i85 
GUTTA RAMBONG (FICUS ELASTICA) IN 
MALACCA. 
On the 22nd of December last I was privileged in company with 
Messrs. Pears and Hudson and our host Mr. Tan Chay Yan to 
take part in an experiment of tapping some Rambong trees*, be- 
longing to Mr. Tan Chay Yan. 
The Rubber trees in question are situated on the Bukit Lintang 
Estate some four miles from the town of Malacca ; where Mr. J an 
Chay Yan has planted up an area of some 60 acres, originally with 
coffee, but latterly with Rubber. There are now on this Experi- 
mental Estate some 2,000 Rambong and 4,000 Para Rubber trees, 
the oldest of which are five and a-half years old. The Estate lies 
on a low hill, the soil for the most part being of a gravelly nature, 
except at the bottom which is of a rich mould, and where the 
finest trees both of Para and Rambong were found. I was inform- 
ed that the majority of the Rambongs were raised from seeds 
obtained from Sumatra; a few, however, were raised from cuttings, 
and I must confess I could see little or no difference between the 
two. There are certainly two varieties there however, one having 
much larger leaves than the other, and a more drooping habit. 
The one having smaller leaves, I was told by the Chinese Mandore, 
gave the best supply of latex. How these varietal differences ori- 
ginated it is difficult to say, that is supposing they are not distinct 
species, which can only be accurately determined when they fruit. 
One of the objects of our visit was to try a Centrifugal machine 
belonging to Mr. PEARS. It is called the “Beta” Rubber Machine, 
and was obtained from T. Christy & Co., 25, Lime Street, 
London. The machine consists of a tin cylinder 2' 4" tall, the 
bottom part 16* high and io" in diameter being the broadest, the 
top part is narrowed into a neck 6" in diameter. On the extreme 
top is fixed the handle connected with two cog wheels, working 
at right angles, which actuate a thin shaft 5" long to which four 
blades are attached. At the bottom of the neck of the cylinder 
is a brass wire sieve. of extremely fine mesh, dividing it from the 
broad part of the cylinder below. The capacity of the upper part 
or neck is about three or four pints, and into which the latex is 
poured. The modus operandi — according to the printed instruc- 
tions accompanying the machine, is first to mix the latex with 50% 
of water, “ then pour the latex into the upper part of the machine 
or washer, turning the handle quickly. Have an assistant to pour 
in water continuously, so as to wash the latex through the wire 
gauze sieve which is fixed in the base, until the lower vessel is 
full.” At the bottom of the machine is a tap for drawing off the 
water and leaving the rubber on the surface ; the rubber is 
removed by pouring it into sieves in a semi-liquid state out of a 
wide mouthed aperture situated at the top of the broad part of the 
cylinder for that purpose. 
We started the experiment with mixing one and a-half imperial 
pints of pure Rambong latex w ith an equal quantity of water and 
poured it into the machine, and following the instructions as just 
