RUBBER-GROWING.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1450, 27 May 1912, Page 7

RUBBER-GROWING.

A NEW ZEALANDER FROM MALAY. SIDE-LIGHTS ON THE INDUSTRY. i Visiting Wellington at present is Mr. G. A. Bell, formerly of Duiiedin, who is now joint-manager, with his brother, of the Dominion Rubber Company, which is growing rubber trees with New Zealand money, in the Kelantan district of Malay, a spot cut out of the virgin jungle about two days' steam down the east coast of Singapore. .Mr. Hell, who was' interviewed by a Dominion reporter, talks most interestingly oil tho industry and tho country in which it exists. The company, which was formed by the Bell Bros, in New Zealand, is about five years old. The capital is„ JMO.ODO. and as a guide to the cost of production, Mr. 801 l suys that the, funds will be just about exhausted by the time the trees become productive. The country was formerly included within the boundaries of Sinin, but is now a British protectorate. From tile Government the ODuIT Development .Company obtained a concession of 300 square miles, and it was from that company that the New Zealanders leased for 999 years a block of 1700 acres of undulating country covered in jungle, wherein the massive Malay tiger lurked in considerable numbers. In addition, however, to, a rental, tho company lias to pay a small percentage of its profits, so that even in the wilds of Malay one cannot get anything for nothing. Tho work of destroying the jungle anil clearing the ground for planting was pretty arduous, but once tho land was cleared tho work was of a straightforward nature, and as labour is plentiful • and cheap, there were no great obstacles in the way of establishing a rubber plantation. Para, rubber trees were selected as tho best for the climate, and about 2SO to the acre were planted, the idea being that when grown to maturity the weakling trees could be thinned out, and just enough left to suit the productivity of tho soil. As the trees have now been planted about four years, and a proportion of iheni are ready for tanping, the process of thinning out to about from 120 to 150 trees to the aero will commence forthwith.' Mr. Bell said ho did not know exactly for how many years a rubber tree would bleed, but there were trees thirty years old that were still giving of their plenty! The tree was a.n arboreal wonder. As far as his company was concerned, a largo number of its trees had arrived at maturity, and on .his return they would commence to tap. Rubber was now quoted at is. 7d. per lb.—it would pay at Is. od.— so that the company has very good prospects ahead, as there is no diminution in tho demand for rubber! After the rubber drained into the receptacles, it is poured into large pans, where with the aid of an acid it is induced to set. Then the slabs are thoroughly washed, passed through mangles, which expel all tho moisture, and are then smoked and packed for export to London or Singapore. The smoking process is to ke<ty the slabs from adhering to one another. i . The rubber tree has no natural enemy or pest when attended to. The qualification refers to a fungus, which is bred from dead wood, but if the plantation be kept free of dead wood there is no risk of fungoid growths. , There is big game in the bush-tiger.-, :lcer, and a- native wild pig. rhe tigers iro not a pest-they would not tackle a man, but they go for the pigs, which do on occasions root round the trees m tho the Dominion Company's estate there was an Oamaru Company operating, and up the river there are gold dredges it work, manned bv Now /oalandeis. Your cough troubles you most at night, just when retiring, . and you have difficulty in getting off to sleep. Irv "NAZOL"—it, acts like a charm. Is. Gd„ all chemists—Advt. •Speukiii" of fruit culture one s thoughts naturally turn at present to the apple iexport trade. There seems no doubt thai New Zealand has proved its ability to export apples profitably, Iho apples sent so far, however, have been to some exten*" growh oil alluvial flats, which ien-. lers them somewhat mellow for export. \VUeu the ncwly-plaDted trees on thy iasiiuin slopes, between Nelson and Motueka, ue'in to bear their first appearance in London will no doubt .give fillip to the ;lemimd tor New Zealand apples. ; The. Tenter part of the Tasrnan estate is uoiv 'old, but lithos. of the final subdivision ire just readv. and Mr. .1. T. llorn, the <(,le a"eu!', would be pleased to torward some "to intending oreh.-mlijK A trip ii«i> l)oon «\rnuipO(l lor lll'* (in■hiding the .fuue :i holiday), and anyone nioy, by Applying (u AJr. Jlorn, iiavo details of this.