RUBBER 673 



returned shortly afterwards by the shipping agents, as 

 it had fallen from the"' lighter " at the Federated Malay 

 States port in course of removal from the jetty to the 

 ship. Although the sample showed no trace of spot 

 disease when first inspected and was perfectly dry, after 

 reopening it was, as would be expected, very moist, with 

 the characteristic translucent appearance of rubber which 

 had never been properly dried; and, secondly, a " pink " 

 spot disease had developed to a marked extent throughout 

 the sample. It was exceedingly improbable that the 

 spores had gained entrance subsequently, since the 

 development had occurred on rubber in the centre of the 

 case as well as on the outer pieces of rubber, and was 

 evidently due to the subsequent growth of resistant 

 spores originally present in the rubber which developed 

 on account of the suitable moisture conditions now pre- 

 sent; the salts in the sea water naturally assisted in 

 keeping the sample moist. In the third case, to which 

 a similar accident had befallen, the rubber was becoming- 

 very heated owing to fermentation (N.B. The rubber 

 consisted of lower grades, bark, scrap, etc., containing 

 a comparatively large percentage of extraneous matter) 

 set up probably by micro-organisms or their enzymes, 

 on account of suitable moisture conditions. As would be 

 expected, these micro-organisms develop readily in freshly 

 machined rubber which is rolled together, since the 

 moisture escapes more slowly then when the rubber is 

 hung or placed immediately on racks. Mr. Sharpies, 

 Assistant Mycologist in the Department of Agriculture, 

 Federated Malay States, has found the addition of 

 formalin to the latex to be of great value in reducing 

 the development of these fungi and bacteria; the formalin 

 is retained in sufficient quantity in the machined rubber, 

 even in crepe which is subjected to much washing, either 

 by adsorption or combination possibly with the protein 

 constituents. Drying in an atmosphere of carbon dioxide 

 may also be recommended, and may be carried out, as 

 suggested before, by burning charcoal fires in the drying 

 room, since most, if not all, of these organisms are 

 aerobic, i.e., unable to live in an atmosphere deprived 

 of, or deficient in, oxygen. In the case of sheet, smoking 



