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treatment that it will undergo when manufactured. We are 
assured by many that there is extraordinary variability in the 
real quality of rubber, and to back up this assurance we have 
a number of specific, scientific, well-regulated experiments, and 
there really is no doubt whatever—I do not think anybody can 
have any doubt—that there is a great variability shown in the 
real quality of plantation rubber; and we have to get over that 
in some way or other. I am speaking as a practical producer 
of rubber. One way would be to produce a rubber which does 
not vary. Now is that a question of practical politics? All 
planters will agree with me, I think, that itis not. The estates 
vary in their equipment from place to place, and it is impossible 
to ask one company to sacrifice machinery on which they may 
have spent £10,000 or £12,000. It is impossible to get all 
rubber turned out in a uniform way; it is impossible to get all 
rubber prepared, coagulated, or treated in the field in the same 
way. I do not think, again, it is a matter of practical politics 
for us to insist upon any agreement at present between the 
growers of Plantation rubber to do any one thing uniformly. 
There are too many growers, and there are too many different 
systems in vogue at present. We cannot ask them all to send 
their rubber home all alike. How, then, should we go to work 
to get over this practical question of variability? In my 
opinion, gentlemen, variability is an advantage to plantation 
rubber, as long as itis known. It is unknown variability which 
is the curse. If a manufacturer knew what his rubber would 
be like, and knew that he would get a certain specific differ- 
ence in specific grades, the fact of there being so many grades 
would surely be an advantage. But the difficulty we are 
labouring under at present is that we do not know where the 
variability lies. One rubber may be good; another rubber 
looking like it may be bad. The two are not distinguishable 
by appearance, and as they are bought by appearance the people 
who sell naturally suffer. I am sure, gentlemen, our only 
practical way of dealing with this question of variability is to 
measure it and disclose it before the rubber is sold. 
The Prestpent: I do not know whether any of our foreign 
delegates would like to say anything on the scientific side of 
the question before we pass to another aspect. 
I was going to suggest that it might be convenient at this 
point to ask Mr. Williams if he has anything to say with regard 
to the criticisms which have been made on one or two points 
in connection with his statement. 
Mr. W. A. Wittiams: Mr. President and Gentlemen— 
There is one point which I would like to make clear. Judging 
from Dr. Rideal’s remarks, I apparently gave the impression 
that our reason for discarding crépe rubbers was owing to 
