Nov. 1906. J 



369 



Saps and Exudatioyis. 



THE PREFERRED FORMS OF PLANTATION RUBBER. II. 

 By C, K. Smithett. 



The relative qualities of the different grades of rubber put on the London 

 market has been dealt with by Mr. Brett very ably ; so I should like to say just a 

 few words as to the form of rubber we should like you to send us. So far you have 

 consigned to the home market an article which has gained a reputation for its 

 purity ; and the present premium above Para, although it is not now at the very 

 high point obtained early in 1905, is due to the purity of Eastern plantation rubber. 

 So the first point I wish to impress on you is to maintain the reputation you have 

 gained for yourself. In one feature, at any rate, fine hard-cure Para is superior to, 

 in most cases, plantation rubber from Ceylon and the Federated Malay States, and 

 that is in strength. The question I put before you is this. How can you obtain that 

 strength without reducing the present very high standard of purity ? It is essenti- 

 ally a question for planters to answer, and the solution can only be obtained by 

 experimenting. The able scientists you have here will, I am sure, do their utmost to 

 help you. 



TAPPING IMMATURE TREES. 



Do you tap your trees too early ? Remembei, in the forests of rubber in the 

 Amazona districts trees are very often not tapped until they are over 30 years old, 

 to take a very moderate figure. I believe that some of the rubber in this Exhibition 

 which received the highest awards was from trees 10 to 15 years old ; and the 

 other day we were shown rubber from trees from Henaratgoda about 30 years old 

 which showed a very good tensile strength as far as can be ascertained without proper 

 appliances. Plantation rubber is as yet in its infancy, but it is never too early to 

 begin trying to improve. Bad reputations are difficult to be got rid of; so do not 

 let your rubber acquire a reputation of being weaker than fine hard-cure Para. 



We in London look forward to the day in the near future, when plantation 

 rubber will be one of the predominant features in the market, but strength is a 

 necessity. I mention this question, as we all in London want Eastern plantation to 

 supplement Avild rubbers, at any rate, to a very substantial degree. 



I suppose the question which we have been asked most frequently, since we 

 ha ve been in this island, is what form do we want rubber sent to London in. I think 

 we are all agreed on this point. 



BLOCK RUBBER. 



Let us see some more block rubber. But a word of warning ; block rubber is 

 still a new idea, and while the shipments from Lanadron estate have realised 2d. to 

 2§d. per lb. above fine plantation, it is not an established fact that if all plantation 

 rubber came in block form, that you will all obtain a higher range of prices. 



SMOKED PLANTATION RUBBER. 



The samples of smoked rubber which we have seen have interested us 

 greatly. We look forward to further experiments in this direction, an essential 

 part in the preparation of fine hard-cure Para, so samples of the rubber cured in a 

 very similar manner would be of great interest. 



Buyers are now getting used to fine crepe, but still some leave it alone ; but I 

 think fine crepe will sell well when all the trade will buy it. I do not think that 

 manufacturers are prepared to accept estate washing as sufficient for manufacturing ; 

 so perhaps some planter will answer this question. Does the time saved by making 

 crepe justify the loss in weight in the washing process? Inferior grades of crepe 

 were, when we left London, under a cloud and difficult of sale, buyers not being able 

 to estimate the amount of the impurity in it ; but from recent reports I gather 

 that the demand is improving somewhat. 



