and Magazine of the Ceylon Agricultural Society. 



491 



old tree ; ' does not date back as far as i860 and 

 hence would be several decades younger than 

 many of the clove trees in the Weti district of 

 Pemba where our oldest trees are to be found. 

 A red spotted fungus is found upon the leaves 

 of our trees, but it is quite harmless even to 

 check the growth of the clove tree here. The 

 vitality of the clove tree in these islands is quite 

 extraordinary when one remembers it is an 

 exotic plant. Save where the trees have been 

 killed outright, even the lato drought seems to 

 have done little harm, the plantations abound- 

 ing with new growth. — Zanzibar Gazette. Aug. 29. 



THE RUBBER INTEREST IN MALAYA. 



In moving for increased representation of 

 Malaya Planters in the Straits Legislature Mr 

 C L Gibson, at the P. A. M. meeting of Oct. 

 5th, brought forward the following figures : — 

 1. Capital Invested. 



(Very incomplete— rubber only.) 

 Paid up F.M.S. dols. 21,483,353 



Straits ( Colony ) 3,734,100 

 Johore 1,942,543 



dols. 27,160,056 



Hay liols. 30,000,0(10 probably all in 3 years £3,500,000 



2. Aceeage Under Rubber. 



(Kxclusive of Johore ami the Colony.) 

 At end of 1907 Kubber 126,235 acres 



Coffee 10,833 „ 



Sundries 24,695 ,, 



161,763 „ 



Of above, rubber in 1907 alone, 40,473 acres, i.e., 1-3 in 

 single year. 



3. Export Rubber from F. M. S. Only. 



(Not including .fohore and Colony.) 



1906 1,028,792 lb. = 460 tons. 



1907 1,984,285 „ =885 „ 

 6mos. 1908 1.3-12,158 „ =617 „ 



to 31st Dec. ; say 1,300 tons. 



4. Doty Paid. 



(F.M.S. only.) 



1906 dols. 50,023 



1907 97,750 



6 mos. 1908 52,000 to 31st Dec, say dols. 115,000. 



Depreciated market first six months: now rising. 



5. As Employers of Labour 



and so contributing indirectly, but still considerably to the 

 Revenue. Malay Peninsula, 75,000. 



F. M. S. Total Labourers end of 1907, 5S,n00, of which 

 Tamils and Javanese = 55.000 ; large increase 1908. 



6. Valde of Rubber Exported. 



(3 States as per declaration Government Gazette.) 



1906 dols. 1,855,436 



1907 3,882,000 

 6 mos. 1908 2,080,000 



EXPORT OF CAMPHOR FROM 

 FORMOSA. 



The following particulars as to the distribution 

 of the camphor exported from Formosa in 1907 

 are given by British Consul Chalmers :— 



To Havre, London 



and Hamburg. To America. To Madras. Total, 



lb. lb. lb. lb. 



2,452,933 1,635,300 33,33:'. 4,121,506 



Of this amount 1,079,733 lb. (1,046,400 lb. for 

 America and 33,333 lb. for Madras) were shipped 

 by local steamers from Keelung for tranship- 

 ment at Kobe. Thus no camphor was ultimately 

 destined for Japan. It is reported that there 



has boen a largo increase in the camphor mana- 

 factured by the camphor monopoly in 1907 as 

 compared with 1906, the figures being 5,388,918 

 lb., as against 4,040,838 lb„ an increase of 

 1,348,080 lb. By the latest returns the produc- 

 tion of camphor oil shows an increase of over 

 85 per cent in 1907, being; 6.710, 3901b., as against 

 3,610,645 lb. in 1906. Hitherto all the camphor 

 oil has been shipped to Kobe to be converted 

 into refined camphor, but 



a refinery is to be erected 

 in Taihoku, the capital of Formosa, at 

 a cost of about £14,001), and in future the cam- 

 phor will undergo the necessary process there. 

 It is said that a new method of distillation has 

 been recovered, and that by this method as well 

 as by the saving of expense in transport a con- 

 siderable economy will be effected. — Indian 

 Trade Journal, Oct. 8. 



RUBBER TANNED LEATHER. 



A new syndicate has established a factory 

 and is placing upon the market a new form 

 of leather, for which there seems to be a big 

 future. It is an .old saying that "nothing- 

 wears like leather," while rubber manufacturers 

 are equally confident respecting the wear- 

 resisting properties of good india-rubber; but 

 when we get a satisfactory combination of the 

 two materials the problem of wear-resisting pro- 

 perties seems to be still further advanced towards 

 the attainment of a perfect material. Although 

 new in this country, this material has been 

 manufactured in Australia from the beginning 

 of the present century, and some very excellent 

 results obtained. 



The leather is submitted to a tanning process 

 of the chrome variety, which preserves it; rubber 

 solution is then worked into the interstices, 

 rendering the hide thoroughly waterproof. The 

 elasticity of the rubber permits of the perfect 

 flexibility which is unobtainable in ordinary oak 

 bark tanning. We inspected a number of skins 

 of various animals treated by this process, and 

 were astonished at the extraordinary toughness 

 of some of the skins, especially of rabbit, goat 

 and sheep skins. 



It is impossible to forecast the many uses for 

 which this process may be available. Tests have 

 been made for motor tyres, soles for boots and 

 shoes, pump washers, machine bolting, miners' 

 boots, etc., and we feel certain that the multi- 

 tude of articles that can be made of rubberised 

 leather will, in time, create a further demand 

 for rubber for use in connection with the leather 

 trade for articles now made solely of leather. 

 As an instance of the possibilities of this mate- 

 rial, we would suggest that suitable waterproof 

 gloves could be made for motorists, tramway 

 drivers, electricians, etc. 



We feel sure that this material will prove 

 useful for motor and cycle tyres, as it is almost 

 impossible to puncture it, and it is much more 

 resilient and waterproof than ordinary leather. 



Those interested in this trade should apply to 

 the Rubber Tanning Syndicate, at Finsbury 

 Pavement House, London, E.C.— 7 ndia- Rubber 

 Journal, Sept. 21. 



