246 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[February 1, 1913. 



1875 with a commission to get the seeds in any way he could. 

 It was not so difficult to get the seeds — but it was extremely 

 difficult to get them out of the country, as obviously the Brazilian 

 authorities would not view with composure this attempt to rob 

 them of their monopoly. But by great good luck in the following 

 year he was able to charter an English steamer that appeared 

 on the Amazon, and by the assistance of a small army of natives 

 he soon collected over 70,000 seeds, and was off down the 

 Amazon and out on the ocean headed for England. The seeds 

 were planted immediately on his arrival, and two weeks later 

 thousands of little rubber plants were to be seen in Kew Gardens. 

 These were later sent to Ceylon, and there started the great 

 plantation industry. The above picture shows Mr. Wickham 

 (who is still hale and hearty and interested in rubber growing) 

 leaning against one of his seedlings sent out to Ceylon thirty- 

 seven years ago. This tree produced 240 pounds of dry rubber 

 in the two years 1909 to 1911. 



CEYLON HARD FINE PARA. 



According to latest advices, Mr. H. A. Wickham, the father of 

 the Eastern plantation industry, expects to remain until July 

 next in Ceylon, where he has been more than six months de- 

 veloping his process for producing plantation rubber on the lines 

 of Hard Cure Para. His previous work on these lines was 

 referred to in The India Rubber World of November, 1912, on 

 page 112. 



From reports quoted in the local Ceylon press, it would seem 

 that the samples of rubber treated by Mr. Wickham's process 

 have been pronounced in New York and London to be the 

 nearest approach to Fine Hard Brazilian Para as yet sent from 

 Eastern plantations. 



In order still further to test the matter, it is proposed to ship 

 half a ton of this smoke-cured rubber at an early date. Manu- 

 facturers are prepared, it is said, to pay a premium of 4d. per 

 pound for this rubber treated by Mr. Wickham's process. 



A FRENCH VIEW OF AMAZONIAN ECONOMIC 

 DEVELOPMENT. 



IN an interesting article in the "Bulletin of the French Society 

 * of Commercial Geography" M. V. Cayla (Agricultural Engi- 

 neer) deals with the general question of the economical develop- 

 ment of the Amazon territory. While much of the matter con- 

 tained in the article is already familiar to our readers, it seems 

 well worth while to review it briefly, in order to show the con- 

 clusions reached by a trained European observer, who has carried 

 on his investigations in that territory in a thorough and painstak- 

 ing manner. 



He recalls the fact that the Amazon, while doubling its produc- 

 tion of rubber within 20 years, now only furnishes about 49 per 

 cent, of the world's supply, instead of 61 per cent, a score of 

 years ago. The increased Malayan production will doubtless, it 

 is added, lead to a continuance of the present comparatively low 

 prices of rubber. These conditions are only to be met by a re- 

 duced cost of Brazilian production, to which end the recent 

 Federal legislative measures have been directed. 



The problem of Brazilian rubber includes two varieties, Hevea 

 and Castilloa (caucho), the former being of chief interest. It is 

 obtained by the Brazilian method, which under present conditions 

 is preferable to that used on the plantations of the Middle East. 

 The Amazonian production has, in fact, marked advantages over 

 the Malayan plantations. Virgin forests, rich in rubber trees, 

 cover extensive surfaces along the Amazon and its affluents. 

 Heveas are there found in the condition best adapted to their 

 development. By the fact that the seringueiro, when making up 

 his "estrada," only takes in sufficiently mature trees, in itself con- 

 stitutes a selection. These undoubted advantages, which have 

 rendered Amazonian rubber the standard of the market, are out- 



weighed by the high prices of labor and provisions; particularly 

 in the districts furthest from the seacoast. On the Rio Xingu, 

 moreover, the situation is complicated by the irregularities of the 

 bed of the river, which impede navigation. As a result of this 

 situation, the cost of rubber transport from Iriri to the port of 

 Para represents about 22^ cents per pound. 



Among the causes of dear labor is the insalubrity of the climate, 

 which prevents the workers, almost all from the State of Ceara, 

 from bringing their families to Amazonas. 



The export and other duties imposed by the States of Amazonas 

 and Para reach a total of 25.93 per cent, on the value. In addi- 

 tion there is a municipal tax levied on rubber at the point of 

 production, so that it is estimated that including the various 

 duties and freight, the cost of bringing rubber to Para represents 

 about 53 per cent, of the selling price at that point. It is added 

 that the freight from Para to Europe and to the United States 

 is too high and might be materially reduced. 



In view of the inexhaustible wealth of the Amazon basin in 

 rubber and other products, the improvement of the methods for 

 developing Brazilian industry acquires preponderating impor- 

 tance. Reference is specially made to cacao, rice and tobacco as 

 of possible interest in this connection. 



In addition to facilitating the wild rubber industry, the im- 

 portance is urged of developing the planting of Hevea in Brazil, 

 its natural home ; following out the successes which have marked 

 its introduction from Brazilian seed in the Middle East. This 

 principle has been understood by the Federal Government ; the 

 legislative measures adopted, while favoring the wild rubber ex- 

 traction by reductions in export duties, affording much greater 

 advantages to the plantation industry, ranging from premiums 

 for planters, to total exemption from export duty, and from 

 duty on the necessary working installation. Owing to the 

 legislation only dating from January, 1912, plantations are as yet 

 few in number, being principally situated along the lower Amazon 

 and in the large island of Marajo. 



Nor is the economic development of the Amazon in danger 

 from difficulty in the shipment of its products. The important 

 port of Para has recently completed improvements which will 

 permit of its accommodating at its quays steamers of 7,000 tons. 

 These facts are brought out by M. Cayla in the paper he has 

 prepared. in anticipation of his proposed visit to the Brazilian 

 Hevea plantations. In his concluding words he thus expresses 

 the French view of the situation : 



"The production of the Amazon is therefore not in the des- 

 perate situation which might be inferred from certain pessimist 

 opinions. Doubtless, it finds conditions not so easy as formerly, 

 competition having intervened for its chief product — rubber. 



"It becomes necessary to modify the processes used, . . . 

 and to turn from the period of exploitation to that of coloniza- 

 tion. This is the program which Brazil has traced for her 

 Northern states, for which competition is the best stimulant." 



THE BYRNE SMOKING MACHINE. 



The "Times of Ceylon" quotes a cable report from London 

 to the effect that the Byrne smoking machine has been thor- 

 oughly tested, with the result that the curing produces a distinct 

 improvement in the quality of the rubber. Figures obtained are 

 said to, show that the resiliency is better than that of Bukit 

 Lintang crepe, while the resistance and recovery are higher. 



RUBBER SHIPMENTS TO THE UNITED STATES FROM SOUTHAMPTON. 



An official report from Consul Albert W. Swain shows that 

 the shipments of crude rubber from Southampton to the United 

 States represented in 1910. $8,230,125, and in 1911, $7,436,690. 

 In contrast with these large exports of crude rubber are the 

 relatively small amounts of $60,040 and $60,200 for manufactured 

 rubber goods shipped from that port to this country. 



