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The capsules of the small seeded varieties commence to ripen in 
from 4 to 6 months from the time of sowing and those of the large 
seeded varieties from 7 to 10 months according to variety and the 
prevailing climate conditions. Owing to the irregular ripening of 
this crop, the harvesting is a somewhat tedious process, but as the 
work involved is not laborious, it could be done by women and 
children. 
As the capsule dehisces and scatters the seed immediately they 
are ripe, it is necessary to look over the plants at least once a week, 
collecting those sufficiently ripened. The seeds after collecting 
require drying and may then be stored in bags in a dry place until 
sold or pressed for oil. 
The average yield per acre (pure crop) is given as 4 to 6 cwt. of 
seeds average good crop. 
From the foregoing it would seem that it is not altogether a 
suitable Catch Crop for rubber owing to its habit of exhausting the 
soil. When practical, however, this plant could be planted as a 
border to rubber, but this is largely a question of the quality of soil 
in individual Estates. 
J. W. A. 
MR. H. A. WICKHAM COMING OUT TO 
CEYLON WITH A CURING MACHINE. 
The father of the plantation rubber industry, Mr. H. A. 
Wickham, is due in Colombo towards the end of the month, the 
chief purpose of his visit being to introduce a machine which 
embodies his ideas, acquired in the home of Hard Fine Para, as to 
the curing of rubber. Mr. Wickham lias every hope that his machine 
will have a great effect upon the plantation rubber industry. During 
his stay in England, Mr. Wickham has been making arrangements 
with regard to the machine, but owing to the time it has taken to 
settle matters, has been delayed longer than he expected, otherwise 
he would have been in the Island now. 
We understand that Mr. Wickham claims that his machine 
imitates the well-known smoking process employed by the natives on 
the Amazon, each layer of rubber being smoked and the article 
consequently thoroughly permeated by the disinfectant fumes. It is 
Mr. Wickham’s contention that under the present processes some of 
the best qualities of the rubber are lost, carried away in the washing, 
and it will be interesting to watch how far he will be able to 
substantiate his claim by the production of samples of superior 
resiliency and tensile strength than the present first quality rubber 
turned out on estates. It is also claimed that the machine will turn 
out a perfectly uniform quality, whereas at present the rubber from 
the same estate varies considerably. (Times of Ceylon 6th June, 1912). 
