6 
On such properties, sites which are swampy, liable to flood, or un- 
healthy, should be avoided. It is often much cheaper to select a site 
at some altitude, and pump water up to the factory, than to choose a 
place convenient only for water and transport. In considering the 
site in relation to transport, it should be borne in mind that carrying 
the latex — which may contain more than 50 per cent, of water to 
the factory is more expensive than subsequent transport of dry rubber 
to the nearest cart road. The selection of a site is also partly deter- 
mined by the accessibility of the area for passengers and cart traffic, 
proximity to a good, clean supply of water, exposure to wind, and the 
character of the subsoil. 
One difficulty frequently experienced, especially when artificial 
heating apparatus is not employed, is .that of getting a good supply 
of coolair through the building. This defect is often due to the site 
not being at a sufficient altitude and to the building being closely 
surrounded by forest trees of the Hevea type. 
Types of Factories Required. 
The type of factory to be erected depends upon many conditions, 
such as the amount of the crop and the methods of curing and 
washing. 
In order to meet crop requirements, care should be taken to 
ensure that extensions can be easily and economically made from 
time to time. This is particularly the case where small and similar 
acreages come into bearing regularly each year for many years in 
succession. Where the whole of the area is in bearing, the building 
need not provide for extensions to the same degree, though an annual 
increase in yield per acre must be allowed for. 
The method of curing also has a bearing on the type of factory 
required. If vacuum driers are used, the size of the factory can be 
reduced. If artificial heating apparatus is provided the rubber is 
dried more quickly, and less space is therefore required in the curing 
section. The installation of heating apparatus, fans, etc., generally 
necessitate the erection of a two-storey building. Smoking must also 
be considered, though in many cases a separate building is erected 
for this phase of the curing process. Frequently, however, the rub- 
ber is smoked, while being cured, in a part of the factory permanently . 
set aside for this work. 
The kind of washing machine and position of shafting must also 
be considered in the erection of the walls and floor of a factory. 
There are some washing machines which have double or treble the 
working capacity of others, and which demand comparatively less 
space. Shafting, if overhead, may require wall brackets, which fre- 
quently necessitate an entirely different construction. Floor shafting, 
on the other hand, may be erected more or less irrespective of the 
materials used in the construction of the building. 
