March i, 1907. 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



'95 



ANTWERP AND CONGO RUBBER. 



T X ilKir aiiiiiial review o£ the Antwerp market for 1906 Messrs. 

 ^ Grisar & Co., the official brokers, devote their attention mainly 

 to the efforts now^ making to prevent the decline of rubber produc- 

 tion in the Congo Free State by forming plantations. First may 

 be introduced a table of the arrivals of rubber at .Vntwerp during 

 the last ID calendar years: 



Congo Other 



Ve.\r. State. Sources. Total. 



1897 Kilos 1,557,861 121,293 1.679,154 



1898 " 1,734,305 280,286 2,014,591 



1899 " 2,992,414 410,416 3,402,880 



1900 " 4,902,003 796,032 5,698.035 



1901 " 5,417,456 431.746 5,849.202 



1902 " 4,992,954 41 1,031 5,403,985 



1903 " 5,180,401 546,082 5.726,483 



1904 " 4,"23-6i8 1,040,238 5,765,856 



1905 " 4,442,607 1,271,121 5,71,3,728 



1906 " 4,593,759 1,178,303 5.772,062 



.Messrs. Grisar & Co. say: 



"As stated in our last review, the measures taken by the Congo 

 Free State to prevent abuses and the destruction of the State 

 forests have tended to put the rubber crop on a steady and 

 normal basis. On the other hand, the imports from the French 

 Congo show a deficit, owing to the new market at Havre. Congo 

 iinports are of excellent quality, and much sought by buyers, 

 w'ith rising prices. ."Vmong the different sorts, we especially men- 

 tion those from the plantations of -^sia. which co:iie regularly 

 and fetch the highest prices known in rubber history. 



"Rubber planting goes on steadily in the Congo basin, and 

 more systematically than in the past. In the region under review, 

 2,500,000 trees and lianas were set out in 1905, which brings the 

 total to 15,000,000 plants set out in accordance with the law. 

 To arrive at the actual number now standing we may deduct 

 2,000,000 plants for losses, due to ignorance on the part of the 

 planters' agents, or to negligence, or to the abandonment of 

 plantations formed under bad conditions. 



"Notwithstanding the planting done by the plantation com- 

 panies as required by law, the State has engaged in rubber cul- 

 ture wherever it promises good results. These State plantations 

 now number some 8,500,000 lianas and 750,000 fiiulumia elaslica 

 trees. The Hn-ea plantations, though much less important, de- 

 serve mention here ; and the results obtained from this source 

 have all along beeti satisfying. The State requires the propaga- 

 tion of this species where the soil and climate seem most favor- 

 able. For this purpose 20,000 Hcvea seeds have been sent to the 

 Congo this year. About 95 per cent of these arrived in good 

 condition and were distributed among the principal centers on 

 the lower Congo and in the Ubangi and Lualaba Kasai districts 

 Besides these, the older Hcveas at Boma, Colquilhatville, and 

 New .\ntwerp will yield a good crop of seeds this year. Studies 

 carried on for some years enable us to classify the rubber trees 

 and creepers indigenous to the Congo according to their relative 

 importance, from the standpoint of the care which they demand, 

 their vigor, and their productivity. The classification is : 



"Landolphia Klainii. 



"The 'Bendawe' or 'Lemoze' liane, from Urbangi. 



"Landolphia Owaricnsis, L. Droogucansiaita, and /. Gcntili, 

 and CUtandra Arnoldiana. 



"The indications are that well managed plantations will in 

 the future replace the wild growths as rubber sources, both 

 because of tlieir better yield and easier exploitation, while 

 that of the forest becomes more difiicult. We heartily approve 

 of the efforts of the Congo Free State to foster a desire for 

 better methods of culture, w-hich must have a good effect upon 

 the morality of the natives, as well as rendering their work 

 easier. 



"It might be well here to speak of the real progress made 

 in the Far East, where the planting of Hcvea Brasilicnsis, be- 



gun some ten years ago, is now giving excellent results. As 

 proof may be cited the statistics of imports from Ceylon and 

 the Federated Malay States, in English pounds : 



1902. 1903. 1904. 1905. 



Ceylon Pounds 15,592 41,798 77,212 168,547 



Malay States " 1,000 13,000 207,500 



"The regular and constantly increasing yield from these 

 plantations can not fail to play an important part in the rubber 

 trade." 



FIGGIS'S ANNUAL REVIEW, 



The annual review of the crude rubber trade by S, Figgis & 

 Co. (London) is devoted principally to Plantation rubber, the in- 

 crease in supply of which they mention as having been beyond 

 expectations. Their estimate of actual shipments is: 



From Ceylon 70 tons in 1905 ; 160 tons in igc6 



.From Malay States 75 tons in 1905; 350 tons'in 1906 



Total 145 510 



The preparation and quality, as a whole, have been excellent 

 and suitable to manufacturers, who have paid high prices for 

 fine lots of nice color and transparency when clean and resilient. 

 If "block" rubber is to be shipped, the Messrs. Figgis suggest 

 blocks not exceeding 3 inches in thickness and 12 inches long, 

 not more than 10 pounds in weight and packed in cases of I cwt. 



As was anticipated, the extra price of plantation fine com- 

 pared with Para fine was diminished with the larger supply of the 

 former, and may be expected to more nearly approach the fine 

 Para price with a larger output from the plantations. So far, 

 plantation rubber has not gone into consumption for the larger 

 uses of rubber, manufacturers having refused to pay a premium 

 for it except for special purposes, mainly solution. No doubt, 

 when the supply of plantation increases, manufacturers will apply 

 it to larger uses. The area planted to rubber or planting, in the 

 Far East, is estimated as follows, including rubber mi.xed with 

 tea and other crops: 



Ceylon 100,000 acres Java 20.000 acres 



Malay States . . . 90,000 " 



Borneo 12,000 " Total 222,000 acres 



The world's production of rubber for 1906 is estimated at 

 nearly 65,000 tons, and the consumption nearly as great. The 

 supply from the .Amazon showed no reduction. The output of 

 rubber in other sections of Brazil, especially "manigoba," has 

 been stimulated by companies working with large capital. The 

 year shows a net decline of 2 pence on fine Para goods, but a 

 penny advance on ncgroheads, owing to scarcity. On caucho 

 ball there has been a rise of 5d. per pound, following an advance 

 of 6d. the year before. 



INDURATED FIBER INSULATOR. 



D ECENTLY advantage has been taken of the insulating prop- 

 •^ *■ crties of indurated fiber to apply it to insulation uses. It 

 is stated that % inch thickness of the material will withstand 

 23,000 volts without puncture or breakdown, and H inch 46,000 

 volts. Indurated fiber is now used as a covering for wire, par- 

 ticularly in exposed places. It is also employed for battery jars, 

 transformer jars and covers, and the Western Union Telegraph 

 Co. are using it for resonators. An important application is in 

 third-rail work. .■\ considerable portion of the tracks of the 

 New York Central Railroad, in the electric zone of that road 

 near New York City, is being equipped with this material. In- 

 durated fiber is likewise used for protecting the third rails on 

 the elevated and subway roads in New York. The fiber can be 

 molded so as to fit closely any form of rail, and it serves to pro- 

 tect rails against corrosion and ammonia salts from the streets, 

 as well as against accidental contact. 



