and Magazine of the Ceylon Agricultural Society, 



487 



RUBBER IN THE KALUTARA 

 DISTRICT. 



BlliEF NOTES ON A RECENT TRIP. 



(Contributed.) 



The Kalutara District deservedly won its 

 reputation as being the leading rubber district 

 in Ceylon, and although the Kelani Valley 

 is now perhaps the leading district, considered 

 from the point of view of acreage planted, yet 

 Kalutara still maintains its position in all 

 other respects. In Kalutara are the oldest 

 plantations and some of the best equipped 

 factories, and more rubber is probably pro- 

 duced there than in any other single dis- 

 trict. It was, therefore, to Kalutara, as 

 the most prominent district that a small 

 party interested in rubber went at the 

 end of last week. Several places were to be 

 visited, or rather it should be said re-visited, as 

 the ground was new only to one of the party. 

 Few estates of any age and size where rubber 

 is a leading string have not been visited at one 

 time or another by Mr. Herbert Wright, svho is 

 spending a few busy days in the island during 

 his trip to the East, and he was well able to 

 make interesting comparisons during this trip. 

 Mr. de Bois Maclaren, proprietor of the India 

 Rubber Journal, whose name is wellknown 

 in Ceylon as a Director of several big Com- 

 panies and a man keenly interested in 

 rubber planting, had not previously visited 

 the Kalutara district ; but after his recent 

 lengthy tour through the Malay State, Java 

 and Sumatra he is quite conversant with Mid- 

 Eastern conditions, and it is interesting to 

 hear that he is 



VERY FAVOURABLY IMPRESSED 



with the general condition of Ceylon planta- 

 tions and the Kalutara district especially. Mr. 

 Maclaren, as a practical man with large inter- 

 ests in the rubber plantation industry, looks at 

 everything from the thoroughly business point 

 of view, and he has full confidence in the rub- 

 ber proposition as exampled in this district on 

 the well-managed estates visited ; but it should 

 be noted Mr. Maclaren is dead against highly 

 capitalised places and speculation in rubber 

 properties. He regards as the proper limit for 

 bringing rubber into bearing £30 per acre ; at 

 this rate the investment is sound and fair 

 returns may be looked for. 



A short visit was paid to St. Ar.drew's 

 estate, lying alongside the road, a nice little 



totum of some J.30 acres of tea and rubbor, 

 recently sold by Mr. Beling, the proprietor, 

 and probably appearing undor a new name in 

 the next Directory. 



Mr Massy was not at home as we passed Clyde 

 estate, but just after he was met on the road. 



Culloden Estate 

 was the next visited. This is the crack- property 

 of the Rosehaugh concern, and the tine hill sides 

 clothed in rubber give tine promise far future 

 big dividends. There is not much change in 

 tapping methods, etc., since Mr Wright's last 

 visit ; but factory methods have been improved. 

 Biscuits and sheet are things of the past 

 on Culloden, now nothing is turned out but 

 crepe ; fine pale amber crepe, fairly thick, but 

 perfectly free from moisture and tackiness, in 

 three grades. 



The Rubber Factory, 

 all on one floor, is almost a model 

 one. Robinson's machinery is in use— Mr <J 

 O Macadam, the Agent in Ceylon, find 

 ing these machines very popular— and the 

 rubber is all rapidly dried in an Emil 

 Pasburg vacuum drier. Some complain of the 

 difficulty of working these driers ; in Culloden 

 it seems simplicity itself ; and the long bands of 

 crepe are made and dried within a few hours of 

 the arrival of the fresh latex at the factory. 

 Coagulation in big pails is very quickly effected 

 by acetic acid, and the rubber is then straight 

 away put into the washing and creping ma- 

 chines. Herring-bone tapping seems in favour, 

 and many of the larger trees are being worked 

 over the renewed bark, which is giving capital 

 yields. 



Gikiyanakande Estate 

 was the next on the programme. Most of the 

 rubber fields are closely planted and a large 

 amount of rubber is rapidly coming into 

 bearing. The scaffolding for a large now rubber 

 factory is already up, and this is being built 

 to Mr Golledge's own design. At present all the 

 rubber, nearly 20,000 lb. last year, was made in 

 the tea factory and with the couple of small 

 machines there it is surprising that this big 

 quantity could possibly be turned out. With 

 Gikiyanakande estate and its Manager one, 

 of course, associates 'worm' rubber. This has 

 found good favour with the trade in England 

 as shown by the fact that all the rubber is 

 disposed of at what the sellers think it should 

 fetch. In the sales list, published regularly in 

 the Observer, worm rubber is often seen marked 

 " bought in"; this is always privately disposed 

 of after at the best rates. Mr Golledge has 



