November, 1909,] 



397 



Saps and Exudations. 



soluble matter were all rather excessive. 

 It was valued at about 3s. per lb., with 

 fiue bard Para at 4s, 3£d. per lb. 



Zanzibar.— Small samples of Para and 

 Castiiloa rubbers experimentally pre- 

 pared in Zanzibar were received for 

 examination. 



The Para rubber was of very good 

 quality but contained a fair amount of 

 vegetable impurity and a little more 

 resin than usual. 



The Castiiloa rubber was of very re- 

 sinous nature containing only 77 per cent, 

 of caoutchouc and 20 5 per cent, of resin. 

 No information was available as to the 

 age of the trees from which the specimen 

 was obtained. The samples were too 

 small for valuation. 



Cape Colony.— A specimen of coagulat- 

 ed latex received from Cape Colony was 

 found to contain 64 percent, of resin, and 

 would, therefore, have very little, if any, 

 commercial value. It was probably 

 derived from a species of Euphorbia. 



Rhodesia. — A sample of Ceara rubber 

 from North Eastern Rhodesia proved to 

 be of inferior quality on account of the 

 large percentage of sand which it con- 

 tained ; otherwise it was of normal com- 

 position. It was valued at Is. 8d. per lb., 

 with fine hard Para at 3s. 5|d. per lb. 



A specimen of so-called rubber was 

 also received from Southern Rhodesia. 

 It proved to be a resinous product, 

 resembling the material obtained from 

 species of Euphorbia in South Afiica. 



Seychelles.— Specimens of Para and 

 Vahea rubber were received from 

 Seychelles for examination. 



The three samples of Para rubber were 

 obtained from a small number of trees 

 under five years old, but of considerable 

 size. The rubber was very satisfactory 

 in composition, comparing favourably 

 in this respect with Para rubber from 

 Ceylon and the Federated Malay States, 

 but was deficient in strength. The 

 latter defect. was probably chiefly due 

 to the fact that the rubber had been 

 obtained from young trees. From the 

 results of the chemical examination, 

 however, there appears to be every 

 likelihood that the Para trees in 

 Seychelles will yield excellent rubber as 

 they become older. 



The Vahea rubber, derived from a 

 climbing plant introduced from Mada- 

 gascar was ot good quality, the best 

 specimen containing 91 per cent, of 

 caoutchouc, but the cost of preparing 

 the rubber in a clean form is practically 

 prohibitive. 



Jamaica.— A sample of the rubber of 

 Forsteronia floribunda, a climbing plant 

 occurring in Jamaica, was found to be of 

 good quality, containing 88"8 per cent, 

 of caoutchouc. It was valued at 2s, 4d. 

 per lb., with fine hard Para at 3s. 5£d. 

 per lb, 



British Guiana.— The rubber obtained 

 from Sapinm Jenmani in British Guiana 

 has been carefully investigated in order 

 to determine its composition and 

 value. A number of specimens, in 

 the form of biscuits, scrap block, and 

 ball, have been analysed, and the 

 results show that the rubber is of 

 very good quality so far as chemical 

 composition is concerned. The percent- 

 age of caoutchouc recorded range from 

 87 to 92 per cent., and of resin from 2*0 to 

 4"2 per cent. ; the best specimen contain- 

 ed 92 - 4 per cent, of caoutchouc, to 2 per 

 cent, of resin and 2*8 per cent, of proteid. 

 The following valuations were obtained : 

 Scrap block from 2s. 4d. to 3s. per lb.; 

 balls 2s. 6d. per lb. ; and the best 

 biscuits 3s. 6d. per lb., with fine hard 

 Para at 3s. 5£d. per lb. There is, there- 

 fore, no longer any doubt that the rub- 

 ber yielded by this tree is of excellent 

 quality if carefully prepared. 



A sample of Balata from British 

 Guiana was of very good quality, con- 

 taining 50*7 per cent, of gutta and 44'8 

 per cent, of resin. The percentage of 

 gutta is higher than that usually re- 

 corded for Balata. The specimen was 

 valued at 2s. 2£d. per lb. The latex of 

 the Bastard Bullet tree was found to 

 yield a product containing 70 6 per cent, 

 of resin, therefore differing widely in 

 composition from true balata. 



Portuguese East Africa.— Specimens 

 of Ceara, Landolphia, and Mascaren- 

 hasia rubber from Portuguese East 

 Africa proved to be of good quality, 

 whilst the products obtained from 

 Ficus sp., Landolphia florida and Diplor- 

 rhynchus mossambicensis were of re- 

 sinous nature aud of little or no value. 



An examination has also been made 

 of Bitinga tubers {Raphionacme utdis) 

 and the rubber they furnish. The 

 partly dried tubers as received con- 

 tained from 1*10 to 1*5 per cent, of rubber, 

 corresponding to a yield of 9 3 to 11*6 

 per cent, from the dry material. The 

 sample of prepared rubber was of very 

 fair quality, but was rather sticky and 

 contained a considerable amount of 

 vegetable and mineral impurity. Trials 

 are being made to ascertain whether 

 the tubers of this plant, which is stated 

 to flourish on poor soils not adapted to 

 other rubber plants, can be profitably 

 utilised as a source of rubber. 



