NOVEMBEN I, 1902.] 



THE INDIA RUBtiER "WORLD 



39 



A GOVERNMENT REPORT ON RUBBER. 



SINCE the United States department of agriculture has 

 been understood for some time past to be devoting special 

 attention to the subject of rubber culture, on account of the 

 possibility of developing this interest in our new tropical pos- 

 sessions, the space devoted to this subject in its latest annual 

 publication* and the treatment accorded to it are likely to prove 

 disappointing to those who may look to this volume for infor- 

 mation. In a report on " Agriculture in the Tropical Islands 

 of United States," by Mr. O. F. Cook, botanist in charge of 

 investigations in tropical agriculture, less than two pages, un- 

 der the heading " Rubber and Gutta-percha," form the single 

 reference to the matter under discussion. The spirit in which 

 Mr. Cook writes is decidedly unfavorable to the formation of 

 rubber plantations. He says, for example : " Notwithstanding 

 widespread interest and the investment of millions of dollars, 

 it cannot be said that rubber culture has passed the experi- 

 mental stage, if indeed that period has been fairly reached." 

 But there is no reference to any experiment made in any coun- 

 try, or to the results, in such detail as will enable the reader to 

 look into the subject further with a view to satisfying himself 

 as to the present status of rubber cultivation, or to investigate 

 the reasons for " the investment of millions of dollars " which 

 is still going on. 



Mr. Cook says again : " Moreover, it is known that many 

 rubber plantations established with the most lively expecta- 

 tions have been abandoned because the anticipation of a profit- 

 able yield of rubber from cultivated trees proved to be falla- 

 cious." This report would have been more complete and more 

 convincing had it been followed by a list of such plantations 

 and of their locations. As a matter of fact, there has not been 

 time, since the systematic planting of rubber on a commercial 

 scale began actively, for very many of the plantations to become 

 productive, and, so far as we can learn, the results attained have 

 been such as to encourage very many others to engage in this 

 branch of planting. There is reason to believe that more rub- 

 ber trees have been planted in Ceylon, the Malay peninsula, 

 Burma, Mexico, Central America, and the West Indies during 

 the last twelve months than in any previous year, and in the 

 list of plantations on record in The India Rubber World 

 office — which includes all that we have been able to gain any 

 knowledge of during the past ten years —there has been no case 

 of abandonment of trees once planted. Mr. Cook admits, how- 

 ever, that " similar disappointments, misapprehensions, and 

 misrepresentations " — referring to the prospectuses of certain 

 companies formed to plant rubber in Mexico and Central 

 America — " have, of course, marked the early history of many 

 finally successful and important industries." 



The author of this report seems to think that a particularly 

 weak point in the projected rubber planting enterprises is a lack 

 of definite botanical knowledge as regards species yielding rub- 

 ber, and he notes that " the traditional rubber tree of Pard has 

 recently been described as a new species and found to be quite 

 different from the Hevea Braiiliensts, with which it has so long 

 been confused." We don't believe that any botanist to-day is 

 prepared to designate without " confusion " the several species 

 which actually yield the rubber product of the Amazon valley. 

 But, none the less, the trees found there yield the same qual- 

 ity of rubber, whether termed Htvea Brasiliensis, Siphonia 

 Kunthiana, or Jatropha elastica — all of which designations 

 have been applied by botanists of standing to a single species^ 

 to say nothing of designations by writers of less reputation. 



* Year Book of rhe United States Department of Agriculture. 1901. Wasliing- 

 ton : Governmen- Printing Office, 1902. [8 vo. Pp. 846^.\c plates.] 



Of course, it will be wise for any intending planter of rubber to 

 first be assured that the species which he is planting is one 

 which actually produces rubber. But it is hardly fair for Mr. 

 Cook to quote as a discouraging fact a recommendation by 

 some unnamed person that Eticomniia uhnoides — a plant found 

 in China — be cultivated tor the sake of Gutta-percha, when, as 

 he states, " Gutta percha would need to be worth $60 a pound 

 before the culture of Eucommza would become profitable." The 

 fact that this plant contains a small quantity of Gutta-percha 

 has been printed rather widely within two years past, but a 

 careful reading of all the journals devoted to tropical planting 

 fails to show in any case a recommendation that the species 

 referred to be planted as a source of Gutta-percha. 



We regard it as the province of a government bureau charged 

 with the advancement of planting interests to guard the read- 

 ers of its publications against wrong courses, no less than to 

 point out new channels for profitable industry. But the great- 

 est agricultural department in the world, and one whose state- 

 ments are received with respect in every country, should not, 

 in a comprehensive review of cultural progress for the year, 

 touch upon the subject of rubber cultivation in such a way as 

 to leave the impression that no practical results have been at- 

 tained, that the " experimental stage " has not even been " fair- 

 ly reached," and that many rubber plantations established have 

 been abandoned. A not unreasonable inference from this re- 

 port would be that there is no practical rubber planting in ex- 

 istence. However, Mr. Cook has since visited some rubber 

 plantations in Mexico, and the results of his observations may 

 appear in later reports of a diflferent character. 



The United States is the acknowledged home of the 

 gum chewer. Not in England, France, Germany, nor Russia 

 are to be found factories for the production of this luxury, nor 

 a market for it. This is not only acknowledged by the be- 

 nighted denizens of those lands, but they bear evidence of 

 being proud of it. Who can assert, however, that this habit, if 

 it has not a distinct civilizing effect, may not at least be a 

 natural defense against certain weaknesses which some other 

 movements of the jaws entail ? An ancient saying has it " He 

 that ruleth his spirit is greater than he that taketh a city." Its 

 modern paraphrase might well be " He that holds his jaw is 

 greater than he that taketh Manila." This then is the crux of 

 the whole matter. Gossip, back biting, foolish speaking are 

 all " knocked out " by the odorous strip of chicle and sugar. 

 And what of the national conservation of energy resulting from 

 this general silent jawing — particularly among the petticoated .' 

 This is why the Filipino has a future equal to our own. He is 

 a gum chewer, taps his own Sapota trees, and makes and mar- 

 kets lots of gum. Welcome, brother ! 



It may heli' to quiet the nerves of some people who 

 have been so badly frightened over the gigantic power of the 

 Trusts to hear that on the date for the regular annual meeting 

 of the American Bicycle Co. not enough shareholders ap- 

 peared for the transaction of business. There are some other 

 Trusts that, without the skilful application of stimulants, are 

 not likely to survive long enough for the attacks by the out- 

 raged and injured public that certain prominent citizens are 

 urging. 



There is no more interesting field for study or experi- 

 ment, in connection with the ruober industry to-day, than that 

 offered by the tire interest. Some matters worth considering 

 with regard to tires of various kinds are discussed in the letters 

 in this issue from Great Britain and from Akron, Ohio. 



