57 
was dropped, but the treatment of the latex by diluting with 
water still remains. There is abundant evidence that 
water, in any form, added to the latex of Hevea is a mis- 
take. Castillo a and Hevea are two totally different rub- 
bers, and I suggest that thp addition of any water to Hevea 
latex, (sooner or later) polymerises the molecule, and the 
effect is, limp rubber. I pause to mention that I was as- 
sured by the Principal of one of the largest firms of Con- 
tinental manufacturers that different results were obtained 
from a ball of ‘tine grade Para 5 when treated in Hamburgh, 
Harburg, and Vienna. I wonder on how many estates in 
Hie colony or P. M. S. the water is alike. Rubber, Para 
Rubber, is a highly complex compound and its best method 
of preparation— in view of obtaining a uniform standard — 
must of necessity be a common one. It is an immense sub- 
ject, but I believe — and Mr. Ridley takes that view — there 
is a solution of many of the problems of the treatment of 
rubber by the process of coagulating by smoke. I carefully 
inquired from leading manufactures what they expected or 
required in plantation rubber— and the manufacturer is the 
master of the rubber market— their formula was : — latex as 
you get it from the tree without any chemicals cured by 
smoking as is done in Brazil. 
Hitherto— owing to the omission of what might appear 
a trifling detail — we have failed to cure cultivated Para 
by smoking we can do it now, and are doing so, experi- 
mentally, at the Singapore Botanic Gardens, and when the 
novelty of a new process — in this country — has worn off, 
we hope to be able to prepare good marketable samples. 
Coagulation of latex, can be done on films of smoke, but it 
is necessary to start on films of smoke. It must be re- 
membered that rubber is a crop, and few plants if any crop 
similaily all through the year. The latex at any given 
time may be immature as a rubber producer and it by no 
means follows that the method of coagulating by smoke can 
be carried on with equal success on trees of alfages and at 
all times of the year. The effect too of continuous tapping 
of a tree will have to be "taken into account. However, in- 
vestigations on these lines are being now carried on and 
we shall hope to publish the result of these at a later date. 
