assistants. It is reported that in some rases Euro- 

 peans were placed on half salaries, but the hope has been ex- 

 pressed that when estates revert to full payment of coolies 

 wages the remuneration of the officials will follow suit. The 

 establishment of a system of retail cash trailing was likewise 

 advocated, as possibly leading t>> an appreciable reduction of 

 living expenses. In fact, the continuance of the cash arrange- 

 ments now in force is recommended, in place of the previous 

 credit system. 



GERMAN EAST AFRICAN PLANTATIONS. 



During 1913 the rubber plantations of the Amani Biological 

 Station urn. considerably developed. Manihot seeds were pro- 

 duced in greater quantity than was found needful, the demand 

 having slackened. A great number of the older trees were broken 

 by the wind. Hevea was well developed, seeds and plants being 

 abundantlj distributed. \ certain number of old trees was lost 

 through the ravages of parasites on their roots. Fiats elastica 

 prospered, particularly the Sumatra variety with small leaves. 

 The older plantings of Castilloa have been given up, as they were 

 found to produce an interior latex, hut the seeds imported from 

 Saigon and Costa Rica have produced other trees which can soon 

 be tapped. A large number of vines has been planted in the 

 gardens of the Amani institute. Cultivated gutta percha has 

 yielded relatively good results, hut the flowering has in some 

 cases been sl< u . 



DUTCH INDIAN RUBBER PRODUCTION. 

 A British consular report gives the following details of the 

 exports of the different varieties of rubber from Java within the 

 last two years: 1912. 1913 



Hevea Brasiliensis tons 485 2,339 



Ficus elastica 475 124 



Castilloa 23 43 



Ceara y 2 11 



Other varieties 34 46 



Total 1,01754 2.563 



The falling off in exports of Ficus is attributed to the fact 

 that many trees of this variety have been cut out by planters, 

 who now pin their faith to Hevea. Statistics issued by the Java 

 department of agriculture showed that in January, 1913, there 

 were 220.578 acres under rubber in Java, of which 187,535 were 

 in Hevea. 



RUBBER EXPORTS FROM SUMATRA. 



Rubber exports from the east coast of Sumatra have largely 

 increased during the last four years, having been : 1910, 539 tons ; 

 1911. 813 tons; 1912, 1,807 tons; 1913 (estimated) 3.020 tons. Of 

 the 230.075 acres under rubber in 1913, 220.(105 were in Hevea. 



Owing to the low price of rubber in 1913, the extension of 

 planting was cheked in Sumatra, the tapping of new areas 

 being postponed and close attention directed to reducing costs 

 of production. Many of the older producing estates seem to 

 have reduced their cost at point of shipment to 8d. (16.21 cents) 

 per pound while in some cases a further slight reduction is 

 anticipated on this figure when the trees are in full bearing. 



EXPORTATION OF ADULTERATED RUBBER FROM BELGIAN CONGO 

 PROHIBITED. 



A Belgian Royal Decree prohibits the exportation of adul- 

 terated and impure rubber from the Belgian Congo, rubber of 

 the prohibited character being subject to confiscation. All rub- 

 ber presented for expi nation must be accompanied by a cer- 

 tificate of purity. 



OPENING OF THE BATAVIA EXHIBITION. 



nPUIi "Indische Mcrcuur" of October 23 contained a Reuter's 

 *■ cabli from Batavia to the effect that the Governor General 



had just opened the International Rubber Exhibition. It was 

 added that almost all nations were represented. 



A number of papers were to be read at the exhibition, in- 

 chiding the following : 



'What Rubber Manufacturers Want in Crude Rubber," by 

 II. C. Pearson, Editor of The India Rubber World. 



"I he Significance of Branching in Young Hevea Trees," by 

 W. J. Gallagher. 



"Planting Distances for Hevea," by C. M. HamaWer, Kiara 

 Pajoeng, Java. 



"Tapping and Tapping Systems," by F. G. Spring, Kuala 

 Lumpur, F. M. S. 



"The Planning of Manurial Experiments." by W. Barrow- 

 cliff. Asst. Agr. Chemist, Dept. of Agriculture, F. M. S. 



"Catch Crops and Inter-crops," by R. W. Munro. 



"Catch Crops with Hevea," by Dr. C. J. J. van Hall, 

 Buitzenzorg, Java. 



"Diseases of Hevea," by Dr. C. J. J. van Hall and Dr. A. A. L. 



Rutgers, both of Buitzenzorg, Java. 



"Preparation of Rubber of Light Color," by Dr. A. J. Ultee, 

 Djember, Java. 



"Manuring of Hevea," by Dr. A. J. Ultee, Djember, Java. 



MR. LAMPARD ON FORWARD SALES. 



At the last meeting of the Sialang Rubber Estates, Mr. C. 

 A. Lampard urged the advisability of forward contracts for 

 crude rubber. One reason was the need of affording the manu- 

 facturer the opportunity of providing for his future require- 

 ments. Were this denied him, he would buy wild rubber, which 

 is what plantation owners desire to prevent. Their policy was 

 to get their rubber into all the world's factories, and this end 

 could best be accomplished by selling ahead a portion of their 

 output as they found a means of doing so. 



SELECTION IN HEVEA. 



In dealing with this subject, the "Tropical Agriculturist," of 

 Colombo, remarks that as the rush of planting is over the selection 

 of seed is a point calling for the careful attention of rubber 

 companies. 



The pre-eminence oi Java in cinchona has been attributed to the 

 selection of the highest yielding trees. At Peradeniya two acres 

 have been planted in rubber with seed from the old Heneratgoda 

 tree which yielded 386 pounds of dry rubber in A l / 2 years. When 

 old enough to tap, the yields will be carefully recorded and any 

 poor producers removed, selection being based on yield. 



It has been proposed for estates to set aside one or two acres 

 to be planted with seeds from the trees which have shown the 

 best yields. Any trees which have proved below the standard 

 would be cm out, so as not to risk deterioration in the succeeding 

 generation. 



SPOTTING OF RUBBER. 



In a bulletin on the above subject, Mr. A. Sharpies, Assistant 

 Mycologist of the Department of Agriculture, Federated Malay 

 States, remarks that the spottings and discolorations in plantation 

 rubber are mi istly clue to common saprophytic fungi. 



Rubber prepared from latex diluted with water shows a greater 

 tendency tow-ards spotting than that from undiluted latex. Any 

 addition of coagulant above the minimum necessary also increases 

 this spotting tendency. 



BRAZILS NEW PRESIDENT INAUGURATED. 



Dr. Wenceslau Braz Pereira Gomes was inaugurated Presi- 

 dent of Brazil on November 15, at Rio Janeiro. The cere- 

 mony, which took place in the Senate Chamber, was attended 

 by members of Parliament, the diplomatic corps and many 

 prominent citizens. 



