138 THE RUBBER TREE BOOK 



In the Michie-Golledge system the rubber is separated from 

 the latex with the use of a little acid, aided by centrifugal action. 

 On some plantations the separated rubber, after being worked 

 into sheets, is cut into shreds " worms "to facilitate drying, 

 and these dried " worms " are finally rolled together into char- 

 acteristic crepe-like strips. This latter part of the process in- 

 volves the employment of additional machinery for cutting the 

 sheets into shreds, and although in use on some Ceylon estates 

 of high reputation, appears to be an altogether unnecessary pro- 

 ceeding, especially when hot air or vacuum driers are at hand. 



A number of methods have been devised for the coagulation 

 of latex by means of smoke, with the idea that the smoke will 



FIG. 32A. The Da Costa Smoker Coagulator (Bridge & Co.). 



act as an antiseptic as well as a coagulating agent. One of 

 these methods is that of the Da Costa Smoker Coagulator. A 

 mixture of low pressure steam with wood smoke filtered through 

 baffle-plates is injected into the latex in a trough. The force 

 of the steam agitates the latex sufficiently to bring the smoke 

 into contact with every part. In a partly similar apparatus 

 made by Messrs Shaw, compressed air is used instead of steam. 

 A convenience which is being introduced into a number of 

 estates is the coagulating trough. These are mounted on a 

 mound of cement, so as to be easily reached without stooping. 

 In the top of the cement mound is the trough, which is lined 

 with white glazed tiles. The sides of the troughs are only one 

 tile in height. The troughs are usually about 12 feet long by 



