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THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[November 1, 1912. 



NOTES FROM BRITISH GUIANA. 



From Our Regular Correspondent. 

 PROSPFXTS OF THE BALATA INDUSTRY— A GLOOMY OUTLOOK. 

 ""pilE position of the balata industry is not such as to give 

 cause for general satisfaction. Ominous complaints have 

 been received from the interior, where bleeding operations are 

 in progress, that the trees are already refusing to yield. It is 

 a fact that the dry weather, which is due in the ordinary course 

 of events now, has already set in, but owing to the long du- 

 ration of the drought it was thought possible that the rainy sea- 

 son might have extended beyond the usual period. Such has 

 not liocn the case, and since I last wrote we have had scarcely 

 iiny rain. I have it on good authority that most of the gangs 

 are returning to the depots, alleging that it is only possible 

 to get balata by spoiling the trees, which would constitute la 

 ofifense, and that unless rains fall quickly the season will be a 

 failure. These rains have not fallen and already one gang 

 of men. sent up in May by Messrs. Bugle for six months, has 

 returned, the men asserting that they remained as long as 

 balata was there to bleed, but to remain longer was useless 

 This statement has lieen accepted, and the men have been dis- 

 charged. It is said that unless matters improve very quickly- - 

 which they show no sign of doing — only one-third of the usual 

 crop will be realized. 



Up to September 26 the exports were only 165.552 pounds, 

 against 524,541 pounds for the same period last year. It was 

 hoped that as shipments came more rapidly to town towards 

 the end of the season, some sensible impression would havi' 

 been made upon the deficit, although it was not anticipated tha; 

 it would have been entirely obliterated. It seems as though the 

 influence of the drought is going to be as disastrous as the most 

 pessimistic feared. If that is the case it cannot be doubted that 

 the result will be disastrous both for the industry and ihe 

 companies concerned. .Mready the events of 1911 have driven 

 some companies from the field, but it was hoped that the ex- 

 periences of that year would have been so instructive that 1912 

 would have been made more profitable. If matters do not mend. 

 as is feared, very little margin of profit will remain to the com- 

 panies. The advances to laborers have been more than usually 

 heavy on account of the drought, and it is doubtful if they will 

 make sufficient to clear themselves. Absconding has been 

 fairly rife this season, and with an output a third of the normal, 

 companies will not be in a favorable position to pay for ex- 

 ])editions. which have been more costly than usual. The 

 outlook is by no means bright. Happily the industry has not 

 the dead-weight expenditure of export duty on balata to meet 

 this year. 



THE REVENUE AND THE INDUSTRY— TOTAL AMOUNT OF ITS 

 CONTRIBUTIONS. 



Exactly how large the amount was, and how oppressive to the 

 industry, is disclosed by the report for 1911-12 of the receiver 

 general, R. Clifton Grannum, containing the financial statements 

 of the colony. The colony's exchequer benefited from the ex- 

 port duty on balata to the extent of $22,102.96. an amount of 

 $2,102.96 more than was estimated. It is interesting to record 

 that the surplus of revenue over expenditure for the year was 

 just $23,359.86, so that if this duty had not been imposed the 

 Government would have been about $1,000 to the good as the 

 result of the year's transactions. Other contributions to the 

 revenue by the industry were $23,457.15 in royalties, and $16,400 

 in licenses. So that altogether in round figures the industry 

 contributed $61,960.11 to the revenue. This does not include, 

 of course, the indirect contributions made by the laborers in 

 the industry to customs revenue. They were not inconsiderable. 

 MR STOCKDALE PROMOTED— DIRECTOR OF AGRICULTURE IN 

 MAURITIUS. 



The news has been received here with some regret that Mr 

 F. A. Stockdale, Assistant Director of Science and Agriculture, 

 has accepted the offer by the Secretary of State for the Colonies 



of the appointment as Director of Agriculture in Mauritius at 

 £800 per annum. Mr. Stockdale just doubles his emoluments, 

 and the promotion he has received is well deserved. Since ho 

 came to the colony in 1908 he has taken the greatest interest 

 in the rubber and the balata industries, and has done some 

 useful work at the Government's various experimental stations. 

 He represented the colony most successfully at the Rubber Kx- 

 hibition in London last year. 



SOME TAPPING EXPEUIMKNTS— MR. STOCKDALE'S REPORT. 



Mr. Stockdale has just issued his report on his visit to the 

 exjierimental station at Issorora in the North Western District, 

 where he commenced tapping experiments with the Para rubljer 

 trees that have reached a tappable size. He says : "These ex- 

 periments have for the present been laid out in two series, with 

 two groups in each series. The trees are being tapped on alter- 

 nate days on the half-herring bone system, and the latex is be- 

 ing coagulated with dilute (1 in 10) acetic acid. Notes made 

 at the time the experiments were commenced show that the 

 trees on the station may be divided into at least four groups 

 according to the structure, thickness, etc., of their barks. 

 Records are being kept of the different trees, and it will be 

 possible later to compare the yields of rubber given by different 

 types of plants. The latex in some trees was foimd to be of a 

 yellowish hue at first, but eventually turned to a whitish color 

 as tapping proceeded. In others the latex is a pure white from 

 the commencement. The first latex obtained was of a thick 

 consistency and coagulated readily in the cuts, but after a few 

 tappings it became thinner and ran readily in the cups. The 

 rubber is for the present being turned into biscuit form and is 

 well washed in cold rain water. It appears to be of good qual- 

 ity, and is of good strength, elasticity and resiliency. A careful 

 record is also being kept of the times that rains or showers 

 fall at the station, in order that after a few years reliable in- 

 formation might be available for the district. The question of 

 the time when rain falls in a district is of importance for rubber 

 planters, and data on this point are required. 



Tappings of young plantation Sapium Jeinnani are also being 

 commenced. The latex of these trees did not run freely. It 

 coagulated readily, and consequently the rubber had to be col- 

 lected as scrap. This rubber when carefully washed and dried 

 appears to be of good quality. Several systems of tapping will 

 be tried, and the relative yields of the different methods will 

 be obtained. Extension work is being pushed along, and the 

 planting of Hevea Brasiliensis is taking place as rapidly as pos- 

 sible. The planting of the third ten acres of the extension over 

 the creek should be completed during this year, and further 

 trials are being made on the hill slopes in conjunction with 

 balata, letter-wood, and bastard letter-wood. Trials with vari- 

 ous kinds of coflfee are also being undertaken, and it is possible 

 that planting of the Creole variety on the hill slopes will be 

 started. A visit was also made to the David Young Rubber 

 Estates on the Aruka River, and the progress of the different 

 kinds of rubber-producing trees was noted. The Para rubber 

 trees were bearing quite a fair crop of seed pods, and with suit- 

 able weather conditions a number of seeds should be obtained 

 from this property this year. 



P.AL.\TA AND RUBBER IN THE NORTH WESTERN DISTRICT- 

 INTERESTING FIGURES. 

 That small progress is being made in the rubber and balata 

 industries in the North Western District of the colony is re- 

 vealed by the report of the commissioner, H. Thompson King. 

 He records an increase in the quantity of balata and rubber 

 shipped for the district during the year 1911-12, but says that 

 the estimated returns have not been reahzed. He attributes this 

 result to the exceptionally dry weather during the greater part 

 .if the year. There is not much hope that 1912-13 will produce 

 an appreciably better result, if as good. The output of balata 

 from the three sub-divisions was as follows: Barima. 5.498 



