June, 1912.] 



487 



Saps and Exudations. 



Next day it was rolled out by a bottle to 

 about one-quarter of an inch thick, 

 washed and placed in a drying room. 

 When dried it was ready for the market. 



The exhibition was opened in Septem- 

 ber, 1906, and here, for the first time, 

 was brought together all that was known ' 

 of the various processes connected with 

 plantation rubber. It may be mentioned 

 that the gold medal for the best biscuits 

 was won by Ceara rubber biscuits 

 grown at an elevation of 3,500 feet. 

 During this exhibition papers were read 

 and discussed t hat dealt with every phase 

 of the important industry and a mass of 

 information was recorded that was of 

 importance for all rubber growers. 



This first exhibition showed how much 

 remained to be investigated, not alone 

 in the propagation of the trees and in 

 the chemistry of the latex, but also in 

 the effects upon the trees, of the different 

 modes of tapping and the means to be 

 taken for combating the pests of various 

 kinds that began to present themselves. 



Hundreds of thousands of acres were 

 taken up in India, Ceylon, Malaya and 

 Java for rubber plantations;, Africa was 

 exploited east and west ; Central America 

 was examined with a view of cultivating 

 Ceara and other rubber trees, and South 

 America, the original home of the Hevea, 

 Brasiliensis, was being searched from 

 the Atlantic to the Pacific for locations 

 likely to attract investors ; when it was 

 proposed that an exhibition should be 

 held in Londou, in which all countries 

 interested in this now colossal business 

 should join in mutual inquiry and 

 friendly competition. The industry had 

 advanced with extraordinary rapidity, 

 and there seemed to be no bounds to its 

 expansion in Europe and America, 



The proposal received an enthusiastic 

 response from all parts of the world. 

 The exhibition was held at Olympia in 

 London, from the 14th to the 26th of 

 September, 1908, and contained exhibits 

 of all existing forms of rubber, while 

 practical planters, and scientific experts 

 from east and west, vied with each other 

 in friendly interchange of opinions, and 

 valuable discussions of the papers read 



before the International Conference 

 during the twelve days of the exhibition. 



The result was considered very satis- 

 factory. The exhibition had brought 

 together producers and manufacturers 

 from the East, from Europe and the 

 United States of America, and brought 

 under the notice of investors, possibil- 

 ities hitherto not appreciated while 

 the rapid giowth of demand assuaged 

 the fear of over production. The collo- 

 cation of the papers submitted to this 

 conference and edited by Dr. Spence, 

 P.H.D., P.I.C., shows within its 300 pages 

 how wide a field was covered by the 

 discussions, and how valuable were the 

 facts and experiments thus placed at 

 the disposal of the conference. At the 

 close of the exhibition, it was felt that 

 these International Exhibitions and Con- 

 ferences of men engaged in the great 

 industry so rapidly expanding into a 

 position in the first rank of world's 

 commerce, ought to be continued, where 

 the fellow workers of every nation might 

 draw from a common store of know- 

 ledge, experience useful to all, and help 

 each other forward in their efforts to 

 increase the supply of Nature's products 

 for the benefit of mankind. 



It was decided that an exhibition 

 on the same line should take place in 

 1911, and it was felt especially that the 

 manufacturers should be invited to 

 participate, in the hope that fuller indi- 

 cation might be given of the particular 

 form in which plantation rubber should 

 be presented to the market. Much had 

 been done since the first Caylon exhibi- 

 tion, but in the range of caoutchouc 

 producing plants there was much still 

 to be learned, as also in the process of 

 securing the latex at the least cost to 

 the health of the trees, and in its pre- 

 paration as crepe, blanket, sheet or 

 block for the market. Vulcanization is 

 also a vital process on which the last 

 word has not been said; while the con- 

 sumer is invited to contemplate new 

 uses that may add materially to his 

 comfort and possibly decrease his expen- 

 diture in the future. 



This third exhibition was held at the 

 Agricultural Hall in London, from June 



