32 



The Supplement to the Tropical Agriculturist 



grade sells at a premium over others at any 

 particular auction does not prove that this 

 grade is above all others sought after by manu- 

 facturers, but it is far more likely to indicate 

 that there has been a temporary shortage of the 

 favoured variety. 



Preparation. 

 Duringthe year steady progress has been main" 

 tained in the method of preparation of the rubber 

 on the estates, and now that most of the proper- 

 ties which are producing any large quantity are 

 equipped with efficient up-to-date machinery, 

 manufacturers are able to rely on a more even 

 standard of quality being kept up, which is of 

 the utmost importance. Our answer to the 

 question in what form the rubber should be 

 prepared is, and has always been, that form in 

 which large quantities can be most economically 

 and quickly made so as to give the best and 

 most uniform quality of rubber with the mini- 

 mum of handling. In practice it is generally 

 agreed that the gride best fulfilling 

 these conditions at the present time is 

 medium thick light crepe, whilst the prices 

 realised for such rubber, when the quality 

 has been uniform and maintained, have 

 always compared favourably with any 

 other variety, especially when the economy 

 in handling and drying large quantities in this 

 way is taken into consideration. Now that it 

 is generally understood that rubber must be 

 handled as little as possible in the making of 

 crepe, any prejudice which may have existed in 

 a few quarters against it when first introduced 

 has been entirely overcome. By far the larger 

 proportion of Eastern rubber now comes for- 

 ward in this form, the method of preparation 

 being so well adapted to the treatment of scrap, 

 etc., as well as first quality latex, and the re- 

 latively high prices which have consistently 

 been paid for the low descriptions when well pre- 

 pared have borne ample testimony to the appre- 

 ciation in which this preparation is held by the 

 manufacturer. 



Smoked Rubber. 



Considerably larger quantities of this variety 

 have been shipped. When the rubber has been 

 very carefully and evenly treated, good prices 

 have been realised. This process requires very 

 thorough supervision and attention, and no ad- 

 vantage has been gained by the use of it in- 

 discriminately. A few excellent samples have 

 been seen of well smoked crepe, but the value 

 of this grade has been seriously affected by par- 

 cels of scrap crepe, etc., unevenly cured by 

 smoking and not thoroughly dried. It is dif- 

 ficult for buyers to satisfy themselves that the 

 rubber when smoked in this form is from the 

 first latex owing to the darkening effect of the 

 smoke, consequently the good lots have suffered 

 to some extent forthe bad ones. 



A really efficient process of directly curing the 

 latex by the agency of smoke is what is required. 

 Some progress has been made in this direction, 

 but the system has not yet reached a com- 

 mercial stage. 



Drying. 



We consider that the process of preparation 

 which has up to now received far too little 

 attention, especially in the Malay States, is the 

 drying of the rubber. 



Great economy in time and preparation can 

 be effected by a simple arrangement of heat and 

 forced draught and excellent results are now 

 being got in this way. Whereas with the old 

 form of hand-made sheets and biscuits two 

 months was no unusual time for drying, this 

 operation can now be much better carried out 

 in a few days with the use of crepe machinery 

 and a simple method of hot air and fan drying. 



The amount of costly accommodation that will 

 be required by large estates to cope with in- 

 creasing crops if the drying is to take several 

 weeks, makes it obvious that means must be 

 immediately adopted to hasten this process. 

 Exports of Plantation Robber from Malaya 

 and Ceylon, 1910-1911. 



Port Swet- 

 tenham 

 tons. 



1910 3,482 



1911 3,490i 

 (to loth " 



September) 



Singapore 

 tons. 



Penang 

 tons. 



Ceylon 

 ions. 



Total 

 tons. 



1.696.$ 977| 1,465 7,521 



2 411 1,811* 2.211J 12,750 



(to 9th (to 31st (to eth (esti- 



November) October) November) mated) 



Receipts at Para during the last Six Seasons. 



Tons. Tons. Tons. 



1901- 02 29,997 I 1905-06 34,710 I 1909-10 39.130 



1902- 03 28,190 j 1906-07 37,810 | 1910-U 37,500 



Receipts from July to December for the last 

 Seven Years. 

 Tons. Tons. Tons. Tons. 



1905 14.690 1906 14,680 1907 14,240 1908 15,765 

 1909 ie,600 1910 15,855 1911 14,690 (part Dec. estimated.) 



The London Market. 

 Much progress has been made during the 

 year with a view to the standardisation of 

 qualities tenderable under market contracts, 

 the trade being fully alive to the fact that 

 every facility must be provided for the smooth 

 and efficient arrangement of the business, so 

 that London shall retain its premier position 

 in the market. 



It will be seen from the tables (not reproduced) 

 that the proportion of the total crop actually 

 handled in the London Auctions has steadily in- 

 creased, in spite of the additional amount of 

 forward coutract business also transacted here ; 

 thus whilst in 1908 little more than one half of 

 the supply came under the hammer, in 1911 the 

 proportion has increased to approximately 

 three-quarters. 



A large volume of business in crops for 

 delivery all through 1912 has been put through, 

 and the total weight of Rubber involved must 

 mount to a very considerable figure. 



DRY AND WET CYCLES IN CEYLON. 



1911 VERY" DRY IN LOW COUNTRY AND 

 VERY WET IN THE HILLS. 

 The complete Colombo tables of Rainfall 

 recorded at the Fort, near the seaside, and at two 

 miles farther East in the Stock Garden, for 1911 

 have now been published. The results are, in the 

 first case, 58*26 inches against the 42 years' 

 average of 82'91 inches, a deficiency of 24 65 

 inches, although nearly 13 inches better than 

 the disastrously low fall of the previous year, 

 1910, which was 45-6. At the Stock Garden the 

 fall in 1911 was 65 - 46 against an average of 93 - 90 

 inches. The Fort : s rainfall of 45 - 6 inches in 1910 

 was the lowest recorded in the 42 years since the 



