822 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [June 1, 1904. 
and free from dirt and made up into nice 
loose cakes about 9 by 6 by 2 inches, that 
had an attractive look about them. Mr Macadam 
showed me a quantity of what he called ' very 
dirty scrap,' and said he was afraid to ship it, 
lest it might do harm to the good name Cejlon 
Rubber has at home. Now, that's just the right 
spirit in which planters must continue to regard 
Ceylon rubber : don't on any account spoil Ceylon's 
reputation, and so send only the best produce. But 
this 'very dirty scrap,' (which is obtained on 
every estate, and is the droppings from the in- 
cisions on the bark and on the soil at the foot of 
the tree) need on no account be wasted. Tons of 
rubber as bad or even worse than this are shipped 
to the markets every year, and this scrap will also 
find a ready sale. Mous. Collet advises that it 
should not be sent as Ceylon Rubber, or even 
' Ceylon dirty scrap,' have it marked simply " x x," 
for instance, and then no harm will result to the 
Ceylon rubber industry. 
ST. LOUIS SAMPLES. 
Mr Macadam showed me several special samples' 
part of a lot of biscuits and scrap cakes he made 
specially to send to the St. Louis Exposition and 
show there as Pure Ceylon Para Rubber. The 
fluctuations of the market are curious ; why should 
Heatherley mark not get as high prices as Cullo- 
den, seeing there was no difference in the rubber ? 
The only explanation it seems is that Heatherley 
was at the top of the list at the late sales when 
the record prices were obtained (5/3| per lb.), and 
there was slightly more competition afterwards 
when C'uUoden cases came under the hammer. 
Leaving Heatherley I made my way to Narchupane, 
where Mr R Morison was my host. Several new 
clearings for rubber were noticed en route. One 
that arrested particular attention was a clearing 
on a hill above the tea on Glanrhos, 
' THE EOCKY BROW OF THE HILL 
— at a distance it seemed nothing more than a 
steep mass of stones and boulders and the last 
place in the world for a rubber plantation — had 
been cleared of the jungle and young hevea stumps 
planted throughout. These stumps certainly looked 
very well, and from what I have seen of older 
heveas in somewhat similar situations I have no 
doubt they will do well, and that Mr. J P Dove 
will never regret having made this clearing. I 
may mention that on the previous day en route 
to OuUoden we noticed this particular clearing in 
the distance, and Mons. Collet remarked, " It 
would certainly not be an investment for me. It 
seems quite a paradox." But M. Collet did not 
then realise the qualities of Ceylon soil in such 
situations, and since then he has told me that 
It seems to him that Hevea will grow under 
almost any conditions, The trees on Narthupane 
looked splendid. By the roadside is a clearing 
and nurseries on what looks like very sandy soil, 
probably washed down there and on a yellow 
clay substratum. The rubber trees are planted 
on mounds with drains between. A kangani 
on Narthupane, who seems to be of an observant 
turn of mind, informedMr Morison that rubber liked 
that sandy soil " and would do well in this 
plantation ; and this seems borne out by the trees 
there. On Narthupane Mr Morison has a splendid 
lot of albizzias ; this is certainly a handsome 
tree when full grown, and there they are to 
perfection. On this estate there are also a few 
trees of 
FICUS ELASTICA, THE GUTIA EAMBONG, 
but not being tapped at all. I see by a recent 
account in the Ceylon Observer that there are 
one or two plantations of gutta rambong in Ceylon, 
at Moorock and Elston etc. I don't think the 
tree will be planted much, however. Less is known 
about it in Ceylon and when planters know they 
have a good thing in Para they are pretty sure 
to stick to that. Besides, it is probable that where 
gutta rambong will grow hevea will also, and as 
the latter fetches higher prices it is the better 
tree for planting. I believe gutta rambong does 
well in the Straits. Baron Krausskopf is largely 
interested in a huge gutta rambong planta- 
tion of 800,000 trees in Laut-Tador, near Deli. 
On another Deli plantation Mr Runge has been 
been getting 43 per lb for the rubber. Ficus elas- 
tica may be reproduced by seeds which quickly 
germinate, by cuttings, or by layering. Dr. Van 
Ivomburgh in his work on caoutchouc and gutta- 
percha trees says ficus elastica is often planted 
(m Sumatra) at a height of 4 metres on forest 
trees, in a bamboo receptacle containing soil. 
The roots grow very quickly down to the ground 
and firmly fix themselves there, this taking 
about three years. They then grow very rapidly, 
and at the time of tapping one of these roots, 
of the thickness of a man's thigh, would yield 9 
kilos or even more. 
But rambiDg is a digression ; Eevenons a nos 
moutons! My next visit was to Putupaula, where 
I was welcomed by Mr. H A Tipple, and met Mr. 
R J Booth of Glendon, who also has some fine 
para rubber. On Putupaula methods are some 
different from what I had already seen. 
NATURAL COAGULATION OF THE LATEX 
is adopted on Putupaula, and if I remember 
rightly on Glendon also. Planters are divided in 
opinion on this matter of coagulation, and an 
important rubber trade journal recently had some- 
thing to say on the subject. Of course it is 
necessary to keep the rubber as pure as possible 
and if the use of a little acetic acid were proved 
to be injurious to the rubber I should certainly 
say go in for natural coagulation. But is it 
injurious ? The fact that the rubber which has 
obtained record prices on the market was coagu- 
lated with a small quantity of acid goes to prove 
that no harm results from its use. Trials show 
that the quicker (up to a certain point), the 
latex IS coagulated the clearer and better coloured 
IS the rubber; this is with the use of a small 
quantity of acetic, just enough to hasten the 
coagulation. Too much acid spoils the elasticity 
and tenacity of the rubber particles. If a biscuit is 
picked with the finger nails or between the teeth and 
the small piece held is drawn out, the piece will either 
tear off from the biscuit or rebound on being let go. 
In the former case too much acid has been used. 
But 
THE USE OF ACETIC ACID 
is economical, being time-saving, and is to be re- 
commended for coagulation— that is, used in a small 
quantity. Putupaula biscuits averaged consider- 
ably larger than those on other estates, but the 
size of the biscuits is merely a manager's fancy 
for on March 21st last " Putupaula purest para 
fetched the top prices on the London market— 4/lOJ 
I believe. After rolling the biscuits they are dried 
by the factory boiler for 8 hours and then on 
hessian cloths ranged as shelves in the rubber- 
drying room. Mr Tipple showed me his scrap 
