RUSSIAN RUBBER

Hokitika Guardian, 28 July 1932, Page 8

RUSSIAN RUBBER

NEW SOURCE OF SUPPLY. DISCOVERY BY NOMADS. LONDON, July 25. The discovery of'tau-sagis, a wile riibbdr -plant which grows in the- mountains “Kazakstau,; in Russian Cental: Ay Mbas been greeted with great erthusiaam in Soviet scientific and in-' dustrial circles. ... , .... ’ - Soviet, imports of rubber amounted to about 16,000 tons in 1930, and to approximabetiy 28,000 tons in 1931. In the -natural course of events these imports.; would tend to increase rapidly-. in future years, if only because of-the expanding output of passengei automobiles and motor-lorries, with the consequent growth in the demand for tyilesV The discovery of tar-sag is, which is said to contain up to 40 per cent, of Coagulated pure rubb;ir in its roots, is likely to reduce, if not eliminate altogether.,; th'a need for foreign pu chases of - .rubber, and is 'especially welcome at a time when all expenditures of foreign currency are necessarily being out to the bone. . Tau-'f.agis wee discovered quite acci-. dentally by Kirghiz nomads who roam <*ti-sr the stenpes of Central Asia. feci?ntifio investigation revealed that the plant grows only in the Kora- Tau Mountains which are about fifty miles away from the station Turkestan, on tit?' railroad -between Orenburg and Tashkent. That' tau-sagis is considered a very sericai,? factor in the development of the rubber industry is evident from the fact that the second Five-Year Plan prescribes the construction of rirr large factories, with a capacity of from seven to fifteen thousand tons of rubber a year, which will u«e tau-sagis ns' their raw material, and the training of 1150 tau-sagis specialists.