123 



Tensility is said to be increased by pulling the rubber about, and 

 stretching it in various directions, which may have been done in one 

 case and not in the other. I am inclined, however, to think that age 

 of trees has most to do with the tensility. 



In view of the far higher prices obtained for Ceylon and Malay 

 rubbers over Para, the statement that "the opinion of 'the' manu- 

 facturer is against the higher priced article" hardly seems valid. It 

 rather depends on what kind of manufacturer is writing. It is easy 

 to understand that Brazilian Para rubber may be just the thing re- 

 quired by a manufacturer of one class of goods, while East Indian is 

 preferred by another. 



RUBBER SALES 



We have received a letter from HECHT Levis and Khan stating 

 that four cases of Para rubber sent from the Botanic Gardens, 

 Singapore and made during the course of the experiments carried on 

 last year and part of this year fetched "the excellent all round price 

 of 6/2 per lb." This, at the date at which it was sold, February 20, 

 is very satisfactory. Since that date, however, we hear of still higher 

 rises in price, 6/6 and 6/7 having been obtained for Ceylon and 

 Perak rubber. 



DEATH OF DR, C. WEBER. 



All interested in rubber will regret to hear of the sudden death 

 of Dr. Carl Weber which took place on January 14th. Dr. 

 Weber's work on the latex of Castilloa was the most important 

 contribution to the knowledge of the methods of preparation of that 

 rubber, and we had hoped that he would do shortly for Para rubber 

 what he has done for Castilloa, but these hopes have been sadly 

 frustrated. 



SANSEVIERA SEYLANICA. 



unusually large leaf of the Murva fibre plant, Sanseviera 

 Ztyianica, was brought to the office of the Botanic Gardens, Singa- 

 P or e, lately. It was a sample of a large quantity of similar leaves 

 found growing at Pulau Kukub, Johore, on the estate of SvED MO- 

 HAMMED Alsagoff. 



The leaf measures 5 feet 2 inches in length and 2 inches across. 

 The plants had in no way been cultivated, but had perhaps more or 

 less accidentally got into remarkably good and rich soil. Among 

 Sago palms. Sanseviera Zeylanica usually gives leaves of 3 or 4 

 feet length at most, but it is clear that in good soil it can attain a 

 much greater size. — Editor. 



