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comparable, in many respects, to low grades of plantation crepe from 
the East. Despite the advance made and good reputation earned 
while in its infancy, plantation rubber is now finding much more diffi- 
culty in competing with wild Para on problems of utility. That 
plantation supplies are comparatively weak very few will deny ; 
increased age alone will lead to improvements in that respect. It is 
the far more seiious problem of variablity before and after vulcaniza- 
tion that is troubling growers and manufacturers alike. Mr. D. 
Thornton, of the Canadian Consolidated Rubber Company, Limited, 
Montreal, has appealed again to our growers on this difficulty, and 
we, lecognising his position from the manufacturing point of view, 
gladly give publicity to the statements he now makes. Mr. Thornton 
has sent us two samples of “ biscuits ” from an estates well-known in 
Ceylon ; the name of the estates is on each biscuit, and is, in itself, a 
guarantee of high quality. These were taken from the same case, and 
yet they vary in colour, elasticity and time of vulcanization. They 
have the appearance of first class rubber, one being the dark colour of 
smoked rubber, and the other pale amber. Any broker would class 
them as being almost equal in value ; nevertheless their variability 
renders their extensive use impossible. Mr. Thornton states that 
- while he does not object to the shade as a shade, he does object to 
differences in colour, because parallel differences prevail all through 
the process of manufacture ; he even goes so far as to state that it 
represents diffeiences in actual composition which lead to confusion 
in the factory. The objections raised are so important to growers 
that we think it will be necessary to effect grading, according to colour, 
on a much finer scale than has been customary in the past. This is 
not veiy expensive work, and is warranted by the necessity to main- 
tain the support of manufacturers, who find that though fine hard 
Para is not uniform, it is reasonable and so can advantageously be 
used instead of plantation lots. 
We are not quite sure whether the same variability has been ex- 
perienced when dealing with crepe, sheet or block rubber. Perhaps 
Mr. Thornton will give us some information on this point. 
Attention should also be called to the communication from 
Mr. Henry A. Morss, published in our issue of November 14th. Mr. 
Morss made definite comparisons between plantation cr£pe purchased 
in Singapore and fine hard Para, and concluded that for use in cover- 
ing wires and cables plantation rubber was not satisfactory. He states 
that acid-cured rubber will not stand the searching electrical tests 
applied, and advises us that only smoked rubber can be used for these 
special purposes. Mr. Parkin followed this up with some sound 
advice on the abuse of acetic acid on plantations. We are hopeful 
that the publicity given to the variability of plantation rubber will 
awaken the minds of all who have planting interests at stake. It is a 
serious pioblem, and the sooner it is approached bv planters and 
chemists the better. 
