Omaha daily bee., 1911-02-21


ally planted These sticks" which arc
about three feet LONG are technically known
as "stumps" When g Is time 10 plant new
areas Of rubber the "stumps are trans
ported from Malay states. as has been the
case where the Para rubber plantation in
dustry has been inaugurated IN sarawak.
South Borneo, certain sections Of British
I North Borneo. up from Barucs IN British
I Guiana. on the Karimon islands a short
distance south 81 Singapore. etc The trees
J having been planted, the chief future care
required is to keep the land free from
I weeds until the trees shall have reached
I such point that their shade will prevent
/ the growth OF undcrbrush. II the ground
! Is quickly covered with plants the growth
Of grass and underbrush viii be prevented
[ and the bother Of wedding VIII be avoidod
/ Throughout the districts where para rubber
is being cultivated, and especially in British
/ North Borneo. the hills Of British Guiana
and the Malay states. use is made Of the
sweet potato vine TO prevent tho coming NJ
Of weeds. and the system Is proving =
great success. Within a space Of four
months the vines form thick mass, thor
oughy covering the ground. II Is the policy
Of the planters 10 let some OF the pota toes
remain on the ground. where they rot thus
{ constituting themselves into a splendid
I fertilizer to the soil the plants meantime
continuing to develop and form a fine coy
/ ering for the trees until they are old
/ enough to tap. Within four years from the
/ time Of planting the stump the para tree
/ reaches a circumference OF sixteen to
/ twenty inches. sandy loan is best suited
/ TO the successful growth OF Hevea Brasil
] iensls, or para rubber. Rolling. elevated,
q lOamy ground. at an altitude OF from ten
| to 15o feet above the river level, lends itself
most profitable to the industry.
GAL 2-RUBBBR hhpdvi
COnectIng the Lstex.
The process Of gathering the crude prod
uct Of the rubber plantations is BY coll
eotiug the milk or lateX which flows from
cuts made in the bark Of the rubber trees
! The process OF coagulating follows. This
is a very simple part Of the work OF getting
the product into marketable shape The
caoutchouc, as the rubber element OF the
iatex is known, Is separated from the
watery portion by containing the latex In
shallow dishes. The latex after rising to
the top. very much after the manner in
which cream rises on a pan OF milk, is
SKINNED off and shaped into biscuits"
preparatory to being washed and packed
for shipment No expensive machinery is
used.
is interesting itself in the Industry, 500
para rubber seeds having been transported
from the Government Botanical Gardens
in Singapore to the Philippines, the sub
ject is getting near home. II will not be
long before the North American colonies
will be in the march with other countries
which are raising plantation rubber. Men
who have given their best thoughts to this
subject have found out that nature is I'M
| able to supply the worlds demand for rub
ber the 1909 crop, emitting plantation rub
ber having fallen 1900 tons short of the
1905 production. These men have proven
that the plantation rubber industry has
most encouraging phases, as 1t readily
I lends itself to agricultural assistance.
Convert TO Tire Use.
! Converting gum rubber from its raw
! state into an automobile tire is a process
l that occupies an important part in motor
ing There are a dozen steps involved in
this branch of manufacture each OF
which must be taken with the utmost
nicely and precision in order to attain the
/ best results
American tires are generally based upon
that grade Of crude rubber known as
pure Para which IL produced In the |
Amazon river valley in Brazil. This is de-
/
bodies, weighing as much as 100 pounds
each.
The first thing that is done to the crude |,
is to wash it thoroughly to remove foreign
matter This is accomplished by rolling it |
in machines fitted with warm rollers and |
bathing 1t in water. Its shape is changed /
materially during this process, which |
breaks up the original mass so that the
bath will reach every part OF the rubber.
The washing usually removes from one to
four per cent Of the bulk OF the rubber
and in the final stage OF washing the mass
is porous and sticky, looking striklngly
like dark sponge. II is rolled out into thick.
flat layers OF spongy substance on the
cylinders, when It is known TO the tire
making trade as crepe"
Removing Foreign Matter.
The effect of the washing Is to remove
not only the small sticks. stones. vegetable /
and animal impurities. but also to tighten
the color of the rubber. This is because
the action of the water and the rollers is
to cleanse the rubber OF some OF the ef-
fects OF the smoking that was given the
gum in temporarily preparing 1t for mar
ket. The crepe" is stored in masses
awaiting subsequent steps IN the course OF
manufacture and while so stored soon
darkens on the surface from the effects
OF the oxygen in the air until it is even
more opaque and deeper in hue than It
was upon being received.
The next step is to dry out a certain
amount of the original moisture contained
in the crude rubber and TO remove the
water introduced in the washing. This is
done by evaporation and gentle pressure
between warm rolls or in trays which are
subjected to a moderate degree Of heat.