486 



The Supplement to the Tropical Agriculturist 



Rapidity in effecting coagulation is 

 generally desirable from the planters' point 

 of view ; in several instances the change 

 was completed within twelve to thirty 

 minutes from the moment the latex arrived 

 in the factory, thus saving a great deal of 

 time when compared with the more general 

 methods on the majority cf other estates. 

 On plantations where rapid coagulation was 

 effected and vacuum driers used, the latex col- 

 lected in the morning was converted into dry, 

 hot rubber before the end of the day's work, 

 This rapid conversion of latex into dry rubbber, 

 was with one exception, only se9ii on properties 

 where vacuum driers were in use. The excep- 

 tion was on Gikiyanakanda. Ceylon, where Mr 

 Golledge, by means of very simple apparatus, 

 succeeded in turning out dry rubber within 

 twelve hours without the use of any appliance so 

 complicated as a vacuum chamber. 



On nearly every estate coagulation was effected 

 by means of acetic acid ; instances were, how- 

 ever, met with where planters, in order to over- 

 come the reputed objections cf certain manu- 

 facturers against the use of chemical reagents, 

 had allowed the latex to ferment and coagulate 

 without the addition of any reagents. Needless to 

 add, the Para rubber so prepared had a most 

 diabolical, putrid smell, and clear, white, mother 

 liquor was being thrown away as waste though 

 it contained large quantities of rubber. Several 

 planters, with a view to obtaining uniform pale 

 rubber, were steeping the greatly-coagulated 

 and rolled rubber in hot baths and using only 

 hot water between the rollers. So much then 

 for the more important processes on the planta- 

 tion. Now let us discuss that very debatable 

 subject, viz : — 



Distance in Planting. 

 I visited rubber estates varying in age from 

 three months to thirty years, examined rubber 

 trees on alluvial, rocky, gravelly and swampy 

 soils and walked many miles over flat and billy 

 estates ; 1 now hesitate, more than ever, to give 

 any specific recommendations as to the best 

 distance to adopt in planting Fara rubber 

 estates. Each property requires special con- 

 sideration and the planter on the spot is 

 generally the person best qualified to ad- 

 vise on this point. Estates were seen where 

 the trees were planted 10 feet apart, that 

 distance providing more space for roots 

 and branches than the rubber trees will ever 

 require ; on other properties a distance of 15 by 

 30 feet had been covered in eight years, and it 

 would even have been better if the trees had 

 been thinned out many years ago to prevent 

 present overcrowding. But such a difference 

 in distance means a large difference in the 

 number of trees on even a small estate. 



Most people think it reasonable to pay more 

 for a property with a half a million than for 

 one with only 50 thousand trees, especially 

 when the plants are on the same estate and 

 of exactly the same age. To prove that every 

 tree on a widely-planted estate (30 by 30 ft.) 

 is worth ten on the closely-planted property 

 (10 by 10 ft.) may be a little difficult though 

 it is more often than not, quite a safe asser- 

 tion to make. 



The value of a rubber estate is not determined 

 alone bythe number of trees but by the available 

 bark for tapping and the recuperating powers of 

 the trees. What the widely-planted estates 

 lack in number, they generally make up in 

 increased thickness and area of bark. Closely- 

 planted Para trees are characterised by long, 

 spindly stems, thin bark, low yield of rubber 

 per square foot of bark excised and slower bark 

 renewal. The trees on widely-planted estates 

 have usually short and thick stems, thick bark, 

 and renew their tissues rapidly. In a general 

 way one may say that the thinner the bark the 

 higher is the cost of rubber production on the 

 estate. All that I wish to say now is that if a 

 soil is so poor that a distance of 10 by 10 feet is 

 ample for the trees, I would not care to invest 

 money in it. If funds are forthcoming and one 

 is prepared to wait for many years before re- 

 ceiving a substantial return on his capital outlay 

 he might plant Para trees even 30 feet apart and 

 be acting wisely; 20 by 20 and 30 by 15 feet ap- 

 peared, however, to be gaining favour in the rich 

 soils of Klang, Java and Sumatra, where finan- 

 cial as well as forestry considerations were kept 

 in view. 



Sufficient has now been said to indicate the 

 general estate methods adopted today in the 

 East. We can now consider how much money 

 has been invested and what has been obtained 

 for it. 



Capital Involved. 



Planting developments have not stopped and 

 appreciable increases in estate acreages can be 

 expected during the next few years, especially 

 in Java, Sumatra, Borneo, and New Guinea, as 

 well as in Western areas. But for the purpose 

 of this discussion I wish you to assume that 

 only 350,000 acres now planted, or are about to 

 be planted, in the East are of any consequence. 

 Suchan acreage means that you have, on the 

 general basis of each acre costing only £30 per 

 acre when in bearing, the equivalent of 

 £10,500,000 already earmarked. Acid to this the 

 higher cost incurred on many properties, the 

 money locked up in unplanted land which often 

 forms a large part of many Eastern estates, that 

 invested in plantations in Africa, West Indies, 

 Tropical America, etc., and you arrive at a sum 

 quite large enough to arrest the attention of 

 financiers in this and other parts of the world. 

 What the total capital invested in Eastern rub- 

 ber plantations alone will be ten years hence, I 

 leave you to predict. 



Latest PlantedAckeages. 



Though I have mentiond 350,000 as a num- 

 ber representing the acreageeplanted in the East 

 it is as well to bear in mind that the most 

 recent returns show that there is a prospect of 

 the total being much nearer half-a-million than 

 the above figure, if all the rubber yielding 

 species are considered and account is taken of » 

 planting operations to which may companies 

 have committed themselves. Messrs. A M & J 

 Ferguson, Colombo, recently gave the following 

 estimate of planted acreages : — Ceylon 180,000 

 acres; Malaya, 150,000; Java, 58,000; Sumatra, 

 23,000; Borneo, 7,000; India and Burma, 28,000; 

 or a total of 446,000 acres up to date. It must 

 not be expected that the whole of the lands 

 planted will come into bearing, though, from 



