tJums, Resins, 



132 



5. The cause of this action on the part of the buyers was not easy to 

 determine. No pretence was made that the rubber after washing was injured 

 or made inferior to "biscuit," or that it would be less readily accepted by 

 users of plantation rubber, and no explanation other than the statement that 

 washed rubber was not wanted could be obtained from the objectors themselves. 

 An explanation of the disapproval which seems reasouable, supplying as it does 

 a personal motive, was obtained later from indirect sources. Raw rubber is 

 not bought direct by the manufacturers at auction, but from the "buyers." 

 The latter buy in bulk and divide their purchases into lots of different qualities 

 (usually into three) and sell this regraded rubber at different rates, making a 

 substantial profit on this transaction. A rubber of standard quality, uniform, 

 clean and pure such as crepe or plantation-washed rubber offers no opportu- 

 nity for this sorting and grading process, and the profit derived from dealing 

 in it would be less. A further possible explanation is that with a pure rubber 

 of uniform quality an opportunity for direct buying on the part of the users 

 of the material would be afforded. 



manufacturers' views of plantation rubber. 



6. By all the manufacturers a keen and lively interest is shown in plantation 

 rubber and in the prospect of being able to obtain rubber of fine quality from 

 the Bast. The immediate need is for quantity, and exaggerated views of the 

 amount that is to be expected in the near future from plantations were prevalent. 

 No inclination to deal directly with the producer in small lots of a few tons 

 was shown by any of the larger manufacturers, the difficulty beiug that the 

 supply would be too small and irregular to justify any departure from methods 

 of buying already in practice, and added to this is the fact that plantation 

 rubber is of a different quality and grade from any other in the market, and 

 it requires treatment different in detail in practical working; that the rubber 

 should be clean, dry, and free from mechanical impurity is essential, and in 

 these respects plantation rubber has already gained a considerable reputation. 

 That it should be free from any trace of softening or stickiness is still more 

 important, rubber which is "tacky'' in the slightest degree cannot be relied 

 upon in practical use. Unfortunately there has been a considerable amount of 

 rubber showing this defect of softness with a sticky and tacky surface, produced 

 on plantations, and these samples have tended to injure materially the reputa- 

 tion of plantation rubber. 



7. The form in which the rubber is exported — whether in sheets, biscuits, 

 crepe (washed rubber), or worms, as produced in Ceylon — is not a matter on which 

 the manufacturers expressed any very decided opinions. As long as the rubber is 

 evidently dry and clear enough to show by inspection the absence of any mechanical 

 impurity, the precise shape and form of the rubber is considered of comparatively 

 small importance, although preference for rubber in the form of crepe was shown 

 by some, and all with one exception were agreed that it Avas as good a condition for 

 packing and exporting rubber as any. The fact that crepe rubber has been sub- 

 jected to a washing process is not at present regarded by the manufacturers as of 

 much advantage. Plantation washed rubber for ordinary purposes need not be 

 re-washed and re-sheeted, but this same advantage applies also to clean biscuit, 

 sheet, or worm rubber. For special purposes all forms of raw rubber would be 

 re-washed in the factory. The advantage of crepe rubber would be felt Avheu larger 

 bulk of it is put irpon the market, because greater uniformity of quality and appear- 

 ance could be maintained. Up to the present this has riot been of practical import- 

 ance in dealing with small parcels of a few tons or fractious of tons, but it would be 

 a distinct advantage to have perfect uniformity when dealing with large bulk and 

 regular shipments, and this is secured by the mechanical washing arid mixing in 



