• and Magazine of the Ceylon Agricultural Society. 



559 



work in its behalf. The record prices prevai- 

 ling for rubber have stimulated the demand 

 for guayule, which is used by manufacturers of 

 mechanical rubber goods, such as matting, tiling, 

 etc. In present circumstances manufacturers 

 want a cheaper ingredient than .Para, and 

 they appear to favour guayule, which costs, say, 

 2s. Id. per lb, when Para prices are in the neigh- 

 bourhood of 9s. 



Guayule, as many of our readers are aware, is 

 a shrub. It grows on the sides of the otherwise 

 bare hills of Texas and Mexico and from it, by a 

 mechanical process, there is extracted about 12 

 percent, of guayule rubber. Already, the imports 

 from Mexico into the United States amount to 

 above 15,000,000 lb. in the year. It has been as- 

 serted that the Texas shrub will not yield as 

 large a percentage of caoutchouc as the Mexican, 

 but Mr Stayton has no doubt made careful esti- 

 mates as to the prospect of reaping advantage 

 from his new enterprise. One difficulty is that in 

 the production of the rubber the shrub is de- 

 stroyed, and the question of reproduction is one 

 about which conflicting opinions are held. Some _ 

 men claim that the shrubs they are now using 

 are fifty years old, and that this time will be 

 necessary for reproduction ; others even question 

 if the plant will reproduce itself ; yet others 

 hold that under cultivation guayule would yield 

 a very much lower percentage of rubber than is 

 obtained from the wild shrub. Perhaps, Mr. 

 Stayton will be in a position later on to throw 

 light on these points. — M, Mail, Nov. 8. 



A NEW RUBBER PLANT. 



"ASCLEPIAS STELLIFERA," SCHLECBT. 



Towards the latter end of last year herbarium 

 specimens of a plant, with a small sample of 

 rubber extracted from it by maceration, were 

 received from Mr. J Burtt Davy, Department of 

 Agriculture, Transvaal. The sample of rubber 

 was prepared by Mr. J Ivens Ferraz, Official 

 Translator to the High Commissioner of the 

 Transvaal, but was too small to admit of a com- 

 mercial valuation being placed upon it ; the 

 herbarium material, however, was sufficiently 

 complete to allow of its botanical origin being 

 satisfactorily determined. 



Asclepias stellifera is a native of South Africa, 

 growing from 3 to 10 ins. high, and, according 

 to Flora Capensis. is found in the coast region 

 at an altitude of 3,500 to 4,000 ft., in the 

 Kalahari region at 4,000 to 6,000 ft., and in ths 

 Eastern region at 8,500 to 4,500 ft. 



The rubber is yielded by the root, which is 

 stated to bo very long and perennial. The plant 

 has been found in hard ground on the veld, 

 struggling with all sorts of weeds, but thriving 

 better where no other plants existed. 



Upon comparing the specimens of the plant 

 sent with material in the Herbai aim, Mr. N E 

 Brown found that in the tissues of a root-stock 

 of a dried specimen collected 46 years ago, the 

 rubber contained in them was quite as elastic 

 as in the recently-collected material. Mr. Brown 

 also points out that as there are several other 

 species of Asclepias with much the same habit 

 as the plant in question, it is just possible that 



some of them may also contain rubber, but in 

 most cases the root-stocks are wanting in the 

 herbarium specimens. Subsequently nine larger 

 samples of the rubber were received from the 

 same source, and though few details bearing 

 upon the varied methods adopted to bring about 

 coagulation accompanied the samples, they were 

 submitted for opinion to Messrs. Hecht Levis 

 & Kahn, the well-known rubber experts, who 

 found only one sample, which had been obtained 

 from incisions without further treatment, to be 

 worthy of serious consideration. This sample 

 was found to be rubber of good quality and 

 would probably have realised at the time (14.4.09) & 

 about 4s. 6d. per lb. — J,M. H. — Keio Bulletin, 

 No. 8, 1909. 



RUBBER FROM THE BANANA. 



If what Mr Geo. C Benson, of Georgetown, 

 Demerara, says proves correct, there is a very 

 good time beforo the fortunate owners of Banana 

 plantations, but some practical demonstration 

 will probably be required before it will be gene- 

 rally conceded that one Banana tree will yield 

 from 5 to 71b. of marketable rubber. By the 

 way, good rubber is worth from 7/- to 8/- a 

 pound in London today. Writing to the Deme- 

 rara Chronicle, on 6th Aug., Mr Benson says: — 



" To dispel all doubt as to whether or not the banana is a 

 rubber-producing plant let the following simple plan be 

 followed : Cut one of the lower branches of a banana tree 

 near the trunk, and then let the falling juice drip either 

 into a wine-glass or into an egg-cup till it is about half full; 

 then let either the wine-glass or the egg-cup stand for about 

 six hours, after which moisten the fingers and take ott 

 the film that has formed on the top of the juice. If the 

 fingers are moist or wet, the film can be pressed and rubbed 

 between the fingers, and then a beautiful and pink-like ball 

 of very soft rubber will bo the result."- I am, Sir, etc, 

 GteoitGE C. Benson. 



Lot 102, Carmichael Street, Georgetown, Aug. Gth, 1S09. 



Mr Benson sends the Chronicle the following: 



"One mature banana tree will give from 5 to 71b. of 

 marketable rubber when it is properly admixed. The rubber 

 Ufully worth 60cts. per lb. All that the former now gets is 

 about 20cts. per bunch for his plantains or bananas." 



$ 



6 1b. of rubber at 60 cts. .. -3-60 



1 Bunch of bananas ... - 16 



3-76 



Less cost of admixing 61b. of rubber 

 about . . -36 ? 



Estimates about . . 3 - 40 



It would be interesting to hear what Mr J B 

 Carruthers has to say with regard to this. — 

 Proceedings of the Agricultural Society of Trini- 

 dad and Tobago, Sept., 1909. 



RUBBER IN PATANI, SIAHI. 



Mr Vice-Consul Wood, in his report for 1908, 

 says : Patani is now the only purely Malay 

 State remaining under Siamese rule. The Bri- 

 tish subjects probably number about 300, mostly 

 natives of India. The only foreign-owned rub- 

 ber plantation in Patani is near Bangnara. It 

 is owned by an Englishman, and was started 

 about four years ago. Reports with regard to it 

 are favourable. I venture to call the attention 

 of persons interested in rubber to the possibili- 

 ties of Patani as a rubber-producing country. 

 — h. & C. Express, Sept, 24. 



