80 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[December i, 1906. 



be well to let plantation rubber get the reputation of being 

 weaker than fine hard pure Para. Then possibly there was 

 a loss in strength from the extraction of too much moisture 

 in plantation practice. 



The point was made by Mr. Smithett and other speakers 

 that rubber manufacturers proceed slowly in taking on new 

 grades of rubber — there are hundreds of grades in the mar- 

 ket—it being necessary for them to experiment extensively 

 in order to arrive at tlie proper mixings for kinds of rubber 

 which they have not used hitherto. When a manufacturer 

 has decided to use a new rubber he wants to be able to obtain 

 regular supplies of a given quality, and this has not been 

 possible hitherto with plantation rubber, though the quanti- 

 ties now coming to market are larger. If, as suggested, 

 mature trees are necessary for the production of rubber of 

 standard strength, it will still be a few years before large 

 supplies of rubber of this type are available. The question 

 was discussed of keeping separate, in shipping, rubber from 

 trees of different ages. The suggestion that the latex from 

 different aged trees be kept separate was met by the remark 

 that even a little latex from mature trees mixed with that 

 from young plants might be beneficial. 



Dr. Willis said one lesson learned from the exhibition was 

 that rubber from old trees was- better than rubber from young 

 trees, and the question was whether they were not tapping 

 too young. Many people agreed that they did this at pres- 

 ent, but he was afraid it was impossible to resist the tempta- 

 tion to tap young trees, because at the present moment their 

 rubber was sold not by reason of its quality, but as Ceylon 

 rubber. If the first sample was good, generally all the other 

 samples .sold at the same price. That covild not last, when 

 they sent large quantities to the market. Then it would be 

 found that rubber from older trees would fetch more than 

 rubber from the young ones, and it became a serious ques- 

 tion whether thej' should not leave the trees a 3-ear older be- 

 fore tapping. 



PLANTATION RUBBER IN BLOCK FORM. 



It is the opinion of Mr. Charles Devitt, one of the three 

 London judges at the Ceylon Rubber Exhibition, according 

 to The Times of Ceylon, that the new block form of rubber is 

 the best that has been exhibited. It has all the advantages 

 which prevent liability to tackiness, and other favorable 

 aspects. Kut he does not think that, when a fairl}' large 

 number of j)Ianters go in for that form, the premium of 2 

 pence which the block form is now getting can continue. 

 Nor does he see anj- reason to anticipate any fall in the price 

 of sheet or biscuit as a result of the preference for block. 



Dr. John C. Willis, director of the Ceylon royal botanic 

 gardens, in an address at the exhibition, pointed out some 

 advantages of the block rubber. TheI<anadron estate block 

 which carried off the honors at the exhibition weighed 25 

 pounds, and it occupied about half the space 25 pounds of 

 biscuits or sheets would, and it would pack very much more 

 readilj-. Biscuits having round edges, a lot of space was 

 wasted in packing. The block form meant a saving of one- 

 half in freight charges. Furthermore, the block, once it 

 was made, exposed a very small surface to oxidization, and 

 consequently was less liable to damage. The inside of the 

 block was completely protected against outside influences, 

 and oxidization could only take place on the few feet of sur- 

 face exposed, whereas in biscuit and sheet they were expos- 

 ing the maximum surface. 



CONTINENTAL COMMERCIAL CO. 



[Plantations at Tolosa, slate of Oaxaca. Mexico. Oflice : 6l.t Fullertori building 

 St. Louis, .Missouri.] 



This company is the result of combining several Mexican 

 properties owned by St. Louis capitalists — the sugar mill of 

 the Continental Sugar Refinery Co., and five plantations 

 devoted to rubber, coffee, and sugar. The land involved 

 amounts to 53Q6 acres, including some of the rubber estates 

 first formed in Mexico. One company absorbed was the 

 Jiimiapa Plantation Co., which began operations at the first 

 of 1901. All the officers and directors of the consolidated 

 company were on the board of the Jumiapa, and the origi- 

 nal plantation manager, B. J. Tuunell, is in charge of the 

 consolidated estates. Another was the Lolita Plantation Co., 

 successor to the Missouri Coffee and Rubber Co., formed in 

 1S99 to develop the "Crittenden " tract. A third was The 

 Oa.vaca Coffee Culture Co., organized in 1S97. Two other 

 properties are the " I\Iontverde " estate, on which some rub- 

 ber has been planted, and the " Pittsburg ", devoted to sugar 

 cane. The location is near the Tolosa station on the Tehu- 

 an tepee railway. A recent report mentioned 856,173 coffee 

 and 427,344 rubber trees standing, with plans to increase 

 the number of each to 1,000,000. There are also 500 acres 

 in cane, also to be increased. The Continental compan}' is 

 capitalized at $2,500,000. Charles F. Haanel, president ; A. 

 H. Hoffmann, vice president ; W. A. Brander, secretary ; 

 A. R. Verdier, treasurer. 



MEXICAN RUBBER PLANTING NOTES. 



The annual report of The Oaxaca Association (Chicago) 

 for the fiscal year ending April 30 last reports 400,000 rub- 

 ber trees, 4 to 9 years old, on their " Buena Vista " estate, 

 in Vera Cruz. The first rubber tapping occurred during the 

 j'ear, on a small scale, but with satisfactory results. Con- 

 siderable additional planting was planned for this year. 



Palenque Plantation and Commercial Co., whose records 

 in San Francisco were destroyed in the great fire, are now 

 located at No. 25 Saint Mungo building, in that city. The 

 companj' are proceeding actively with the development of 

 their plantation in the state of Chiapas, Mexico, on the Rio 

 Michol. The company date from September 22, 1905, hav- 

 ing been incorporated with $1,000,000 capital authorized. 

 Mr. J. ^^ Brenchley, some time with Mr. Harrison, of "La 

 Zacualpa," is plantation superintendent. 



Joliet Tropical Plantation Co. (Joliet, Illinois) state that 

 their plan of financing has kept the company in funds for 

 developing the plantation in Vera Cruz, from the beginning. 

 They have 500 acres planted to rubber, now in good condi- 

 tion, and 800 acres in pasture, stocked with 550 head of 

 cattle. 



Tlie Batavia Co., Inc. (Milwaukee, Wisconsin) report i 00 

 acres cleared on the liacienda " Batavia, " in Oaxaca state, 

 Mexico, of which 646 to date have been devoted to rubber, 

 240 to coffee, and 120 to pasturage. The oldest rubber was 

 planted 6 years ago by the former owner of the land, l\Ir. 

 Alfredo Oest. 



Tlie fifth annual inspection report on the San Miguel 

 Plantation Co. 's (Chicago) estate, in Vera Cruz, bj' Mr. H. 

 G. Filiatreau, elected inspector by the shareholders, is ac- 

 companied by an album of 24 excellent halftone views from 

 photographs, taken on the property. Mention is made of 

 400 acres planted to rubber (some dating from 1902) and 450 

 acres to sugar cane. 



