The first process in the manufacture of crude 

 rubber necessary on account of its being 

 prepared by the native method is to pass the 

 slabs through large corrugated steel rollers, 

 water falling from a reservoir upon the rubber 

 as it passes through. This is repeated a num- 

 ber of times until all the dirt and foreign matter 

 is eliminated, and the rubber rolled into thin 

 perforated sheets having a rough surface. 



These sheets are from eight to twelve feet 

 long, and eighteen inches wide. 



They are then hung in the dry room, where 

 they remain until all the moisture has evapor- 

 ated. The rubber is then ready for the next 

 process. 



NEW METHOD OF PREPARING 

 RUBBER FOR MARKET 



We are now preparing our rubber by wash- 

 ing the latex in tanks, and after coagulating 

 same, passing it through heavy steel rollers. 

 The small sheets are then hung up to dry and 

 afterwards baled and put into a hydraulic press. 

 This press has a pressure of 1,500 pounds to 

 the square inch, and makes solid blocks of 

 rubber, each weighing 25 pounds. 



Experiments are being made on the Planta- 

 tion with a view to employing Centrifugals for 

 the separation of the rubber from the latex; a 

 small machine as a model is now working and 



39 



