292 THE RUBBER TREE BOOK 



roofing, costs only some 50 per room. The economy, however, 

 is not so real as might appear, as the life of such lines is estimated 

 at only about five years. 



Factory. The factory should be central in its situation and 

 in the vicinity of ample supplies of water for manufacturing 

 purposes. Care should be taken to make certain that, whatever 

 the source of the water supply, it will not fail in time of drought. 

 It is, therefore, unwise to depend upon small streams. 



The factory must be a well-constructed building on per- 

 manent lines. The floor must be of cement, and of good cement 

 which will not break up under the weight or the strain of the 

 engines or the mills. The factory building should be of sufficient 

 size to allow for all possible extensions of machinery. Gal- 

 vanized iron, if used for roofing, makes a very hot factory, and 

 if it is used there ought to be a wooden ceiling under it. It is 

 frequently best to purchase factory buildings from some large 

 local engineering firm, or through local agents, and to put upon 

 them the responsibility of erecting the engines and machinery 

 and delivering everything in good running order. This saves 

 a lot of trouble and divided responsibilities. When one firm 

 erects the building and puts down the cement floor, and another 

 firm supplies the engines, and a third the mills, it is not by any 

 means easy to place the blame for anything wrong. This is 

 got over by contracting with one firm who then cannot evade 

 responsibility. The windows of the factory should be either 

 of red glass or have red blinds to prevent the sunlight affecting 

 the rubber. If there is an upstairs flat in the factory a small 

 hand-worked hoist is a very great convenience in transporting 

 goods or rubber to the flat above. 



A proper plan ought to be laid out whereby the engines and 

 machinery are laid down in one straight row along the length 

 of one side of the factory, next the windows, with just sufficient 

 passage-room behind them for oiling and the removal of parts 

 for repairs. The engines should be in the centre of the row of 

 mills and directly connected to the shaft without belting. This 

 system saves a lot of room and the loss of power which the use of 

 belting always involves. It also leaves the whole of one side 

 of the factory for coagulating and other operations. 



Just facing the front of the mills, and about a yard and a 

 half away, should be cement mounds covered and faced with 



