460 
offers no opportunity 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 very keen and lively interest is 
shown in plantation rubber and in the prospect of being able to 
obtain rubber of fine quality from the East. 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 
being 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 essen- 
tial, 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 canqot be relied upon in practical 
use. Unfortunately there has been a considerable amount of rub- 
ber showing this defect of softness with a sticky and tacky surface, 
produced on plantations, and these samples have tended to injure 
materially the reputation 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 me, and all with 
one exception were agreed that it was as good a condition for 
packing and exporting rubber as any. The fact that crepe rubber 
has been subjected 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 when larger bulk of it is put upon the market 
because greater uniformity of quality and appearance could be 
maintained. Up to the present this has not been of practical 
importance in dealing with small parcels of a few tons or fractions 
of tons, but it would be a distinct advantage to have perfect uni- 
formity when dealing with large bulk and regular shipments, and 
this is secured by the mechanical washing and mixing in bulk 
