140 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[December 1, 1912. 



company claims to have been so far the only one to show the 

 finished product and to ship Philippine rubber. Although its 

 rubber has up to the present only entered the American market 

 un a very limited scale, it has within the last few years been 

 favorably received in Europe, particularly in London and Ham- 

 burg. One of the first shipments made realized in May, 1910, al 

 auction in London, the equivalent of $2.63 per pound, and has 

 ever since commanded about the top price. 



V.XRIETIES PL.\XTED. 



Although at first Hevea Ceara, and Castilloa were tried, the 



first-named became the most important, it being estimated that 



90 per cent, of the acreage at present planted is in that variety, 



the balance being distributed between the others. The various 



Six-Ye.\r-Old Para Rubber. 

 [Basilan Plan-t.\tion Co.] 



grades were represented among the samples exhibited at the 

 recent exposition. The Castilloa virgin scrap exhibited is the first 

 Castilloa tapped in the Philippines. 



SHIPMENTS OF B.\S1L.\X RUBBER. 



The first small shipment (of Ceara rubber) was made in 1909 

 to Hamburg, subsequent shipments being Para. .\ quantity of 

 130 pounds was shipped to London in 1910, while 600 pounds 

 were shipped to Hamburg in 1911. .\rrangements have been 

 made for shipments to Gravenhorst & Co., New York, thus fol- 

 lowing up the success achieved in Europe. 



An official report confirms the statement of the Moro Prov- 

 ince Government that the Basilan Co. is the only one at present 

 actually producing rubber, out of some eight rubber companies 

 established up to the present in the .Archipelago. 



PROSPECTS OF PHILIPPINE RUBBER. 

 By the extent of the plantings since 1909, it is evident that 

 large interests are involved in Philippine rubber, which tend to 

 assure its development. It may, therefore, be of interest to 

 glance at the physical conditions under which it is being 

 cultivated. 



CLIM.-\.TIC CONDITIONS. 



Large quantities of Government land can be secured on the 

 easiest terms, and the Philippine soil, it is claimed, is not sur- 

 passed by that of any rubber-growing district in the world. The 

 annual rainfall of 100 inches is evenly distributed throughout 

 the year ; while being out of the typhoon belt, there are no 

 storms ; the temperature rarely exceeding 92 degs. F. In fact, 

 the Philippines have been described for centuries as essentially 

 a "white man's country." 



The location of Moro province is an ideal one. its most north- 

 ern point reaching nine degrees north of the equator; the limit 

 in which Hcvca rubber does best, being within a zone ten de- 

 grees north or south of the line. 



COST OF PRODUCTION. 



The various elements of cost of production have been care- 

 fully analyzed by the Moro Province Government. According 

 to its estimate, new land can be brought into cultivation for a 

 price per acre of $50.94, as compared with $73.60 in Sumatra, 

 $109.94 in Java, and $137.42 in the Straits Settlements. 



The relative costs of upkeep per acre are quoted : Moro Prov- 

 ince, $18: Sumatra, $20; Java, $23; Malay States, $29. It is 

 claimed that an acre of Para rubber can be brought into bearing 

 (fifth year) for $1(X), covering all charges, including cost of land. 



Rubber is usually planted from 100 to 150 trees per acre. As 

 the yield ir.creases year by year, the cost of production gradually 

 diminishes. From carefully-kept statistics, five-year-old rubber 

 trees have averaged three-quarters of a pound per tree, against 

 estimates by world's experts of half a pound for trees of that 

 age. This brings the cost per pound of dry rubber of finest 

 quality, ready for shipment, to 33 cents per pound, which can be 

 reduced as the yield increases with age. Abundant native labor 

 is procurable at 20 to 30 cents per day, United States currency, 

 of a character far excelling that of other rubber countries. There 

 is, moreover, a very efficient contract labor law. 



T.\PPING AND PREPARATION. 



The trees are tapped in the early morning, being finished by 

 10 a. m.. when the tappers are available for other work. The 

 latex is coagulated at the factory with acetic acid or other coagu- 

 lant, the operation taking from one to two hours, and the sur- 

 plus water expelled by wooden or metal rollers. The rubber 

 is then placed on galvanized woven wire racks to dry. After 

 drying, if so desired, it is smoked, when the sheets, crepe or 

 biscuits are ready for packing. 



ESTIM.ATE OF ACRE.\GE APPROACHING PRODUCTIVE STAGE. 



While the Moro Government Commissioner's estimate of the 

 total planted area in the Philippines is 6,000 acres, the official 

 estimate of the Director of Agriculture places the acreage in 

 promising rubber trees (approaching the bearing stage) as about 

 1.250 acres. The acreage on paper, it is added, might amount to 

 125.000 acres. 



The official report attributes the failure of the hundreds of 

 thousands of Para seedlings within the last few years, to 

 drought, unsuitable location, natural enemies, improper planting 

 of seeds, transplanting of young trees and mistakes in man- 

 agement. 



Only Para rubber, it is stated, is now considered of value on 

 the plantations, Ceara and Castilloa having in most cases been 

 abandoned, owing to their inability to withstand droughts and 

 strong winds and their variability in yield of late.x. 



It is understood that the Philippine government will shortly 



