120 



ticable. To attempt anything less than this would be to court 

 disaster as the amount of dirt and moisture could never be regulated 

 in parcels of different origin. This is not the only reason why it 

 would be advisable to prepare a rubber as pure as possible which 

 an analysis would give say Rubber <;8% and Resin 2%. To do 

 this the freshly coagulated latex would have to be washed on a 

 14 rubber washing machine " and upon arrival could go straight into 

 manufacture, i.e., on to the mixing machines. Let us approximately 

 see what the extra value would be on this product as compared 

 with u Fine Para " (d) 4s. 6d. This price of 4s. 6d. is for a product 

 which loses 5 % in washing and then only contains 94% of rubber, 

 and to bring it to this state of so-called purity, it has to be softened, 

 washed and dried representing say seven days' work at a cost ol 

 about 6d. per lb. A simple calculation would bring a properly pre- 

 pared rubber, as suggested above, up to a value of about 6s. Be- 

 sides this there is of course the saving in freight to be taken into 

 consideration which would be as much as 19%. 



Will the manufacturers give u< a proportionate advance lor our 

 ultra-line material ? Undoubtedly to start with they would not; 

 firstly it would be something quite new and untested, and secondly 

 there would not be sufficient, quantities coming forward at first. It 

 is equally certain that this anomaly would not last long and that 

 after a time our produce would commend itself and once and for 

 • ill disassociate itself from the jungle product, which could only 

 be to our advantage. 



Would washing the. rubber add materially to its cost of prepara- 

 tion ? I do not think it would; washing does' not require much 

 labour and the greater ease with which "washed sheeted rubber"' 

 can be dried would compensate us for the cost of the machine and 

 labour. As a matter of fact it is almost impossible to dry biscuits 

 unless very thin, as the outside hermetically seals them up making 

 it impossible to dry the inside. 



It is of course obv ious that with dry rubber there can absolutely 

 be no question of loss of weight in Europe. 



Rubber prepared scientifically is capable of being kept for a con- 

 siderable period without deterioration which at times may be most 

 useful on a bad market. 



I could enumerate many other points but neither space nor time 

 are further at my disposal. Whatever one's opinions may be this is 

 certainly a matter for discussion, it being of great importance to 

 planters and I would suggest that, at the forthcoming Agricultural 

 Show to be held in Kwala Lumpur next July, a meeting should be 

 called of those interested in the production of crude rubber to 

 thoroughly thrash this matter out as it is one of vital consequence 

 to the future of the rubber industry in this countrv. 



Before concluding 1 would like to make it quite clear that my 

 suggestion as to uniformity in the preparation of rubber onlv refer:- 

 tothe treatment and lias nothing whatsoever to do with its disposal 



F, PEAKS. 



