RUSSIAN RUBBER

Greymouth Evening Star, 29 July 1932, Page 10

RUSSIAN RUBBER

NEW SOURCE OF SUPPLY The discovery of tau-sagis, a wild rubber plant which grows in the mountains of Kazakstan, in Russian Gen tral Asia, has been greeted with great enthusiasm in Soviet scientific and industrial circles. Soviet imports of rubber amounted to about 16,000 tons in 1930, and io approximately 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 passenger auto : mobiles and motor-lorries, with the consequent growth in the demand for tyres.

The discovery of tau-sagis, wliicli is said to contain up to 40 per cent, of coagulated pure xtxbbex* in its roots, is likely to reduce, if not eliminate Altogether, the need for foreign purchases of rubber, and is especially welcome at a time when all expenditures of foreign currency are necessar. ily being cut to the bone. Tau-sagis was discovered quite accidentally by Kirghiz nomads, who roam over the steppes of Central Asia Scientific investigations revealed that the plant grows only in the Kora-Taii Mountains, which are about fifty miles away from the station Turkestan, on the railroad between Orenburg and Tashklent

That tau-sagis'is considered a very serious factor in the development of the rubber industry is. evident from the fact that the second Five-Year Plan prescribes the construction of nine large factories, with a capacity of from seven to fifteen thousand tons of rubber a year, which will use tausagis as theii* raw material, and the training of 1150 tau-sagis specialists.