October i, 1884.] 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTUT?T^T 



3°S 



OUR INDIAKUBBER SUPPLY. 



The increase in the consumption of indiarubber in this 

 country has been very large within the past ten years, and 

 more particularly within the latter half of the decade. This 

 is owing both to the great increase in the consumption of 

 rubber boots, shoes and clothing consequent upon the in- 

 crease in populating and to the multitude cf n -w uses to 

 which rubber has been put to the almost total exclusion of 

 the horn. 



Our imports of indiarubber are classed together with 

 gutta percb:i. both being on the free list and being to some 

 extent similar articles. They amounted to 21,646,320 pounds 

 in the fiscal year ended June 30, 1*83, and valued at 

 515,511,006. By far the larger portion was indiarubber. 

 Our imports from Brazil alone footed up $8,600,000 in 1883, 

 while we imported from Central America, United States of 

 Columbia and other South American countries to the value 

 of about $3,000,000, and African indiarubber imported for 

 the most part via England foots up about >l\i 'f k ),ui n.i. 



The great bulk of our supply, however, and the best rub- 

 ber also comes from Brazil, where its collection and pre- 

 paration in crude state for shipments forms the priucipal 

 resource of the two great provinces of the Amazon Valley, 

 Para and Amazon. 



Next to coffee and sugar, rubber occupies third place in 

 Brazilian exports. Notwithstanding this hardly any thought 

 is given to the future of this great industry in Brazil. The 

 same wasteful and exhaustive system of collecting the rub- 

 ber which has been in vogue for half a century is followed 

 today. The industry is chiefly in the hands of an uneducat- 

 ed and half-civilized nomad population of Indian mixture, 

 and is pursued in a crude way with no thought beyond im- 

 mediate profit. In consequence, millions of rubber trees have 

 been destroyed, and many others abandoned from premature 

 and excessive use. 



The waste iu this way is so great, that many well-informed 

 Brazilians fear that unless better methods are employed, this 

 rich resource will before many years suffer a serious and per- 

 haps fatal decline. In the few cases where care is exercised 

 in not tapping trees in the months of August and September, 

 when they change their leaves, groves have yielded con- 

 tinuously for 30 yt ars, and are still iu gocd condition. 



The rubber trees requires a growth of from 20 to 25 years 

 before it produces the milky sap which forms the rubber. 

 Hence little or nothing has been done to propagate the trees, 

 and everything about the business is carried on as if the 

 supply of trees would never give out. Brazil imposes a 

 very heavy export tax on rubber, amounting, state and pro- 

 vincial, to 22 per cent from the province of Parii and 21 

 per cent from the province of Amazon. — Boston Commei rial 

 Bulletin. 



BOLIVIAN CINCHONA FORESTS 



The great progress made in the acclimatisation of cin- 

 chona trees iu India, Ceylon, and elsewhere, has awakened 

 the Governments of couutries where the plants are in- 

 digenous to the necessity of conserving from reckless de- 

 struction, and re-planting denuded forests, so as to be able 

 to keep up the supply of this valuable product. 



In Bolivia, since 1878, according to the report of the 

 Netherlands Consul, private individuals and land owners 

 have taken up the question with great earnestness, and 

 at the present time on the banks of the Mapiri, in the 

 department of La Paz, there are over a milliou of young 

 trees growing. 



New plantations have also sprung up in various other 

 localities, either on private ground or that owned by Govern- 

 ment. The competition of India and Ceylon in supplying 

 the markets, has had also the effect of inducing more care 

 in collecting and also of revisiting old spots, often with 

 the result of a rich harvest of bark which had been left 

 on partly denuded trunks, and the opening up of new 

 localities. The new shoots springing up from the old stumps 

 have yielded much quill bark, and the root bark of the 

 old stumps has also been utilised. 



The re-planting entails very little expense. The Indian 

 tenant on an estate has a house and land from the owner 

 (hacienda) of the estate. For this he binds himself to 

 work for two to four days a week, at from 28 to 30 cents 

 per day, women and children obtaining 16 to 21 cents per 

 day. Thus the planting, weeding, &c, during the first two 

 39 



years, is but nominal in expense ; after this period the trees 

 may be left to themselves. 



