January 1, 1915.] 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



_'_>" 



Some Rubber Planting Notes. 



THE USE OF WATER IN TAPPING. RAILWAY EXTENSION IN THE FEDERATED MALAY STATES. 



DR. A. J. ULTEE, director of the Besoekisch Testing The new railwaj line from Bukit Mertajam, a junction near 



Station at Djember, Java, having stated that the use the town of Penang, to Alor Star, the capital of Kedah, has 



of water in tapping tends to reduce the volume of pro- been opened for traffic. It forms part of the Federated Malay 



duction, Dr. F. T. Beederode disputes this theory in a recent Stales government railway system; which is thus brought closer 



number of the "Indische Mercuur." He believes that with the use of to the Siamese frontier. The ultimate connection of the new 



water, latex flows longer than otherwise and thus increases the line with the Royal Siamese Railway is in contemplation. It is 



volume of production. He does not unconditionally reject dry anticipated thai the opening up and development of Kedah will 



tapping, but believes the use of water to be a distinct advantage. be facilitated by the improved communication thus established. 



Tin-., he contends, is particularly ><> where then are laborers 



enough so that no laborer has to care for more than 250 b WHAT malaya might have done. 



Where the supply of labor is insufficient and each tapper is re- In tak,n « ^ chair at the '"augural lecture of the City of 



quired to look after 500 to 600 trees, dry tapping being more London College rubber course recently, Mr. John McEwan, 



quickly done, he admits is preferable. chairman of the Rubber Growers' Association, said that there 



were areas of Hevea 10 or 11 years old, producing 750 pounds 



rubber in Sumatra. oer acrc - ^ a " tllc P' antin g ' la d been uniformly successful, the 



. ,. , . . . . , , , . 700,000 acres in Malaya would in a few years give about 234,375 



According to the Imperial Institute of Loud. >n there is a con- , , / . . ., ' ., . . . 



.,,,,?„ . , . , ,, . . . „ tons, leaving the rest of the world out of the calculation, 



sidcrablc difference in the rainfall at various points in Sumatra, , , • , i , ., , j- . . , . l. 



. . . _ . _ , . ., , . In conclusion he remarked that at no very distant date such an 



but it is everywhere sutticient. Owing to the good sou rubber . , ,, . , , , , . , e . ,, 



J . . . , __- , , ,, ■ article as rubber is bound to be produced on a scale unprohtable 



trees can grow at altitudes up to 1.000 feet, but are usually situ- . . , . . . . . 



6 . r , ,™ , .,., . ,, t~ to a large proportion of the companies engaged in the industry, 



ated between 4 feet and 120 feet. I he Assam rubber tree, Ftcus TT , , , *i ,. i r • •« 1 j * 



, _. . , _ ,. .He hoped, however, that lowness of price will lead to many new 



elastica, is grown in the provinces of Benkulen, lapanuli and ,. .. . , r 



, ,. ' 6 ' y applications at present not dreamt of. 



Achm. 



The acreage under Hevea increased from 400 acres in 1902 experiments in the malay testing station. 

 to 197,530 acres by the end of 1912, in addition to which there ]n a communication from the Federated Malay States In- 

 were plantations of Ficus elastica. The nominal capital in formation Agency, Mr. Lewton-Brain, who is in charge, de- 

 Sumatra rubber plantations at the end of 1912 was estimated at scr jbes the vulcanizing and testing station established at Kuala 

 $53,000,000, of which one-half was British. Many coffee planta- Lumpur, which is said to be one of the most complete in ex- 

 tions have been transformed into plantations of Hevea. istence. He states that many experiments have been tried with 



a view to solving the problem of plantation rubber. 



a new rubber coagulant in ceylon. What the manufacturers complain of is not that plantation 



Toddy Vinegar, the new coagulant, has already been men- rubber is not good, but that it is not uniform: that each lot 



lioned in these columns. must be treated differently. In solving this problem many ex- 



The process of manufacture consists of the waste cocoanut periments and tests have been made on working, vulcanization, 



water being allowed to ferment for four or five days, when it etc. 



can be immediately used for coagulation. One or two ounces The problem of variability in plantation rubber is an ex- 



of fermented liquid will coagulate a pint of pure latex, produc- tremely complicated one. and it will be years before the full 



ing a liner rubber than is obtained by the present system of using value of this work can be realized. Work has at least been 



crude acetic acid. Experiments are now being made as to how started on the fundamental problem. Generally speaking the 



long the liquid will keep, and as to whether it will stand trans- large plantations are taking more care to keep methods and 



portation to the rubber estates. products uniform. Still many extractors use haphazard methods 



Experiments were carried out on smoking, drying, dilution of 



rubber keeps better than tea. latcx ' coagulation, fun gus spots, tackines s, etc. 



With reference to the storage of rubber the "Times of Ceylon" rubber acreages in British malaya. 



states that at the opening of the war a good deal of rubber, Official statistics of the planted surface in British Malaya are 



tea and other products was stored in local warehouses, in view as f ]] ows . 



of the disturbance of business. Rubber will not deteriorate January 1, January 1, 



from storage, while tea after a couple of months in stock be- 1913. 1914. 



comes a more or less unmarketable product. Federated Malay States acres. 399,197 433.324 



Straits Settlements 94,263 111,316 



Johore 91.827 117.022 



ceyxon conditions— 1913-1914. Kelantan and Kedah 34.837 45,373 



Heavy investments were made some years ago by Ceylon Trengganu 1,49/ 



planters, and the commercial community generally, in young Total 621621 708.545 



rubber trees, and large returns were required from the revenue . 



bearing estates to develop the immature plantations. The drop more light in plantations. 



in rubber prices in 1913 on the London market caused real Large rubber plantations in Malaya have experienced trouble 



distress, and for a time threatened ruin to a number of rubber in the renewal of the bark, due to the trees being too close to- 



companies, and even to various commercial houses. The crisis gether. The time is foreseen when such plantations will be 



was, however, safely passed and the market recovered somewhat obliged to cease tapping the older trees, the bark renewed being 



toward the beginning of 1914. Among the principal difficulties too thin to allow of tapping with profit. Planters remove 



planters had to contend with were the heavy rains which im- the useless branches and then cut down the trees which prevent 



peded cultivation, and the increased difficulty in getting sufficient the development of their neighbors. This movement of giving 



labor from South India. more light is said to be getting more general. 



