Sl-.l'l I \IUER I, 1903.] 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



427 



pany is doing all that we expected of it." Treasurer T. A. 

 Mason reported $30,537,86 realized to May 31 from sales of 

 shares, of which $8684.55 had been paid on land, $11,040 on 

 improvement work, $1000 for superintendent's salary six 

 months, and $1505.88 for other items specified, leaving a bal- 

 ance of $8307.13, part of which had already been a [ > j > r . > ; , i kited 

 to pay, before maturity, a note given for purchase of the i.md. 

 There are still outstanding notes for $21,000, held by share- 

 holders in the company, the last one maturing January r, 1906. 

 Payments on shares now amount to about $2500 a month. A 

 rubber nursery had been formed, with a view to transplanting 

 this fall. " Considerable rubber " had also been planted at 

 stake. The cattle business is believed to be good, and at first 

 much attention will be given to pasturage. The Rev, I). T. 

 Robertson, of Joliet, was chosen to make the first annual in- 

 spection, with Professor H. A. Fraser alternate inspector. The 

 company own 3200 acres of land. The financial report above 

 mentioned is noticed here so fully because it is the clearest 

 yet published by any of the rubber planting companies organ- 

 ized on the cooperative installment plan. 



LA NUEVA PROV1DENCIA RUBBER CO. 



[See Thk India Rubhek VVokld, May i, i , 



At a meeting of the shareholders (Providence, Rhode 

 Island, July 29), it was voted to increase the capital stock from 

 $20,000 to $100,000, to develop the company's rubber plantation 

 in Guatemala. After the meeting the shareholders enjoyed a 

 dinner at the Narragansett Hotel, for which had been prepared 

 a handsome and unique menu card, bound in sheet rubber. 



MEXICAN MUTUAL MAHOGANY AND RUBBER CO. 



Incorporated under South Dakota laws with $2,500,000 

 capital, in $1 shares, now offered to secure funds for completion 

 of purchase price of 168,988 acres, in Palenque department, 

 state of Chiapas, acquired directly from the government, and 

 to begin work of development. The plans embrace the cutting 

 of mahogany and cedar and gathering wild rubber and chicle, 

 both of which are reported to abound on the property. It is 

 not intended, at first, to do any planting. There has been a 

 change in the list of officers since a former notice in these 

 pages (April 1, 1903 — page 226). Dr. O. Hasenkamp is presi- 

 dent, J. A. Parker vice president, H. H. Barber secretary, and 

 George A. De Witt treasurer — all of Toledo, Ohio, where offices 

 are established in the Spitzer building. 



THE UDAPOLA RUBBER CO., LIMITED. 

 This is a new company, with capital authorized of 50.000 

 rupees [=$16,221.67], formed 'o purchase the Udapola estate, 

 in the district of Kegalla, Ceylon, .and to develop the same, or 

 any other premises that may be acquired, India-rubber plant- 

 ing to be the chief object. Directors'. E. D. Harrison, William 

 Saunders, Thomas C. Huxley, A. L. H. Haycock, and F. L. 

 Clements— all of Colombo. 



AN EXPEDITION TO THE AMAZON. 



Major J. Orton Kerbey, of Pittsburgh, Pa., some time 

 United States consul at Pard, since when he has been inter- 

 ested in the development of enterprises in relation to rubber 

 exploitation, informs The India Rubber World that he is 

 organizing an expedition to the Amazon valley, to give invest- 

 ors and merchants an opportunity to see for themselves the re- 

 sources of the rubber regions and the possibilities of trade in 

 them. Several citizens of Pittsburgh have expressed an inten- 

 tion of joining the expedition. 



BALATA IN TRINIDAD. 



The report of this British colony for 1901-02 mentions the 

 appointment of a forest officer, in order to preserve the forests 

 in a systematic manner. " Large quantities of Balata," it is 



stated, " a valuable species of hardwood, have been killed by 

 persons stealing the gum for exportation, but steps are now 

 being taken which it is hoped will put a stop to this destruc- 

 tion." 



MEXICAN HOSPITALITY AT MANATITLAN. 



The United Planters' Association of Mexico, composed 

 largely of Americans interested in rubber and coffee planta- 

 tions, arranged to have a general meeting followed by a ban- 

 quet and ball at Minatitlan, Vera Cruz, on the Fourth of July. 

 It happened that iheje/e politico of the canton heard of it, and 

 calling the principal Mexican business men together, a gener- 

 ous sum of money was raised, so that the town was decorated, 

 and the American guests were greeted with bands of music, 

 fireworks, and cannonade salutes, and Mexican and American 

 fraternized in a manner that was delightful to behold. The 

 banquet, with its speeches, its songs, and the ball that followed, 

 was most successful. On the morning following the celebra- 

 tion, the United Planters' Association met and resolved to 

 Iraternize with their Mexican hosts, on their own Indepen- 

 dence Day, which takes place on September 16. For this $2000 

 was pledged, and an exceedingly interesting celebration is in 

 prospect. 



DROUGHT IN CEARA (BRAZIL) AND RUBBER. 



The exportation of rubber from the Brazilian state of Ceard 

 (from Manihot Glaziovii), though begun as long ago as 1846, 

 has so far failed to attain great importance, if an exception be 

 made of two or three years embraced in the table below. The 

 exports for ten years past have been [in kilograms] : 



1S93 135.309 l8 9 8 1,008,317 



1894 146,627 1899 520,476 



1895 191,108 19CO 436,176 



1896 324,327 1901 228,782 



1897 493,507 1902 300,000 



As indicated in The India Rubber World of April 15, 

 1S94 (page 8-9), the methods of extraction of Ceara rubber are 

 injurious to the trees, but another important consideration is 

 the frequent prevalence of severe drought. The Brazilian Re- 

 view remarked lately that " drought in Ceara has become so 

 common as to appear almost the normal condition." In 1898, 

 according to a British consular report, 25,872 poor people emi- 

 grated from that state to the Amazon rubber regions to find 

 work, on account of the parched condition of the lands. The 

 loss in cattle, which could not be removed, was very heavy. 

 The total rainfall was only 20J inches, against 75^ inches in 

 1897. It is reported, by the way, that the drought now prevail- 

 ing in Ceard is exceptionally heavy— a fact which may again, as 

 in the past, contribute to a heavy rubber crop on the Amazon, 

 due to the exodus thither of Cearenses. Meanwhile the Ceara 

 rubber crop may be expected to be very small. 



RUBBER MONOPOLY IN THE EGYPTIAN SOUDAN. 

 The Anglo- Egyptian administration in the Soudan, by decree 

 of May 1, 1903, has claimed for its own the commerce of Caout- 

 chouc and Guttapercha (all through the Soudan with the ex- 

 ception of Kordofan),as well as of ivory (in the Bahr-e!-Ghazal 

 and Fashoda districts), under governmental management. 

 Seemingly this measure has been prompted by a desire to pre- 

 vent the obnoxious system of spoliation with regard to these 

 valuable natural products, as is practised in so many regions 

 of Africa. — GummiZei/ung. 



RUBBER PLANTING COMPANY PUBLICATIONS. 



Batavia Plantation Co., Milwaukee, Wisconsin = Information Bulle- 

 tin [August, 1903]. S pp. 



The Motzorongo Co., Chicago, Illinois— The Motzorongo Bulletin, 

 No. n, August, 1903. 4 pp. 



