i8 5 



GUTTA RAMBONG (PICUS ELASTICA) IN 

 MALACCA. 



On the 22nd of December last I was privileged in company with 

 Messrs. PEARS and HUDSON and our host Mr. Tan Chay Yan to 

 take part in an experiment of tapping some Rambong trees, be- 

 longing to Mr. Tan Chay Yan. 



The Rubber trees in question are situated on the Bukit Lintang 

 Estate some four miles from the town of Malacca ; where Mr. Tan 

 Chay Yan has planted up an area of some 60 acres, originally with 

 coffee, but latterly with Rubber. There are now on this Experi- 

 mental Estate some 2,000 Rambong and 4,000 Para Rubber trees, 

 the oldest of which are five and a-half years old. The Estate lies 

 on a low hill, the soil for the most part being of a gravelly nature, 

 except at the bottom which is of a rich mould, and where the 

 finest trees both of Para and Rambong were found. I was inform- 

 ed that the majority of the Rambongs were raised from seeds 

 obtained from Sumatra; a few, however, were raised from cuttings, 

 and I must confess I could see little or no difference between the 

 two. There are certainly two varieties there however, one having 

 much larger leaves than the other, and a more drooping habit. 

 The one having smaller leaves, I was told by the Chinese Mandore, 

 gave the best supply of latex. How these varietal differences ori- 

 ginated it is difficult to say, that is supposing they are not distinct 

 species, which can only be accurately determined when they fruit. 

 One of the objects of our visit was to try a Centrifugal machine 

 belonging to Mr. PEARS. It is called the "Beta" Rubber Machine, 

 and was obtained from T. Christy & Co., 25, Lime Street, 

 London. The machine consists of a tin cylinder 2' 4" tall, the 

 bottom part 16" high and 10" in diameter being the broadest, the 

 top part is narrowed into a neck 6" in diameter. On the extreme 

 top is fixed the handle connected with two cog wheels, working 

 at right angles, which actuate a thin shaft 5" long to which four 

 blades are attached. At the bottom of the neck of the cylinder 

 is a brass wire sieve of extremely fine mesh, dividing it from the 

 broad part of the cylinder below. The capacity of the upper part 

 or neck is about three or four pints, and into which the latex is 

 poured. The modus operandi — according to the printed instruc- 

 tions accompanying the machine, is first to mix the latex with 50% 

 of water, "then pour the latex into the upper part of the machine 

 or washer, turning the handle quickly. Have an assistant to pour 

 in water continuously, so as to wash the latex through the wire 

 gauze sieve which is fixed in the base, until the lower vessel is 

 full." At the bottom of the machine is a tap for drawing off the 

 water and leaving the rubber on the surface ; the rubber is 

 removed by pouring it into sieves in a semi-liquid state out of a 

 wide mouthed aperture situated at the top of the broad part of the 

 cylinder for that purpose. 



We started the experiment with mixing one and a-half imperial 

 pints of pure Rambong latex with an equal quantity of water and 

 poured it into the machine, and following the instructions as just 



