368 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[August i, 1905. 



The result of practical trials, based on the laboratory experi- 

 ment, have not as yet been made public. 



The output of crude rubber (including the gum and other 

 foreign substances) varies according to the moisture contained 

 in the plants and is figured at from 8 to 12 per cent. Conse- 

 quently, the output in the manufacture of rubber of superior 

 quality, containing only 12 per cent, of foreign matter would 

 vary between 6.8 and 10.2 per cent. 



A plant with a daily capacity of 1000 kilograms [=2204 

 poundsl of Guayule rubber would daily require 10,000 to 14,286 

 kilos of dry crude material, figuring on an output of 7 to 10 per 

 cent. 



Now, let us suppose that i hectare [ = 2.471 acres] of the cal- 

 careous mountain slopes of which we spoke in this article fur- 

 nishes 600 kilograms of Guayule plants. The extracting plant 

 above referred to would daily require the product of 16.7 to 

 23.8 hectares, or the plants from 601 2 to 8568 hectares annually . 

 Even if we assume that the next generation of plants could be 

 harvested after the lapse of 10 years, it would be necessary to 

 command an area as large as 60,120 to 85,680 hectares [=148,- 

 557 to 211,715 acres] of Guayule producing land. 



Now, if we bear in mind that even under favorable conditions 

 only one seventh part of a large area of land produces Guayule 

 plants, it becomes evident that enormous distances and conse- 

 quently difficulties in the obtaining of the crude material for 

 such industrial enterprises will usually have to be taken into 

 consideration. 



Although a large part of the more important Guayule dis- 

 tricts commands good railway facilities, there still remain im- 

 mense areas whose exploitation would be made difficult, if not 

 impracticable, on account of the lack of means of transporta- 

 tion. 



These difficulties in transporting the material, which are 

 mainly due to the fact that water in sufficient quantities for the 

 requirements of pack animals cannot be found in these calca- 

 reous mountain districts, are encountered even where the lands 

 are no further removed from a station or watering place than 

 20 or at most 25 kilometers [ = \2}i to 15^ miles], a day's trip 

 (both ways). 



The cost of transporting the crude material is not of great 

 consequence, even where full day's journeys are concerned, es- 

 pecially when donkeys, the most suitable pack animals in the 

 chaparrals, are employed. A donkey driver, for instance, is 

 paid about 37 cents per day, and for his wage he must not only 

 transport the plants on two or three donkeys, but likewise 

 gather their loads. Twenty-five cents would be a high figure 

 for the feeding of a donkey, and it often costs only one half of 

 that sum. Each animal carries an average load of 75 kilos. 



For an entire day's journey (20 kilometers and return) two 

 loads (150 kilos) would therefore cost 50 + 37 = 87 cents, and 

 three loads (225 kilos) 754-37= 112 cents. The transporta- 

 tion charges per ton of crude material would therefore be 4.97 

 to 5.80 pesos [Mexican silver dollars]. It is asserted, however, 

 that for transportation over long distances, such as are already 

 required even now, the cost is sometimes increased to 25 pesos 

 per ton. 



The comparatively large amount of water required in the 

 manufacture of Guayule rubber makes it necessary to seriously 

 consider this question when locating a plant. The supply of 

 fuel offers fewer diflSculties, although it is sometimes expensive. 

 While firewood can as yet be usually obtained in sufficient quan- 

 tities and at low rates from the plantations of the Guayule dis- 

 trict, its purchase in cities like Torreon, where the price of mes- 

 quite wood {Prosopis Julijlora") is 5 pesos, is quite expensive. 



In the majority of cases the rubber manufacturer has to take 



care of the railway transportation of the crude material, while 

 the gathering and conveying of the plants to the stations is 

 usually attended to by the landowners. The prices to be paid 

 for the Guayule plants will as a rule be comparatively low, es- 

 pecially when the landowner is interested in the enterprise and 

 shares in its profits. 



The purchase or lease of Guayule lands offers material advan- 

 tages to the rubber producer. When the plants are gathered on 

 purchased or leased ground nearly the entire cost consists in 

 transportation and gathering expenses as the working of the 

 plantation, either by the raising of goats, cattle, horses, and 

 mules, or by the exploitation of uncultivated fiber plants, such 

 as "lechuguilla " (^Af:;ave heteracantha, Zuce) and several varie- 

 ties of the so called •' palma '* ( ) 'ucca spec), assures the earn- 

 ing of a fair rental. Still, owing to the increased demand for 

 Guayule, it will not be very easy to either purchase or lease 

 suitable lands at the present time. 



It is even more difficult to approximate the total supply of 

 crude material than to figure out the average output per hec- 

 tare. Let us assume that in the area of 75.000 square kilometers, 

 comprising the districts where the Guayule plant is principally 

 found, one-tenth actually contains a supply, this would mean a 

 territory of 7500 square kilometers or 750,000 hectares 

 [=2895.4 square miles]. If we figure the output on % ton per 

 hectare, we get a total supply of 375,000 tons, which, at the rate 

 of 7 to 10 per cent, rubber, represent a total of 26,250 to 37,500 

 tons of rubber. The supply of Guayule would therefore be suf- 

 ficient for operating the rubber plants already planned for a 

 number of years. 



In our calculation, however, the distant parts have been in- 

 cluded, although their exploitation would be very difficult on 

 account of the lack of water. These obstacles could be best 

 overcome by cultivation, which, in fact, has already been planned 

 by the Compania Explotadora de Caucho Mexicano. 



The very limited requirements of the plant, the small value 

 of the lands within the Guayule districts, as well as the low 

 rates of wages, are favorable factors for the success of Guayule 

 cultivation. 



Practically nothing is at the present time known regarding 

 the development of the plant from its seed. Some interested 

 parties assume that the cultivated plants (as well as the young 

 plants in their natural state) will have reached the average 

 height of the wild growing dwarf trees in from 8 to 10 years, 

 while others believe that this growth will not be attained in less 

 than 12 to 15 years. 



Judging by their general appearance, the majority of the 

 Guayule plants now being worked are older than 10 years. 

 Younger plants, however, produce rubber in accordance with 

 their bulk, and they may therefore be gathered before having 

 reached their full growth, without damaging the crop to any 

 tonsiderable extent. In favorable districts, where the plants 

 weigh I to 2 kilograms and even more, an average weight of 

 200 grams might be counted on, even though the plants were 

 harvested after 6 years or earlier. 



In this w^ay a Guayule plantation, supposing the planting to 

 be done in rows at a distance of i meter apart, with the 

 plants space in the rows at .50 meter apart, would produce about 

 20,000 plants to the hectare, or 4000 kilograms of crude tna- 

 terial. 



A daily output of 1000 kilos rubber would, therefore, figuring 

 on a percentage of 7 to 10 per cent., consume the plants grow- 

 ing on 2.5 to 3.5 hectarts, thus making the annual consumption 

 (360 days) equal to the product of from 900 to 1260 hectares. 



A harvest of 4000 kilos [ = 8,818 pounds] of Guayule plants 

 which, on the basis of the percentage quoted above, would pro- 



