558 



The Supplement to the Tropical Agriculturist 



THE RUBBER INBUSTRY ANB ITS 

 PROBLEMS. 



Colombo, Nov. 8th. 



Dear Sik, — The interesting letter over the 

 initials E. N., in your November number 

 attracted my attention, as does most correspon- 

 dence on matters appertaining to rubber. Mr. H. 

 A. Wickham was a friend of mine, and it is not 

 eighteen months ago that I spent a matter of a 

 month in his company. "Rubber" was naturally 

 the topic that we generally discussed. He, 

 like myself, was never of the opinion that the 

 quality of the latex was the most material point 

 in obtaining high quality rubber, but that the 

 preparation, or the method of coagulation, was 

 the prime— in fact, almost the only— factor. 



Although it may be true that there are twenty 

 different species of Hevea, — that possibly clima- 

 tic conditions and difference of soil may com- 

 pletely alter the conditions of the trees ; yet 

 I do not believe this has anything to do with it. 

 It must not be imagined that the Amazonian 

 savage picks out his trees; be gathers from where 

 best he can and as speedily as he can. Old trees, 

 young trees, any kind of tree will suit him ; and 

 within but a short distance of each other — I am 

 told by Wickham and two others — more than 

 one species of the Hevea grows. It is the pre- 

 paration that counts. Elasticity is a minor 

 point with the manufacturer, for nine-tenths the 

 articles made of rubber are to all intents and 

 purposes inelastic. Apart fiom which, rubber 

 has the peculiarity of gaining in quality if kept 

 under proper conditions. The essential points 

 to a manufacturer are • — non-liability to decom- 

 pose, no tackiness and no likelihood of its de- 

 velopment. No " stickness " and possibility to 

 Istick to the rollers of the masticator — the least 

 loss possible in washing, 1 would as an ex- 

 ample point out that Para extra fine and Negro- 

 heads might come from the same trees, but 

 the one is carefully cured— the other not. 



Unlike the purchasing of plantation rubber, 

 wild rubber is purchased under the hammer 

 by a mere description by name. It might be 

 on the water, might be still in South America 

 when bought. Or if purchased through a broker, 

 the same wide description is given. Each pur- 

 chase is not tested or compared. — Its chemical 

 composition not argued ; its elasticity not cali- 

 brated. Whether it has one per cent more carbon 

 or not, is not part of the contract, &c, &c. 



Ceylon planters are entering into minute 

 scientific questions that are neither commer- 

 cial nor of interest to the manufacture' - . All 

 he wants is a rubber that arrives like rubber, 

 not like treacle ; that .will pass through the 

 rollers like rubber not like half-dried tar ; that 

 will rest in the store room for ten years, if 

 necessary, and come out like rubber and not 

 like putrified jam. He tests " nothing " ; he 

 buys from past experience of how certain rubbers 

 have behaved in the course of manufacture. He 

 knows from whence they come and how they 

 took. He has given each variety a name and 

 he buys by '•■name." And he will place his 

 order by merely stipulating the name— although 



he may not, and in fact rarely does, see the 

 goods till months after. The manufacturer hsa 

 exploited the planter for his own purposes. 

 The planter does the harder part of the manu- 

 facturing. The produce is good enough to the 

 manufacturer for a specific purpose. But 

 for the great majority of rubber articles it is 

 useless, for it is difficult to pass through the 

 rollers, to handle, and decomposes in keeping. 

 Unless plantation rubber is sent home, properly 

 cured, properly formed to gain in quality, etc., it 

 must be its own competitor and never touch 

 even the fringe of the Para market. 



When once the method is found, then it would 

 be of interest to the planter to demand legisla- 

 tion to prevent the exportation of rubber other 

 than that prepared under approved methods, 

 for it must be remembered that : — 



"Rubber is bought by the manufacturer from 

 knowledge from whence it comes." Nothing 

 else counts for his processes ; he forms it— from 

 ebonite to elastic strands. That is his art. I em- 

 phatically say the process is a simple one, and is 

 economical, speedy and sure. — Faithfully yours. 



D.M.W. 



CANBLE MAKING IN MABRAS. 



A NEW INDUSTRY. 

 The South Indian Candle Works have opened 

 a factory in Triplicane. The machinery, which 

 has been imported from Japan, is very simple 

 and can be worked by any one. The material is 

 melted and poured into a conduit whence it 

 runs into tubes of the size of the particular kind 

 of candle to be manufactured. There is a cool- 

 ing apparatus underneath, by means of which 

 water is admitted to cool the mixture. After 

 the candles have cooled sufficiently they are 

 forced out by the turning of a crank, and per- 

 fectly moulded candles appear. Each machine 

 is capable of turning out forty candles at a time, 

 and the factory is now able to turn out monthly 

 500 cases, each containing 200 candles. 



The enterprise is not swadeshi, as the stearine, 

 which is the principal composition of a candle, 

 is imported from Europe, while the other main 

 ingredient, wax, is obtained from Rangoon. 

 The factory is able to turn out candles which 

 seem to be of good quality and sell them below 

 the cost of the imported article, and if the 

 stearine could be manufactured locally, the 

 price would be still less. There is no reason 

 why this should not be done, as the raw pro- 

 ducts necessary for the manufacture of stearine, 

 chiefly ground-nuts, are to be had almost at out- 

 doors. The proprietors of the works are at 

 present confining their attention to one brand, 

 called the ' Bhrat stearine.' Mr H Anantasubra- 

 manya Iyer, the managing partner and expert, 

 is a native of Travaneore, and having completed 

 a course of study in the local Engineering Col- 

 lege, proceeded to Japan and specialised in 

 candle-making. The industry is one which 

 should have, literally, a bright future before it 

 and wo wish it every success,— M. Mail, Nov 16, 



