SEARCH FOR RUBBER

Wairarapa Times-Age, 25 June 1942, Page 2

SEARCH FOR RUBBER

POSSIBILITIES OF WHEAT STARCH. EXPERIMENTS WITH PLANTS. WINNIPEG, Manitoba. Production of synthetic rubber from wheat starch and natural rubber from the kok-sagyz plant, a member of the dandelion family which may be grown in Western Canada if the supply of seed can be obtained, was forecast at ’the eighth annual national farm chemurgic conference, recently concluded at Chicago, Mr Cecil Lamont, of Winnipeg, representative of the NorthWest Line Elevators Association said in a statement issued here recently. “Steps are being taken immediately by the association to obtain seed of the kok-sagyz plant for experimental planting in Western Canada,” Mr Lamont stated. Although this type of dandelion has grown so far only in Russia, the agricultural department of the association will plant test plots as soon as seeds are available. . Mi- Lamont also reported rapid gains made in the United States in production of synthetic rubber from wheat starch. Cotton, he said, is being processed to replace rubber fire hose, and imported leather tanning materials are being replaced by a hemlock product plentiful in British Columbia.