230 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



! I, I9O3. 



INDIA-RUBBER GOODS IN COMMERCE. 



EXPORTS FROM THE UNITED STATES. 

 /'"OFFICIAL statement of values for January, 1903. and the 

 first seven months of four fiscal years, beginning July i: 



w 



COMPARATIVE STATEMENT BY COUNTRIES. 

 Values of imports and exports of manufactures of Caout- 

 chouc and Gutta percha, officially reported, for 1902, stated in 

 United States money, at par of exchange: 



Imports. Exports. 



German; $3,017,602 $11,132,708 



a United Kingdom [3.034.91"] 5,910,647 



United States 679465 3,815.754 



France (special commerce) 3<i94-53 n 1,896,418 



Austria-Hungary 2,275,715 1,849,245 



i Russia 45G73I 1,435,43' 



e Italy 808.130 606,817 



1/ Canada 775,029 322,572 



Total $14,237,418 {26,969.592 



[a — Not officially stated as yet ; imports estimated on basis of rive years preced- 

 ng. b — Estimated on basis of preceding returns, c— Figures for December esti- 

 mated. </-For fiscal year 1001-02.] 



The combined excess of exports for the countries named was 

 si 2 732.000, which represents approximately the value of the 

 market for rubber goods outside of these leading manufactur- 

 ing countries. 



RUBBER FOOTWEAR MOVEMENT FOR 1902. 

 [Official Relurns. Included in the Totals in the Preceding Table.] 



Imports. Exports. 



Germany $ 1,047.676 $ 452.438 



a United Kingdom [1.198,234] 835.458 



United States None. 1,065.592 



France (special commerce) 515.889 181,613 



Austria- Hungary 288,047 464.383 



b Canada '50.775 Not sta'ed. 



c Russia None. 1.354 336 



[a — Imports stated are for ioot. b — Fiscal year 1901-02. c — Estimated on basis 

 of preceding returns.] 



MORE PROTECTION FOR AUSTRIAN RUBBER SHOES. 

 The new tariff proposals of the Austro Hungarian govern- 

 ment involve an increase in the import duty on rubber footwear, 

 per 100 kilograms, from 71.43 kronen [=$1428! to 100 kronen 

 [ = §20.30], to enable the domestic factories to produce those 

 higher priced articles of which the imports chiefly consist, and 

 which, it is claimed, are now insufficiently protected. The Aus- 

 trian imports of rubber shoes have increased rapidly in recent 

 years — from an annual average of 29,040 pounds in weight in 



the years 1S83-1890, to an average of 386,540 pounds in the last 

 ten years. The annual value during the latter period has aver- 

 aged $223,300. The export of such goods meanwhile has as- 

 sumed considerable proportions. The figures for 1902 were 

 equal to $288,047 for imports and $464,383 for exports. Russia, 

 notwithstanding her enormous production (or export, lays an 

 import duty on rubber shoes of $52.78 per 100 kilograms in 

 weight, and in the new German tariff the rate on such goods 

 has been raised from $14.28 to $23.80 per 100 kilograms. The 

 value of rubber footwear imported into Austria is estimated at 

 about 600 kronen [ = $121.80] per 100 kilograms. 

 DOMINION OF CANADA. 

 Official statement, for the last six months of three years, 

 of values of free (crude) and dutiable (manufactured) imports 

 of India rubber and Gutta-percha: 



Fkhe : 1900. 1901. 1902. 



Great Britain $ 78 % 4,773 5 



United States 1,290.328 835,483 746,171 



Other countries 5,225 I2,4iS 513 



Total $1,295,631 $852,674 $753,051 



Dutiable: 



Great Britain § 58,246 $93,185 $139,285 



United States 196,382 289,597 274.253 



Other countries 7,870 9,012 7.621 



Total $262, 49S $391,794 $421,159 



THE SOURCE OF PONTIANAK. 



WRITING of thegum " Pontianac," in The India-Rubber 

 Journal, Dr. C. O. Weber unaccountably says : 



In America this product is used to a rather considerable extent, but I 

 am inclined to think that much of the article that passes in America un- 

 der the above name does not come from Borneo at all, but is the pro- 

 duct of the Central American " false" Castilloa — that is Castilloa tunu. 



While the source of this gum is as yet imperfectly known, 

 it is certain that the gum marketed in the United States as 

 " Pontianak " is not of American origin. It is designated in 

 the United States customs returns " Gutta- jelutong," and is 

 credited principally to Singapore, with smaller amounts from 

 Great Britain. The importation from Singapore during the 

 .fiscal year 1901-02 amounted to 16,805,752 pounds — or more 

 than the total production of Central American rubbers of 

 all sorts for several years together. Besides, it is not likely that 

 a Central American product would reach New York in sailing 

 vessels — 250 to 500 tons at a time — from Singapore. This is in 

 addition, by the way, to our imports of India-rubber. 



Mr. H. N. Ridley, F. L. S., in the Agricultural Bulletin of the 

 Malay Peninsula (May, 1900 — page 249) says of Dyera costulala 

 (Hook, fil.) : " This is the plant which produces the Jelutong 

 rubber, in the Peninsula," after which he gives a description of 

 the product, which corresponds to that of the gum imported 

 so largely into the United States. The Singapore market sta- 

 tistics which reach this country also describe the material as 

 " Gutta-jeletong." It is true that Mr. Ridley, who is the di- 

 rector of the botanic garden at Singapore, in more recent pub- 

 lications, is less confident that Dyera costulata is the plant 

 yielding Pontianak, but this involves no doubt that the gum is 

 of East Indian origin. For the manufacturer, of course, this 

 botanical discussion has little interest. A former dealer in 

 New York insisted that Pontianak was mined, and his custom- 

 ers did not stop to argue with him. 



M. Fernand Vivier, after visiting Singapore and Mexico, as- 

 sures the The India Rubber World that " Pontianak " and 

 Chicle are identical. Then why should Chicle sell here for ten 

 times as much ? 



