January 1. 1915.] 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



223 



'* 



RUBBER LIFE SA\ I MG VRS. 



Tin- rubber life-saving collars recently mentioned as having 

 been ado] ted by the British Admiraltj foi ship i i eyi hav< 

 quickly proved their efficacy. ft i recorded in reference to 

 the sinking of the gunboat "Niger" bj a German submarine off 



the Kent coast that "all the 

 boats except the whaler 

 were smashed, but the men 

 -*\ who were wearing new 



iV hi* saving collars of in- 



dia rubber promptly in- 

 flated them, and found the 

 de\ ice .'i great service in 

 ke< ping thi m afli iat until 

 they were picked up. 

 Manj lives were undoubt- 

 edly saved bj these col- 

 lar s." Bj the way, the 

 personnel of the Au- 

 stralian navy has now 

 been fitted out with this 

 handy and invaluable 

 device. 

 It seems that the project to provide rubber boots for the 

 British troops in the trenches in Flanders has been wet-blanket- 

 ed by the War Office. The Rubber Growers' Association, which 

 first broached the idea, determined not to be suppressed, is now 

 making a presentation of a number of the boots for use in the 

 trenches. 



RUBBER SEIZED IN ANTWERP. 



There is reason to believe that Germany did after all seize 

 a considerable stock of rubber on taking possession of Antwerp. 

 The quantity is estimated by some as being in excess of 1,000 

 tons, and it is even said that a big price was paid for it. The 

 Antwerp market deals to a limited extent in plantation rubber, 

 but it is chiefly identified with the Congo trade. Such rubber 

 as was found there doubtless consisted mainly of African sorts. 

 The market will be the better for its disappearance. 

 PLANTATIONS IN GERMAN COLONIES. 



There is a fair number of British-owned plantation com- 

 panies operating in German territory in Africa, and their posi- 

 tion since the outbreak of war has given rise to some curiosity 

 and uneasiness. Communication between this country and the 

 estates has been entirely cut off for several months. Whether 

 these plantations have been commandeered and are being ad- 

 ministered for the benefit of the Fatherland is not known, but 

 if there be any truth in the statement that Germany is most 

 embarrassingly short of raw rubber supplies, the temptation to 

 do so must be very great. Hitherto the plantations in this part 

 of the world have always suffered from a dearth of labor, and 

 it is not probable that the war has brought any relief in this 

 respect. Very little Hevea is grown in this region, Ceara being 

 the tree principally cultivated. One or two of the properties 

 have been fairly substantial producers. At the meeting of one 

 of these companies, held recently, it was stated that with rub- 

 ber selling in the neighborhood of 50 cents, it was impossible 

 to operate at a profit, and unless important economies could be 

 effected it would be necessary to close down. To this end it 

 has been proposed that three plantations in the district, namely, 

 Lewa, Kamna and the German East African Co., should amal- 

 gamate, but no further steps in this direction will be possible 

 until the termination of the war. 



INCREASING PRODUCTION. 

 It is noteworthy that in spite of the disorganization of trade 

 and industry throughout the world, there has been no very 

 perceptible decline in the production of rubber. Even the pro- 

 hibition of the export of rubber from the United Kingdom has 

 not had any sensible influence upon the activity of the produc- 



ing estates in the Orient. I ■ returns for the month 

 of November wjiich have so far come to hand indicate, with 

 scarcely an exception, production le larger than 

 When the i cks in this country were 

 ptionally low, and as prii not given way to 

 laterial extent, there certainlj appears no immediate neces- 

 sity to curtail production. As hearing indirectly upon this sub- 

 ject it may be mentioned that i lifications have already been 



: i ... I . in the original order that all rubber produced in Ceylon, 

 Southern India and British Malaya was to be shipped only to 

 the United Kingdom. Permission was recently given to the 

 Dunlop Co to ship a certain quantity of raw rubber from its 

 own plantations for th< use of it- factories in Japan, and it 

 w.i- further stated that direct shipment from plantation centres 

 to Vladivostock would lie permitted 



A T VPPING RECORD. 

 Some interesting facts are to hand concerning the 37-year-old 

 Hevea tree in the Botanic Gardens, near Colombo, Ceylon. The 

 tree has been tapped, with short intervals, over a period of four 

 years and nine months, and the records show that the yield dur- 

 ing that period totaled 392j/ 2 pounds of dry rubber. The two 

 sections of the tree on which operations were conducted were 

 onlj partially tapped, and it is said that had they been com- 

 pletely tapped, over 550 pounds of rubber would have been se- 

 cured. The yield actually obtained averages 82.6 pounds per 

 annum, which compares well with the 4 pounds per tree com- 

 monly expected from the average plantation specimen, planted 

 at upwards of 100 trees to the acre. It cannot be said that the 

 tree under notice has grown under specially favorable condi- 

 tions, for it stands within 5 feet of a hard road composed of 

 laterite. The authorities have decided that tapping shall be dis- 

 continued. It is just as well for the industry that all rubber 

 trees are not such prolific yielders of latex. 



BRITISH DEMANDS FOR WAR SUPPLIES. 



Orders for 12,000 cycle tires are said to have been placed with 

 the Moseley Co., by the British War Office, while parts for 35 

 motorcycles have also been ordered, the destination of which 

 has not been announced. A new military pattern of bicycle is 

 being made for the British War Office by the Xew Hudson Cycle 

 Co., of Birmingham, which is executing an order for 1.200 cycles, 

 and is said to be sharing in the order for 3.000 placed by the 

 Russian government. 



RUBBER SHAREHOLDERS' ASSOCIATION. 



The above-named association was founded in London in Sep- 

 tember, 1913, for the protection of the interests named. It did 

 not meet with the financial support of the trade, however, and 

 at a recent meeting the committee unanimously recommended 

 the winding up of the association. 



BRITISH TECHNICAL INFORMATION BUREAU. 



The British Secretary of State for the Colonies has authorized 

 the formation of a "Technical Information Bureau," for the 

 purpose of dealing with inquiries from manufacturers, mer- 

 chants and others in the United Kingdom and colonies, with 

 reference to raw materials and industrial processes. A staff of 

 experts will be in communication with producers in the clonics 

 and users of raw materials in England. 



BIG INQUIRIES FOR WATERPROOF CAPES AND GROUND SHEETS. 



An inquiry has been going the round of Manchester manu- 

 facturers for 160.000 capes, each requiring y/ 2 yards of 60- 

 inch proofed cloth. The entire order will require 4,200 pieces of 

 stout twills. For ground sheets a further inquiry is anticipated at 

 an early date, said to be the largest ever issued for the article. 

 Ducks 36 inches wide, rainproofed, have been booked in large 

 quantities. 



Proofers are doing their best but cannot turn out half the 

 quantity wanted. 



