In the natural scheme of development of a large estate, it would be necessary, of course, to have a comparatively small centrally situated factory, equipped with power and heavy machinery for working scrap rubbers in the preparation of crepe grades below No. 1 in quality. As the yield per acre increases, or the area in bearing expands, it would be advisable later to increase the size of the central factory and buildings so as to permit of the preparation of a proportion of the crop in the form of No. 1 crepe rubber, in order to be able to comply with prevailing market demands under which preferential rates fluctuate between pale crepe and smoked sheet.
PART IV
THE FINISHED RUBBER
CHAPTER XVII
DEFECTS IN CREPE RUBBERS
General Style of Finish.—Broadly, there is no single and definite style of finish, but on the whole it may be stated that the greater proportion of crepe rubbers are prepared in a thin form and with a close-knit texture or finish.
Very little thick or blanket crepe is now made on estates in Malaya, so that beyond the mention of that type little need be written. A fair amount of blanket crepe is sold in the Singapore market, but it should generally be regarded as re-made rubber—i.e., it may have been prepared from thin crepes, or from native pale sheets, in local rubber-washing factories. In appearance these crepes have a rough finish, and vary in colour according to the crude material employed.
The general preference of the market at present is for a thin, smooth-finished crepe, with a close-knitted surface—i.e., free from what is described as “laciness.” What effect this looseness of finish can possibly have upon the quality of the rubber is not understood, but the standard type set up by the market must be comparatively free from small holes.