July i, 1906.] 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



313 



II-' MONKY HAS BEEN FRAUDULENTLY OBTAINED — and espe- 

 ciallj- from persons ill prepared to sustain a loss — whether 

 for the alleged purpose of forming rubber plantations or on 

 any other pretense, the law should be enforced, as it appears 

 will be done in the case of Borges, one of the promoters of 

 the Hoston " Ubero " companies. But in this case it is 

 doubtful whether the chief offender has been brought to jus- 

 tice. The companies in whose interest Borges worked were 

 not of his suggesting or planning, nor is it certain that he 

 gained the larger share of the funds misappropriated. The 

 master mind was that of a man who stood high in public 

 esteem — a man of capacity who had the good record of a life- 

 time to aid him in surrounding the schemes with every evi- 

 dence of respectability. This man is now a fugitive from 

 justice, and it is inconceivable that lie should have consented 

 to s.acrifice his reputation and become an outcast from his 

 native land without the assurance of a liberal pecuniarj- re- 

 ward. With Owen free, the conviction of his coadjutor and 

 tool does not sufEciently vindicate the majesty of the law in 

 this case. 



The i'kei'iction bv Dk. Willis, of the Ceylon botanic 

 gardens, that the Far Kast will, within 7 jears, be produc- 

 ing 10,000,000 to 15,000,000 pounds of cultivated rubber, 

 and in 15 years "probably exceed the exports of Brazil," is 

 the deliberate utterance of a careful student of the rubber 

 situation. The Editor of this Journal, expressing his con- 

 clusions, independently arrived at, before a meeting of rub- 

 ber men in New York a year ago, pointed out that there 

 were already in the Far East quite as many healthy Hevca 

 trees under cultivation as were supposed to be tapped yearly 

 in the Amazon valley — a fact which goes far to support the 

 position of Dr. Willis. Meanwhile more rubber trees are 

 being planted everj' year, while the number of wild trees 

 tapped does not appear to increase. 



A POINT WHICH appears TO BE OVERLOOKED, iu the re- 

 ports of a number of severe automobile tests made latelj', is 

 that so few tire troubles occurred. For instance, when Mr. 

 IMegargel reached New York, during the month, on his return 

 from a 12,000 mile trip to the Pacific and back, traveling 

 much of the way over wholly unimproved roads, it resulted 

 in high and merited praise for the machine and its occupant. 

 But no published report refers to the much more striking test 

 which the trip afforded of the excellence of the pneumatic 

 tires used. It is understood that only ten tires were em- 

 ployed, all told, and the automobile reached New York with 

 its tires in condition for many more miles' running. 



The POPULATION of Man.\os, the rubber city, is reported 

 to be 48,000. The state — of which Manaos is the only city — 

 has been making a loan in London of $1,703,275 (in United 

 States money), which amounts to $35.48 per capita. Consid- 

 ering the extravagance of Manaos financiering in the past, 

 $35.48 each is not likely to keep its citizens in funds very 

 long. Wh}- didn't they make it even $36? 



Nothing more clearly indicates the progressiveness of 

 the rubber industry in America than the readiness and the 

 success with which the manufacturers adopt new grades of 

 rubber, livery new rubber receives prompt and careful at- 

 tention, and factory practice is speedily adopted to make it 

 of the utmost possible service. Doubtless the facts given on 



another page in regard to the amount of Guayule now be- 

 ing consumed in the United States will surprise many in the 

 trade, and Tin; India Ruhher World is assured that, while 

 little of the plantation rubber from the Far East is imported 

 direct, a verj- considerable proportion of such rubber pro- 

 duced is consumed in this countr3'. 



There is a prospect that the United States may yet be- 

 come a rubber producing country — and that without going 

 to its tropical dependencies — through the utilization of the 

 Guayule plant, which is known to occur north of the Mexi- 

 can boundary. 



Till-: fact that the tire pool is about to disintegrate is 

 published and not only rubber manufacturers but all who 

 use tires are much interested. Brought down to their last 

 analysis the opinions are that the results will be two. First, 

 that tires will be somewhat cheaper; second, that the temp- 

 tation to make poorer grades of tires which has heretofore 

 not existed in any great measure will be at once introduced 

 into the business. Of course the fact that the tire pool goes 

 out of existence docs not make it any easier for manufactur- 

 ers who are not licensees under certain tire or rim patents to 

 enter the business. 



The government cotton crop report, which has fig- 

 ured largely in the news of the month past, has alwaj's a 

 very direct bearing upon the prices of this material. Con- 

 sidering the constant changes in the prices of this domestic 

 staple, the ])roduction of which has been so long systema- 

 tized, it would not be strange if rubber, a tropical forest pro- 

 duct, had fluctuated even more than it has. 



It is not known when the "sixty days " within which 

 the Colorado rubber was to appear on the market will expire. 



STILTS FOR HIGH RUBBER TAPPING. 



APR.ACTICE in the turpentine producing regions of 

 France, described in the New Orleans Times-Demo- 

 crat, might possibly be adopted with advantage in the tap- 

 ping of rubber trees, in some circumstances. It is walking 

 on stilts. 



It appears that young pine trees are tapped low, but with 

 each year's passage the incision is made higher up, so that 

 it is not long before most of the trees are tapped 20 or 30 feet 

 from the ground. Hence the huge stilts of the workmen. 

 On these stilts they traverse the flat countrj', covering five 

 or six j'ards with each stride, and quickly and easil3^ collect 

 the turpentine that overflows the little buckets hanging high 

 up in the trees. 



The stilt wearers carry a 15 foot stafifwith a round, flat 

 top like a dinner plate. When it is lunch time or when thej' 

 are tired they plant upright under them the .staff" and sit 

 down on its round, flat top. Then in comfort seated so diz- 

 zily high, they eat and rest and chatter — a strange sight to 

 behold. 



Where rubber trees are to be tapped at a considerable 

 height from the ground, as not infrequently happens, the 

 use of stilts might prove more convenient some times than 

 any means now employed by the rubber gatherers for reach- 

 ing their work. 



