and Magazine of the Ceylon Agricultural Society. 



279 



Tliese practical illustrations will probably bo a 

 revelation to many, for in the case of the terms 

 pallidus they will see that the queen is well 

 over two inches in length, while the soldiers of 

 the same variety are only about a quarter of an 

 inch long. Again, some of the specimens of 

 nests to be exhibited are of special interest, 

 some of the honey-comb patterns being very 

 dainty and well marked. In this connection a 

 section of a fairly large rubber tree, riddled by 

 termtts gestroi (white ants,) is being shown, and 

 also a nest, oval in shape, and about double the 

 size of a Rugby football. This is constructed of 

 mud and consolidated by means of some sub- 

 stance which, we believe, the ants exude for the 

 purpose. 



Tapping Rubber. 

 Section of rubber trees, tapped in various 

 ways, are to be shown to illustrate what are the 

 right and wrong methods, and as far as we can 

 see, no doubt should remain after seeing them 

 that the old spiral system some of the elaborated 

 berring-bone ones are fit only for abandonment. 

 The rubber tree needs a continuous How of life- 

 oiving matter down the whole length of its 

 stem, and anything in the nature of the spiral 

 system that tends to check this, must be dbtri- 

 raontal to its yield of latex. One specimen to be 

 shown will illustrate a system whereby the tree 

 is tapped on one of four sides every year, thus 

 ensuring complete tapping in the requisite 

 period of four years, while ensuring rest to the 

 outer layers during three-quarters of the period. 

 This, it is believed, will be the system that will 

 ultimately meet with general adoption. 



In addition to the above, the diseases that 

 attack the branches of rubber trees are also to 

 he dealt with, and particularly interesting 

 specimens are to be shown of the right and 

 wrong methods of cutting off injured members, 

 the fine of argument to be followed being, in 

 the first place, that clean cutting is advisable to 

 avoid the encouragement of fungus growth ; and 

 in the second, thac lopping should be done as 

 close to the stem as possible.— Malay Mail, 

 Aug. 5. 



BRAZIL RUBBER VALORISATION 

 SCHEME SHELVED. 



The high prices at present ruling have indefinitely 

 shelved the Brazilian rubber valorisation scheme ; pro- 

 ducers are too happy to bother about it. 



The above statement is the substance of 

 the reply made to a representative of the 

 India-Rubber Journal by a well known London 

 importer of rubber who had been approached 

 regarding the state of Brazilian feeling towards 

 the valorisation scheme. In fact " Brown's dog 

 is dead ; high feeding killed it." From an eco- 

 nomic point of view, the question to be asked 

 is whether if the scheme had been adopted in 

 the times of moderate rates, the price of rub- 

 ber would be lower now. As we view it, the 

 ideal valorisation scheme— that is the best for 

 all parties, supposing interference with natural 

 laws to bo justified — would aim at an ap- 

 proximate equalisation of prices ; extremes 

 would be avoided, and the effect upon prices 

 of the recurring depression and revival 



of genoral industry would bo minimised. If 

 this were the definition recognised by those 

 responsible for the rubber valorisation scheme, 

 it would have been their duty, supposing as we 

 have said that the scheme had been adopted in 

 the times of moderate prices, to have essayed 

 the task of keeping the quotation within reason- 

 able limits. Now, 



IN THE FACE OF INCREASING CONSUMPTION 



and stationary or (possibly) decreasing supply, it 

 is extremely improbable that the partakers in 

 the scheme would have had the means to do this; 

 further public opinion does not at present credit 

 them with the will. Taking into consideration 

 the fact that syndicates adopting the scheme are 

 promised the financial assistance of the Banco 

 do Brazil it is, however, just possible that the 

 scheme mieht, in times of falling consumption 

 be made to operate in favour of the producers by 

 maintaining prices above the minimum. Thus if 

 increase in prices cannot be checked, though de- 

 crease can be to some extent alleviated, the scheme 

 from the standpoint of the producer exemplifies 

 the time-honoured principle, ''Heads I win, Tails, 

 you lose.'' It is not in human nature, certainly 

 notin Brazilian human nature — by which we in- 

 tend no innuendo —for the seller to manipulate 

 a scheme favouring the buyer. At the precise 

 point where the advantage ceases to be on his 

 side, he will drop it. This leads to the conclu- 

 sion evident enough to be taken as an axiom, 

 that arrangements mutually affecting buyer and 

 seller should not be solely controlled by either. 

 In other words the ideal valorisation scheme to 

 be carried out properly must be under the joint 

 management of the producer and the consumer 

 or (better) of an outsider. For such a scheme 

 we will have to wait a long time ; to carry it out 

 would require a commercial organisation far in 

 advance of present attainments. In the mean- 

 while we must struggle along with the old laws 

 of supply and demand. 



A Rubber Congress. 

 A rubber congress will be held at the town of 

 Senna Madureira, on the Upper Purus, on the 

 8th August. The exploitation of rubber and the 

 various aspects of "valorisation" are to be dis- 

 cussed. — India-Rubber Journal, July 26. 



PLANTATION RUBBER IN AMERICAN 

 FACTORIES. 



By Dr. Philip Schidrowitz. 

 During a recent visit to America I had the 

 privilege of seeing a number of leading factories 

 and also some of the chief Government Insti- 

 tutions. I was much struck by the cordial and 

 open manner with which I was received in the 

 various works and by the ready permission 

 granted to inspect practically anything that I 

 wished to see. . . I was astonished at the appa- 

 rently very large quantity of Guayule employed 

 in the American works. Most of it seems to be 

 in semi-purified loaves containing 20 to 3U per 

 cent, of resin. There is also a commercial article 

 purified to 2 to 3 per cent, of resin, but I did 

 not come across much of this. It will be of in- 

 terest to people on this side to know that rubber 

 manufacturers in the States are very favourably 



