Vol. XIII. No. 316. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



181 



rinding cost in Sicily and .Jamaica would show Sicily a hand- 

 some profit with selling prices equal. Apart from this the 

 difficulty of collecting the oil from the difTerent districts, the 

 high railway rates and the extremely heavy freight rate now 

 being charged by the steamship corapaaies with the attendant 

 risks of loss by leakage due to the very rough handling the 

 cases get in transit (although very carefully packed) all place 

 Jamaica at a great disadvantage in comparison with Sicily. 

 Anyone who has carefully studied both ends of the business 

 will appreciate these facts. I can only point out this in the 

 hope that the business will be left alone in the bands of 

 those who have by bitter experience learnt the 'ins and 

 outs' of orange oil. It will be an unfortunate day for 

 orange growers if the collection and shipment of this 

 promising business gets into a multitude of hands with the 

 usual fighting ;imong producers and bidding up of prices 

 here in the hopes of shipping plenty of oil and so making 

 a quick fortune. This has been experienced before in other 

 articles which have been overdone with the consequent loss 

 to not only those who rushed in without full consideration, 

 but to the originators of the various schemes. While one 

 appreciates enlightenment, and new ideas, and welcomes 

 new openings for products, it is better to study the selling 

 of the articles before making it, and so avoid the rude 

 awakening of an account sales with a debit balanee, as is 

 too often the case in this Island of Sample.'. (Journal of 

 the Jamaica Agricultural Society, March 14, 1914.) 



RUBBER GROWING 



VARIETIES PRODUCED AND METHODS 



OF COLLECTION IN BOLIVIA. 



H.M. Minister at La Paz has forwarded the following 

 particulars relative to the rubber industry of Bolivia: — 



Bolivia ranks as the second rubber-exporting country of 

 South America, coming next to Brazil, with an annual out- 

 put of over 2,000 tons. The exports of rubber in 1912 were 

 as follows: tine rubber, 1,. 3.54,704 kilogs.; 'caucho', 689,401 

 kilogs , and 'cernamby', 166,241 kilogs : making a total of 

 2,210,346 kilogs,, compared with a total of l,64;i,.576 kilogs. 

 in 1911. The total exports of rubber for the first three 

 months of 1913 amounted to 1,100,741 kilogs. The quality 

 of the rubber is excellent There are just the three grades, 

 namely: 'fina' (fine), 'caucho' (caoutchouc), and 'cernamby' 

 (scrap or niggerhead). 



Four varieties of rubber trees are worked in Bolivia: 

 (1) the 'Morada', which is abundant in the swampy lowlying 

 ground; (2) 'Blanca', which grows on the highlands; (3) 'Ama- 

 rilla', and (4) 'Itauba', which, though giving less quan- 

 tity, is equal in quality to 'Morada.' The average yield of 

 latex is stated to be 8 tb. per tree, but virgin trees give 

 considerably more. Many trees have to be 'rested' for 

 a number of years in order that they may recover from the 

 ill effects of the native method of tapping, which is described 

 below. In many cases trees are rendered useless through 

 having the 'cambium' penetrated by the axe, and being then 

 attacked by white ants or 'borers'. The best season for tapp- 

 ing \i from May to the middle of August, but the trees are 

 again tapped from October 1 to January 15 The flower- 

 ing season is in December and .January, and the pod ripens 

 in March and falls to the ground towards the end of April. 



The rubber forests are divided into 'estrades' or paths 

 cut in the jungle and each 'estrada' contains from 100 to 

 120 trees, the distance between each tree being usually so 

 considerable as to entail a great loss of time on the part of 

 the 'freguez' or collector, whose duty it is daily to visit the 

 trees and collect the rubber. This employee does not receive 

 a regular wage, but gets 25 bolivianos (£2) per arroba 

 (25 ft.) of fine rubber, and 1-5 bolivianos (£1 4s.) per aroba 

 of 'caucho'. The 'mozo' or unskilled labourer is paid a 

 monthly wage of 40 to 60 bolivars (£3 4s. to £4 16s.), and 

 although these figures would appear to be a reasonable 

 remuneration, the fact that the workers are obliged to 

 purchase ail their supplies from the store which is always 

 run in connexion with the rubber industry, where the prices 

 charged are usually excessive, renders it practically impossi- 

 ble for these men to keep out of debt. 



The axe used in Bolivia for tapping is smaller than the 

 Brazilian 'machadinho', but nevertheless the ruthless 

 methods in vogue for the extraction of the latex cause almost, 

 if not quite, as much damage in the one country as in the 

 other. The method of tapping is as follows: — 



The collector visits his 'estrada' at dawn, and having 

 first collected the scrap which has oozed from the trees, he 

 proceeds to make a series of deep cuts. . These cuts are first 

 made as high up the trees as possible, and at intervals of 

 18 inches each day. Beneath these, metal cups, varying in 

 number from three to six, are affixed in the bark just below 

 the wound to catch the latex. After treating each tree in 

 a similar fashion, the collector now returns to the first one 

 bled, and collects the latex in a pail visiting each tree in 

 turn until he has a pail full of the liquid, which he brings 

 back to his hut for the process of coagulation. 



When prepared, the rubber is allowed to dry for some 

 weeks before being shipped to Europe. No boxes are used 

 in shipping Bolivian fine rubber, which is usually sent in 

 bulk, in balls weighing from 25 to 100 lb. 'Cernamby' 

 (scrap) is sometimes shipped in boxes to avoid pilfering. 

 'Caucho' is usually sent in bales without covering, weighing 

 from 100 to 150 1b.; it is also sometimes packed in hides, 

 whijh are sold on arrival. 



Rubber has hitherto paid an export duty of 12 per cent. 

 ad valorem, based on the market price in London, which is 

 published at La Paz every fortnight. According to the 

 terms of a bill, however, which is now before Congress, the 

 Executive is to be authorized to reduce the export tax, if 

 necessary, to 2 per cent, ad valorem. {The Board oj Trade 

 Journal, April 9, 1914.) 



The Times (Finance, Commerce and Shipping Supple- 

 ment for May 5, 1914) contains a leading article on rubber 

 plantation reform. It is stated that one of the most encour- 

 aging features of the report just issued by the Linggi Company 

 is the reduction which has been effected during the past year 

 in the average expenses. Another of the reasons for the 

 success of this company is said to be the fact that the autho- 

 rized capital per acre owned is less than £10, while the 

 issued capital is equal to less than £14 per planting per acre. 

 The corresponding figures for 30 Malayan companies formed 

 in the existing days of the boom were £31 and £102, 

 respectively. 



