August i, 1906.] 



THE INDIA RUBBER \A/^ORLD 



365 



HOW RUBBER ARRIVES AT NEW YORK. 



OI'- the many interesting sights along the water front of 

 a great seaport, there is none more fascinating than 

 to witness tlie disoliarging of cargo from the large 

 ships. There is always something new to be seen, 

 at least to the average observer — indications of unfamiliar 

 channels of trade, or the sight of commodities that he has 

 not seen before, and there is a charm in the glimpses of for- 

 eign life that may be gained. Not least interesting is the 

 business of receiving crude India-rubber, especiallj- the car 

 goes which arrive at New York several times each month, 

 by steamer from the .Vmazon. 



Few people not in the trade would imagine how much 

 skill and labor are required in stowing and discharging a 

 large consignment of rubber, and the rolls of red tape that 

 must be unwound before the last operation has been com- 

 pleted. Rubber from the Amazon arrives packed in wooden 

 eases, the weight of the contents varying with the grades of 

 rubber, the finer sorts being packed in the smaller cases. 

 Fine Para rubber usually is packed 170 kilograms (=374 

 pounds) and coarse 320 kilos (=704 pounds) to the case. 

 The cases are of inch pine stuff, which generalU* has been 

 shipped from New York. The packages containing Caucho 

 are apt to be less regular in size, being often the empty 

 goods bo.xes for which the local merchants in the rubber 

 countrj- have no further use. 



The rubber being subject to an export duty at the point 

 of shipment — Manaos or Para — is carefull)' weighed at start- 

 ing in order that the taxing authorities may exact the ut- 

 most milreis. That detail having been disposed of, the rub- 

 ber is replaced in the cases, which are securel3' fastened 

 with metal bands, and put on board a steamer, which often 

 carries nothing else. The rubber is "stowed " in the hold 

 with such nicety that the shipment seems to have been made 

 to fit the vessel, and so as to preclude the possibilit}- of a 

 shifting of the cargo in case of rough weather. As the basis 

 of freight charges is the space occupied, and not the weight, 

 it is desirable to get as much rubber as possible in the space 

 paid for. Hence the rubber is tightly packed in the cases, 

 for which purpose the great smoked balls or " hams " are 



cut into pieces which will fit closely, and the packing cases 

 are regular in shape to further promote economj- in space. 



Right here it may be noted that in the increased shipments 

 there is an indication of the enormous growth in the con- 

 sumption of rubber that has taken place in the past quarter 

 century. Whereas formerly an occasional schooner brought 

 rubber to New York, and a consignment of 50 tons was con- 

 sidered large, now there is a regular service of steamers, 

 arriving with from 200 to 1000 tons of rubber aboard, the 

 details of which are cabled ahead. 



A day or two before a ship is expected, the agent to whom 

 it is consigned goes to the New York custom house and 

 makes a declaration of her cargo, whereupon a preliminary 

 or conditional " paper " is issued, allowing the agent to be- 

 gin to discharge the cargo without delay. Sometimes two, 

 or even three days elapse before the final papers are issued, 

 and bj- that time much if not all of the cargo has been re- 

 moved from the ship, which, by the waj-, ties up at a wharf, 

 contiguous to a bonded warehouse. 



As soon as the ship is warped into the dock, preparations 

 arc made for unloading. Close by each hatchway is a 

 steam winch and an imposing arra}' of blocks, falls, and 

 tackles, all ready for business almost before the captain 

 goes ashore to report his arrival. A boss stevedore with 

 several assistants and foreman and a large number of minor 

 emploj'es are on the dock waiting for the word to begin. 

 They are a sturdj% business like lot of fellows. They work 

 rapidly, skilfully, and quietly, shattering to bits any ro- 

 mantic ideas of them the spectator may have imbibed from 

 novels or newspapers. \Vith much precision and in perfect 

 harmony they set to work and the way the cargo disappears 

 from the ship, reappearing in neatly arranged piles on the 

 dock, is marvelous. 



When the signal to commence has been given, the donkey 

 engine starts up, the winch revolves, and a rope with a 

 huge hook dangling from its end descends into the ship's 

 hold. Almo.st instantlj- it reappears, bringing with it a 

 case of rubber which it lands on the dock. There the case 

 is loaded on a small truck and a stevedore wheels it toward 



RUBBER IN CASES ON THE. DOCK. 



[The long cases contain line Para rubber, just removed Ironi the steamer 

 seen bevond J 



WEIGHING RUBBER AT BROOKLYN. 



[.\ii empty package is being weighed : the rubber appears in a pile in the 

 foreground. j 