On Government land the expense is greater, as after an 

 application being made, the land is put up to public auction, 

 and may fetch a very low or a higher price, according to the 

 bidding. The land secured, contracts are made with nativi - 

 of the lower class to clear the forest and plant cinchona. 

 The contracts are often sublet to Indians. The young plants 

 are planted from five to six feet apart, with banana trees be- 

 tween, on account of their rapid growth and the shade the 

 latter afford. From March to .Tune, after the wet i ;i ;<>n i^ 

 over, is the best time for planting, and the contractor keeps 

 the plantation free from weeds and in good order for t u e Ivi i 

 mouths, when it is handed over to the owner. The following 

 is given as the cost of the Mapiri river plantation of an area 

 from 61) or more miles in extent: — 



Ground i;j -><||) 



300,000 plants at 60-14 ... ".' Jjfe'oOO 



Superintendent, buildings, kc 4y400 



Interest 4*800 



„,.„ , , Total. .. $52. tOO 



fill the plants are above two years of age. they are liable 

 to die from drought or the attacks of ants, and during 1878 

 many thousands died from these causes. At the end of the 

 fourth year some proprietors begin to collect the quill bark 

 by the method of coppicing. 



It is feared by some that should this new venture be suc- 

 cessful, it will prove a dangerous rival to the plantations of 

 India, Ceylon, and Java, and lower the price of bark con- 

 siderably.— Journal of the Society of Arts. 



THE POSITION OF SUMAC. 

 When the last crop of Sicily sumac was harvested it was 

 found that the amount of prime quality available was much 

 smaller than in previous years, and that while in the fall of 

 1882 there was a cousiderable surplus to be carried over, the 

 opening of the crop season of 1is,n3 found the markets nearly 

 bare of supplies. The Continental buyers appeared to ap- 

 preciate the situation, and made contracts for their probable 

 requirements, thus leaving what was believed would prove a 

 deficient supply for American consumers. The price was 

 rapidly advanced, both in the primary market and here, as it 

 was expected the supply would be entirely exhausted long 

 before the crop of 1884 would become available, and up to 

 $120 was at one time demanded for the best known brands. 

 But from this point there has been a gradual decline untii 

 now supplies may be secured at $95. During this time of 

 extraordinarily high prices the grinders of domestic pushed 

 the claims of Virginia sumac to the attention of consumers, 

 and as there is a wide difference in the price many con- 

 sumers have used the domestic in instances where the Sicily 

 at ordinary prices only had been used. This tended also to 

 strengthen the position of the domestic, and the price was 

 advanced to S75, and even $80 was paid in some instances. 

 The consumption during the past six months, however, has 

 been much smaller iu this country than usual, and importers 

 finding but little demand for their goods, they have gradually 

 receded from tlieir extreme views, although these were ap- 

 parently warranted by the paucity of supplies, until the 

 market finally reached $100, and latterly a further shrink- 

 age to $05 has been brought about, all through lack of demand 

 and the competition of importers to secure the little trade 

 there was. It is now apparent that allthough the supply is 

 very meagre, there need be no apprehension that the stocks 

 will become entirely exhausted before the new crop will be- 

 come available next fall. With an average consumption the 

 last crop would probably have been entirely exhausted by this 

 time, and prices would doubtless have been forced up to $150. 

 Even with the present light demand, however, we need look 

 for no further decline, as the supply yet available is small, 

 although some of the shippers have latterly shown some 

 anxiety to make contracts here at the prices now prevailing. 

 The high prices of the past six months has caused more at- 

 tention to be directed to Virginia and other domestic sumac, 

 and we are assured that the amount that will be harvested 

 during the coming season will far exceed that gathered dur- 

 ing any previous year. If the Sicily crop should again prove 

 to be a small one, we have no doubt but that the grinders of 

 domestic will realize a handsome profit, but the amount they 

 will be able to dispose of is necessarily limited by reason of 



