55 



to the particular smoke used, viz. that obtained from the 

 fruits of the Urucuri palm (Attalea excelsa) but this' does 

 not appear to be extensively used, and it is quite possible that 

 the smoke of many other palm-nuts, e.g. (coco-nuts) would 

 answer equally well. The real advantage of smoking most 

 probably lies in the method of coagulation. This was de- 

 scribed by Dr. P. Schidrowitz.* "The method of smoking 

 "and drying one thin layer upon another in endless suc- 

 cession may, in my opinion, be compared to the manu- 

 facture of wirewound artillery. It is well known that the 

 "strength of a gun which is built up by tightly winding 

 "wire round a core in much greater than that of a solid 

 "cast or forged mass, A great part of the physical 

 "strength, if I may so put it, of fine Para is due, in my 

 "opinion, to this method of coagulation by concentric 

 "layers." 



No doubt there are other factors than the method of 

 coagulation which enables Brazil to market the finest grade 

 of rubber, and I suggest that the dominant one lies in the 

 short tapping period during the dry season, i.e., at a time 

 when the latex contains the minimum percentage of water 

 per se. 



It is not claimed by manufacturers that " fine hard 

 Para" always reaches the market in perfect condition. It 

 is well known that the latices of several plants are used for 

 mixing with that of Hevea braziliensis — I was also in- 

 formed that none of the latex whether from young or old 

 trees is kept separate — but it is asserted that any of these 

 difficulties are more easily disposed of with Brazil I ian than 

 with plantation rubber, where the latex of trees of different 

 ages have been mixed. 



Plantation Rubber. 



Plantation rubber is still in its infancy and the output 

 compares with Brazilian rubber as follows: — 



Country 



1905 



1906 



1907 



Tons. 



Tons. 



Tons. 



Ceylon 



75 



147 



248 



Malaya 



130 



385 



936 



Brazil 



34,490 



38,000 



36,470 



