August i, 1906.] 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



367 



AMAZON STEAM NAVIGATION. 



'Tpo iiii; KniToK oi' Titic Iniha Rr)tni;i< Woki.d: The 

 -*- directors of the Ania/on Steam Navigation Co., Lim- 

 ited, will recommend to the .shareholders at the annual 

 meeting to be held on the 27th inst., the payment of a final 

 dividend of 3 |)er cent. {ys. 6d. per share) in respect of the 

 second half of the year 1905, making 5 per cent, for the year. 



G. STRKKT & CO., l.IMITi;i>, 

 Loiuloii, June 9, ii)o6, 



GOOD QUALITY OF CONAKRY RUBBER. 



^ I ^llV, best rubber from French West Africa, writes the 

 British consul general at Dakar, the rublier known as 

 Conakry •■ niggers, " continues to be e.\ported in sacks bear- 

 ing the customs seal as a guarantee of quality, but every 

 other quality may be exported without it. The result of 

 this compromise is that Conakrj- "niggers" have main- 

 tained their price. The a])plication of the new regulations 

 had a most marked effect in the Beyla district of Upper Gu - 

 nea. The rubber produced there improved to such a degree 

 that in April, 1905, it was given a special quotation on the 

 Bordeaux market under the appellation of Bejda " niggers," 

 and at once ranked with Conakrj' "niggers." Because of 

 its backward state the new regulations are not to be intro- 

 duced into the Lower Ivory Coast until 1907 ; but they have 

 been introduced into the upper districts. 



IMAGINARY RUBBER GATHERING. 



^ I ^Hi: Indi.\ Ri hheu World has received from Mr. John 

 -^ J. Voorhees an illustration of rubber gathering which 

 he in turn received from R. F. Sears & Co. (Para), as far 

 back as 1894. The picture is done in colors and shows a 

 fertile spot, presumablj^ on the banks of the Amazon, on 

 which are growing a number of very thrifty palm trees. On 

 the trunks of these trees appear huge fungus like objects, 

 presumably hams of Para rubber, which gaudily clad natives 

 are cutting off with hatchets. Distributed among the palms 

 are several cactus plants of the tj-pe that in realitj' grow 

 only in dry desert regions. As a freak of the imagination 

 the whole picture is delicious, and its title " Natives gather- 

 ing pure Para rubber " wonderfully informing. 



A RUBBER YARN FROM PENANG. 



^ I HE latest India-rubber lie, told me by a rubber-necked 

 -*• planter the other day, sav'S a correspondent of Tin- 

 Malay Mail, is that a patent is being brought out to check 

 the stealing of latex on estates. It is a verj- simple affair 

 and simplj- consists of a meter attached to the tap root of 

 the tree. This is read periodically and thus the returns 

 from the tree are constantly checked and pilfeiing can Le de- 

 tected, for if a coolie inadvertently or maliciously lets a tap 

 root remain running, the meter announces the fact. Are not 

 the inventions of the modern scientist wonderful in the ex- 

 treme ? 



Specimen ok M.\lav St.ates News. — Some 10,000 rubber 

 trees are being tapped on the Kent estates, at the rate of 

 about 2000 a day. — Malay Mail. 



INUIA-RUBBER GOODS IN COMMERCE. 



EXPORTS FKOM THE UNITED STATES. 

 /'^FFICLVL Statement of values of exports of manufac- 

 ^-^ tures of India-rubber and Gutta-percha, for May, 

 1906, and the first eleven months of five fiscal years, begin- 

 ning July I, from the treasury deiiartment at Washington : 



M( NTIIS. 



May 



July-April. 



Total 



Total, 1904-1903. . 

 Total. 1903-1902. . 

 Total, 1 902- 1 90 1 . . 

 Total. 1901-1900. 



Reliine, 

 Packing, 

 ftrdHoflc. 



5 83,305 

 1.035,705 



Boots 



and 



Shoes. 



% 64.978 

 1,160,146 



All 

 other 

 Ruhoer. 



Total. 



% .^16,031 

 2,369,4cSo 



Jt, 119,010 I $\ , 



892,232 , 1, 1 jj '>!" 

 802,985 I 1,045 '92 

 753,236 ' 1,006,982 



578.572 I 98I-058 



S 464.314 

 4.765.53' 



52.685,511 $5,229,845 



J.327.757 4.355.599 

 2,242 130 I 4,090 307 



2.075.925 I 3.836.143 

 1.607,448 I 3.167.078 



Drrv o.v Tire Treads. — Certain automobile tire treads 

 imported at New York were assessed for duty at 40 per cent. 

 ad valoiriii. under jiaragraph 450 of the tariff act, relating to 

 "vulcanized India-rubber known as hard rubber." The 

 protest of the ini])orter was sustained by the Inited States 

 general appraisers, on the ground that the goods in ques- 

 tion were not what is known commercially as "hard rub- 

 ber," ami were dutiable at 30 percent, as manufactures of 

 "vulcanized India-rubber," under paragraph 449. 



Gardi;n Hose in South Africa — The Canadian com- 

 mercial agent at Cape Town reports ; " Large quantities of 

 garden hose are imported, and the varieties most in demand 

 are the plain rubber and armoured (wired) types, ':; and J/ 

 inch, three plj- in 50 foot rolls. The principal suppliers are 

 the United States, England, and Germ;niv. " 



WHERE RUBBER HEELS ARE PUT ON. 



I HE Boston American Slioemaking saj'S : "Seeing that 

 -*- rubber tips have taken such hold of the public it is 

 surprising how few samples one sees in the factories having 

 rubber top-lifts affixed. Unquestionably thousands of pairs 

 of shoes have rubber tips added to the heels and which to a 

 shoe-maker have the effect of spoiling the range of the shoes 

 when added to heels already sufficiently high according to 

 the last shape. One can only regard this as due to retailers 

 generally selling and attaching tips as an 'extra' to be 

 paid for accordingly." 



Chicle is beginning to appeal to British interests, accord- 

 ing to Modern Mexico, which mentions H. Pluninier, of 

 England, as attempting to secure control of Chicle produc- 

 ing areas in Yucatan, with a to view exporting the product to 

 Liverpool. The intended use of the material is not stated. 

 Hitherto the principal consumption of Chicle has been in 

 the United States, for making chewing gum, but this is an 

 article not known to have found much favor elsewhere. 



GiTT.v-rERCH.^ tissue, such as tailors use, is now very 

 little imported into the United Slates, whereas at one time 

 almost the total consumption was supplied from abroad. It 

 is estimated that the trade in such tissue now amounts in 

 value to S3oo,ooo a year, and is supplied principally bj- two 

 manufacturers. 



Speaking of this tissue it is a bit remarkable but it is 

 generally known by tailors as rubber tissue. 



