80 



The Supplement to the Tv.opical Agriculturist 



PARA RUBBER SEED. 



The prices which are obtainable at the present 

 time for Para Rubber seeds for planting pur- 

 poses beiug so high, other means of disposing 

 of them are not necessary, but with hundreds 

 of thousands of trees becoming seed-bearers the 

 supply of seed for planting will soon bo in 

 excess of the demand. The commercial value of 

 the seed of Hevea braziliensis has up to the 

 present been rated on the amount and quality of 

 the oil it possesses. This oil is similar in its 

 character to Linseed oil andfor the manufacture 

 of paints, varnishes, etc., and other purposes for 

 which Linseed oil is U6ed Para seed oil compares 

 favourably. The following analysis of Para seed 

 oil shews its composition which in comparison to 

 Linseed is as good or better in everything except 

 in Iodine value : — 

 Specific gravity at 15° C ... 0'9303 



Free, fatty acids — Acid value ... 10 - 7 

 Calculated oleic acid ... 5 - 4 per cent 



Ester value ...195 4 



Neutral oil ••• 94'6 



Saponification value 

 Iodine value 



... 206-1 

 ...128-3 



The oil has not yet been obtained in sufficient 

 quantities for its qualities to be adequately 

 tested, but manufacturers have offered a price of 

 £10 to £12 per ton for decorticated seed in good 

 condition. In older to estimate the weight 

 which may be expected per acre or per 100 trees, 

 I weighed in Ceylon a large number of seeds 

 between 7,000 and 8,000, and found the average 

 weight of each seed to be 3-20ths of an oz. or 111 

 seeds to 1 lb. The shell of the seed has as far as 

 we know at present no commercial value and in 

 order to save bulk it should be removed before 

 shipping. It has been found that the loss in oil 

 in decorticated rubber seed during transit to 

 Europe is very little. To find the relative weight 

 of shell and kernel, I carefully weighed a few 

 average seeds, and after taking the shell off 

 weighed shell and kernol separately. The relative 

 weight of kernel to shell is found to be 59 - 7 or 

 approximately 60 per cent. 



WEIGHT OF HEVEA BR AZILIE.V SIS SEED, COTYLE- 

 DONS AND SHELL. 



1 



2 



3 



4 



5 



6 



7 



8 



9 

 10 

 11 

 12 



Totals . 

 Averages 



Gr. 



3- 18 

 514 



4- 26 

 4-41 

 4'19 

 4 '46 

 3-50 

 3-86 

 3'14 

 3 21 



3- 2d 



4- 65 



47-2SH 

 3-938 



Gr. 



1-69 

 1-84 

 1-63 

 1-70 



1- 33 



2- 05 

 l-6i 

 1-96 

 1-41 

 1-48 

 1-35 

 1'89 



19-88 

 1-656 



O 

 Gr. 



1'58 

 3-28 

 2-61 

 2-70 

 2-86 

 2-41 

 1-85 

 1-89 

 1-73 

 1'72 



1- 9' 



2- 49 



27-02 



|-3| 



- Q £ 

 ® ~~" — . 



Per cent. 



50 



66 



62 



61 



68 



62 



53 



49 



55 



53$ 



58-'.'8 



53-J4 



The following will enable an estimate to be 

 made of probable profits from this source : — 



111 Para Rubber seeds = 1 lb. 

 12 432 „ ,, 1 cwt, 



248,640 ,, „ 1 ton. 



The kernel i.e. the decorticated seed is 60 per 

 cent of the total weight of seed, therefore 414,400 

 seeds will make a ton of decorticated seed. At 

 400 seeds i.e. 133 fruits to the tree 414,400 seeds 

 will be the crop of 1,036 trees which at 193 trees 

 to the acre, i.e. 15 feet apart, is the produce of 

 5.4 acres. One acre will therefore give 3 cwts 79 

 lb value £1 17s' or $15'88. Cost of putting on 

 market : — 



Freight 40s per ton (say dollar 18) 

 Collecting at 4 cents per 1,00C per ton 

 Decorticating, per ton 

 l acking, per ton 



dollar, c. 



18 ('0 



18 64 



2 50 



15 00 



54 14 



Value on market £10 to £12 (say dollar 93'50 



s. c. £11) 93 50 



Cost of putting on market 54 14 



Total net profit per ton 39 36 



that is 5'4 acres give dollars 39'36 profit i.e. dollar 7'00 

 per acre. 



In these prosperous times when rubber profits 

 are calculated by hundreds of dollars per acre, 

 the discussion of anadditional profit of $7 per 

 acre may seem trivial, but since the seed cannot 

 be allowed to remain in the ground and must be 

 removed, some steps must be taken to deal with 

 it. When a constant and large bulk of rubber 

 seed is sent to Europe it is possible that the 

 price of this commodity may increase very con- 

 siderably and become an item of importance in 

 the profits of a rubber estate. The value of the 

 seed for cattle cake has not yet been estimated, 

 the seed is greedily eaten by animals and has a 

 high nutritive figure. 



Consignments of the present crop decorticated 

 and with the shell on are being sent home by 

 the Department of Agriculture and the market 

 values and condition of these on reaching Europe 

 will be made the subject of a further note. 



J. B. CARRUTHERS. 

 —Straits Agriculture Bulletin for Nov. 



5-97 



