Nov. 1906.] 



875 



Saps and Exudations. 



that if we send home our stuff in blocks which are obtained by hydraulic or any 

 other pressures from a mass of 'latex, this cry of tackiness and lack of nerve in our 

 rubber will immediately cease. 



"I may say that the examination of this piece of rubber took place some 

 weeks before anybody knew Mr. Pears was preparing rubber in block form ; and, 

 of course, the rubber I am speaking of lias a perfectly different appearance from 

 block rubber prepared by Mr. Pears which, I understand, is quite clear. But it 

 is analogous in every way except lor its excessive freedom from impurities, such 

 as pieces of bark, with the Para which the Amazon sends to the market, and which 

 I have seen in large quantities in the rubber factories in America. I propose, 

 directly I get home, to submit this lot to every conceivable test through Messrs. 

 Gow, Wilson and Stanton, who have got a laboratory specially put up to deal with 

 questions of this nature, and as soon as I have completed the report on it I shall 

 communicate it probably to Ceylon as well as to the Straits with Mr. MaeGreg >r's 

 permission." 



Mr. Carey's idea is that the latex should be strained and coagulated, smoke 

 perhaps being used as an antiseptic and as much moisture as possible expressed, 

 aud then pressed into blocks. He points out that when the demand for plantation 

 rubber for solution is supplied, the market for the Eastern product will depend 

 upon its strength and resiliency ; and even although they may have to pay a little 

 extra freight for sending some more moisture home, it is better to do this if extra 

 qualities that will commend it to the buyers, such as strength and resiliency, can 

 be obtained. 



RUBBER CULTIVATION IN SAMOA. 

 The Consular Report on Samoa for 1905 contains the following account of 

 the rubber industry there :— 



The Samoa Caoutchouc Company, Berlin, capital £75,000 and upwards, has 

 commenced operations on a large tract of ground at Saluafata, 12 miles from Apia, 

 and has planted out many thousand seeds of Hevea. Rubber cultivation being 

 an entirely new thing ha Samoa, it is impossible to make a positive and certain 

 forecast regarding it, but in the opinion of some it offers greater advantages than 

 cacao or coco-nut planting. That Castilloa will grow here is quite certain ; but 

 until tapping has begun and the yield can be approximately ascertained, it is 

 impossible to say whether this or any other rubber tree will yield sap to the same 

 extent as is the case in their natural habitat ; but, as conjectured above, this culture 

 appears to be likely to yield, in any case, a profitable return on the capital invested. 



Mr. T. Andrew furnishes the following report :— 



' In 1904 I supplied your yearly report with a few remarks on the cultivation 

 of Hevea brasiliensis in Samoa. Since then the trees have grown rapidly ; not so 

 much in height as in girth — they are just six years old from the seed. Measuring 

 twenty-five consecutive trees at 3 feet from the ground, the largest tree measured 

 24i inches in circumference ; the average of the whole was 17J inches. Considering 

 the fact that these trees have been entirely uuder native supervision, with the 

 exception of occasional visits of the owners, it may reasonably be expected that, 

 on plantations laid out by companies and under proper supervision, the trees will 

 present a more promising appearance than do the above uuder the conditions stated. 



' The measurements are by no means insignificant when compared with 

 those made at the experimental gardens of the different districts of the zone of 

 rubber culture. The trees in question are planted 15 by 15 feet among cacao trees, 

 at an altitude of 1,100 feet above the sea. The aspect is favourable, and the distri 

 button of rain is more even than on the low-lying lands which have the same aspect. 



