460 



offers no opportunity for this sorting and grading process and 

 the profit derived from dealing in it would be less. A further 

 possible explanation is that with a pure rubber of uniform quality 

 an opportunity for direct buying on the part of the users of the 

 material would be afforded. 



manufacturers' views of plantation -rubber. 



6. By all the manufacturers a very keen and lively interest is 

 shown in plantation rubber and in the prospect of being able to 

 obtain rubber of fine quality from the East. The immediate need 

 is for quantity, and exaggerated views of the amount that is to be 

 expected in the near future from plantations were prevalent. No 

 inclination to deal directly with the producer in small lots of a few 

 tons was shown by any of the larger manufacturers, the difficulty 

 being that the supply would be too small and irregular to justify 

 any departure from methods of buying already in practice, and 

 added to this is the fact that plantation rubber is of a different 

 quality and grade from any other in the market, and it requires 

 treatment different in detail in practical working ; that the rubber 

 should be clean, dry, and free from mechanical impurity is essen- 

 tial, and in these respects plantation rubber has already gained a 

 considerable reputation. That it should be free from any trace of 

 softening or stickiness is still more important, rubber which is 

 " tacky " in the slightest degree cannot be relied upon in practical 

 use. Unfortunately there has been a considerable amount of rub- 

 ber showing this defect of softness with a sticky and tacky surface, 

 produced on plantations, and these samples have tended to injure 

 materially the reputation of plantation rubber. 



7. The form in which the rubber is exported — whether in 

 sheets, biscuits, crepe (washed rubber), or worms, as produced in 

 Ceylon — is not a matter on which the manufacturers expressed 

 any very decided opinions. As long as the rubber is evidently dry 

 and clear enough to show by inspection the absence of any 

 mechanical impurity, the precise, shape and form of the rubber is 

 considered of comparatively small importance, although preference 

 for rubber in the form of crepe was shown by some, and all with 

 one exception were agreed that it was as good a condition for 

 packing and exporting rubber as any. The fact that crepe rubber 

 has been subjected to a washing process is not at present regarded 

 by the manufacturers as of much advantage. Plantation washed 

 rubber for ordinary purposes need not be re-washed and re-sheeted, 

 but this same advantage applies also to clean biscuit, sheet, or 

 worm rubber. For special purposes all forms of raw rubber would 

 be re-washed in the factory. The advantage of crepe rubber 

 would be felt when larger bulk of it is put upon the market 

 because greater uniformity of quality and appearance could be 

 maintained. Up to the present this has not been of practical 

 importance in dealing with small parcels of a few tons or fractions 

 of tons, but it would be a distinct advantage to have perfect uni- 

 formity when dealing with large bulk and regular shipments, and 

 this is secured by the mechanical washing and mixing in bulk 



