July 1, 1915.] 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



569 



the others put together, the other seven accounted for a con- 

 sumption of something like 60,000 tons per annum. Further- 

 more, all the seven countries were participants in the war, and 

 had sustained, or would sustain, increased consumption largely 

 at the expense of accumulated stocks. The Allies could not 

 claim to have a larger amount of manufactured rubber articles 

 today than they had before the war. Germany and Austro- 

 Hungary could certainly not claim to have any stocks beyond 

 those represented by the perhaps considerable amount of con- 

 traband they had successfully manipulated. They had. there- 

 fore, to allow for urgent requirements on behalf of enemy coun- 

 tries after the war, not merely for daily consumption but for 

 making good the stocks usually held by manufacturers, lie 

 believed that, subject to credits being good, Germany and Austro- 

 Hungary would require in the first year after the war not less 

 than 40,000 tons of rubber. The estimated increased require- 

 ments of the enemy countries, though slight, would take a fair 

 slice of the increased plantation production anticipated for 1916. 

 He would, therefore, not be at all surprised to find that the 

 enemy countries, together with America, would consume a total 

 tonnage equal to the whole of that which was estimated from 

 plantations for 1916. namely. 110.000 to 120.000 tons. That only 

 left about 45,000 tons for the United Kingdom, France, Russia, 

 Italy and Japan, which was much below their total average con- 

 sumption. The point he wished to make was simply that the 

 increase in production during 1916 was offset by the depletion 

 of manufactured articles in enemy countries and the impetus 

 which the war would give to the use of rubber in countless 

 directions. 



MEETING OF THE PLANTERS' ASSOCIATION OF MALAYA. 



Commenting upon the recent meeting of the Planters' Asso- 

 ciation of Malaya, the "Malay Mail" congratulates the planters 

 on their choice of Mr. W. Duncan as chairman of the associa- 

 tion, succeeding the Honorable E. Macfayden. It expresses the 

 hope that, with a planter from Northern Malaya as chairman, 

 the attendance of planters from that part of the colony will 

 in the future be greater at the association meetings. During 

 1915-1916 an enormous area will come under tapping, and 

 planters fear a labor shortage. The war stopped immigration 

 into Malaya. Indian immigration has begun again, but is still 

 below the normal. Restrictions on Chinese immigration are still 

 in force. 



PERAK PLANTERS BELIEVE THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

 SHOULD DEVOTE MORE ATTENTION TO RUBBER, 



In a late issue of the "Malay Mail" reference is made to a 

 resolution recently passed by the Central Perak Planters' Asso- 

 ciation expressing their disapproval of the work of the Agri- 

 cultural Department. The association is not satisfied with the 

 control of pests and diseases as carried out by the department 

 and asks the assistance of district associations in supporting a 

 request that the parent association at Kuala Lumpur bring the 

 necessity for better attention and general efficiency to the notice 

 of the Government. The item concludes with the following 

 paragraph : 



''The resolution leaves no room for doubt. I am afraid that 

 it is an opinion pretty generally shared by planters throughout 

 the country. There is a general feeling that the department 

 is not doing all that it might to develop the rubber industry." 



SPOTS ON RUBBER. 



A bulletin of the Department of Agriculture of the Federated 

 Malay States discusses the conditions which favor the formation 

 of spots and the discoloration of rubber, also the methods of 

 prevention. Spotting and discoloration are generally due to com- 

 mon saprophytic fungi ( Penicillium s[>. Fusarium sp., etc.) which 

 contain proteolytic enzymes. Infection takes place while the latex 



is being collected. Only under abnormal conditions does the rub- 

 ber become infected after preparation and while in the drying 

 hed The best method of prevention is by treating the latex 

 with formalin, by quick drying of the rubber, by thinner work- 

 ing ami addition of "sodium bisulphite." Dilution of the latex 

 with water increases the danger of infection and the tendency 

 toward spotting; and so also will excess of coagulant. 



FEDERATED MALAY STATES RUBBER EXPORTS. 



An official cablegram from Kuala Lumpur announces that the 

 export of plantation rubber from the Federated Malay States, 

 during the month of May, amounted to 2,708 tons, as compared 

 with 1,111 tons in April and 2,069 tons in the corresponding 

 month last year. 



The following table shows the export for the first five months 

 of the last three years : 



1913. 1914. 1915. 



January tons 2,131 2,542 3,473 



February 1,757 2,364 3,411 



•March 1,737 2,418 3,418 



April 1,626 2,151 2,777 



May 1,225 2,069 2,708 



'1 8,476 11,544 15,787 



THE THINNING OUT OF RUBBER PLANTATIONS. 



1 he question of thinning out rubber plantations has been much 

 discussed. Opinions on the subject vary considerably. Most 

 planters are of the opinion that 100 trees to the acre is quite the 

 limit for good results, but that it certainly would be a mistake 

 to reduce existing plantations strictly to this number, for allow- 

 ance must be made for a certain death rate even among healthy 

 trees. One expert explains that the Hevea Brasilicnsis is prac- 

 tically a swamp tree originating in the lowlands which each year 

 are overflowed by the Amazon river. There it obtains the quan- 

 tity of water necessary for its full development. With this idea 

 in view he believes all plantations too thickly planted to allow the 

 Hevea to reach its normal development. 



RUBBER LATEX PREPARED WITH URANIUM BORATE. 



The use of uranium borate in the preparation of rubber latex 

 has been recommended to Ceylon planters. It is stated that 8 

 ounces of this borate to every 100 pounds of latex — equivalent 

 to 8 ounces to each 50 pounds of rubber — when thoroughly mixed 

 with the latex before coagulating considerably improves the ap- 

 pearance of the rubber, prevents oxidation on shipboard and in 

 storage, and at the same time increases the tensile strength of the 

 product. 



Of course this addition of uranium borate increases the cost 

 of production of crude rubber, but on the other hand it is claimed 

 that the treatment also increases the value of plantation rubber 

 by from i40 to i50 per ton. 



CYCLONE SWEEPS KXANG RUBBER ESTATES. 



The damage done the rubber plantations by the storm that swept 

 the Klang district of the Malay Peninsula in April is estimated 

 at £250,000. The tornado struck the rubber plantations at a time 

 of the year when they are most susceptible to injury. The rub- 

 ber trees had finished their wintering and were in full bloom, 

 bearing heavy foliage, and were naturally unusually tender. The 

 storm followed a well defined course, but at points varied in in- 

 tensity. In one section of about 20 acres not a tree was left 

 standing. A rough estimate places the number of trees destroyed 

 at 47,000. 



A hurricane recently swept over the Lunas Rubber Estates 

 (Selangor). breaking and uprooting 1.450 mature rubber trees. 

 Some of these trees may possibly be saved, but they will not be 

 fit for tapping for a long time. Young trees with their light 

 foliage did not suffer from the wind. Slight damage was 

 done to the buildings on the estate. 



