272 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[February 1, 1913. 



Some Rubber Planting Notes. 



GOLD COAST ANUUAL REPORT. 



THE report of the Agricultural Department of the Govern- 

 ment of the Gold Coast for the year 1911 has recently been 

 submitted by Mr. W. S. D. Tudhope, Director of Agricul- 

 ture. An interesting table shows the following quantities (in 

 pounds) of rubber shipped from the colony during the years 1902- 



1911 inclusive: 



1902—1,599,974; 1903—2,258,981; 



1904-4,013,837; 1905-3,633,106; 



1906-3,649,668; 1907—3,549,548; 



1908—1,773,248; 1909—2,764,190; 



1910-3,223,265; 1911—2,668,667. 



Five agricultural stations were controlled by the department; 



one in each province of the colony, one in Ashanti, and one in 



the Northern Territories. During the year there were distributed 



the following quantities of plants and seeds : 



Plants. Seeds. 



Para rubber 43.455 94,115 



Funtumia rubber.... 8,898 3,930,000 (262 lbs.) 

 Supplies of Hevea Brasiliensis seeds were far short of the 

 demand. 



Several European plantation companies are now actively oper- 

 ating in the colony and Ashanti. The African Rubber Co. has 

 55.075 Para rubber trees, while the Avreboo Rubber Co. has 

 45.000 Para and 37,000 Funlumia. The West African Rubber 

 Plantations, Limited, have 300 acres planted with Para rubber, 

 and 150 acres with Funtumia. 



Plantations in Ashanti include the OiTin Rubber Plantations, 

 Limited, with 50,000 Funtumia trees 8 months old, and 5,0(X) 

 Para trees 6 months old ; as well as the Ashanti Rivers and 

 Concessions, Limited, with 2,5(X) Para rubber trees and 38,000 

 Funtumia. 



The above particulars indicate the progress being made by 

 European plantations ; while the rates of growth show that rubber 

 may be successfully grown in the Colony. 



RUBBER EXPORTS OF FEDERATED ItALAY STATES. 



Official statistics received from the Malay States Information 

 Agency, London, show the following rubber exports for the 



last three vears : 



1910. 1911. 1912. 



January 768,743 1,329,170 2,730,576 



February 728,458 1,490.849 2,715.767 



March 899,383 1,916,219 3,089,583 



April 1.123.097 1.235.917 2.285,390 



May 877,435 1,147.488 2.255,034 



Tune 879,675 1,229,754 2,305.915 



Julv 971,469 1.581,993 2,695,861 



August 981,022 1,651,845 3.655,535 



September 1,110.476 1.677,062 2,968,121 



October 1.484.847 2,182,857 3.210,831 



November 1.153.137 2,104,317 3.111,473 



December 1.234,669 2,147,859 3.693,929 



12,212,411 19,695,330 34,718,015 

 These statistics refer to the Federated Malay States only, and 

 do not include exports from the Straits Settlements or the Non- 

 Federated Malay States. The output for 1912 constitutes a 

 record for the first-named section of the Middle East. 



SCOTTISH MALAY RUBBER CO.. LTD. 



The crop for the eleven months ended November 30, 1912 

 amounted to 156,736 pounds dry rubber, as compared with 88,411 

 pounds for the corresponding period of 1911. 



ME. BAXENDALE CORRECTS AN ERROR, 



Some of the Ceylon papers had it that Mr. Cyril E. S. Baxen- 

 dale, when in this country on the occasion of the recent Rubber 

 Exposition, had stated that Malaya could produce rubber at 15 

 cents a pound. He has hastened to correct this error, saying 

 that he never gave an opinion as to the lowest cost of produc- 

 tion. He then continues: 



"I told the American manufacturers that a well-managed, 

 favorably situated, mature plantation can produce, with a 

 handsome profit, at 2s. 6d. (60 cents) per pound. I might 

 have put the figure lower, but I desired to ascertain whether 

 they anticipated a sufficient development of their business, if 

 rubber should fall to this nrice, to absorb the output of six 

 years hence. I may say that their replies to this question 

 were encouraging. Perhaps the most encouraging form of 

 reply received was when every manufacturer I visited showed 

 me the extensions to his factory, built, usually, out of the 

 profits won last year, when the price of rubber averaged 

 5s. 2d., or just over twice the value I suggested." 



ATTACHMENT TO TAPPING KNIVES. 



A Specification reported in the "Colombo Observer" has been 

 lodged by Mr. George A. Craib. It is based on the fact that 

 the bark, when cut in the process of tapping, has been let fall 

 on the ground; thus taking up a certain quantity of extraneous 

 matter, which affects the manufacture of the rubber. To pre- 

 vent this, a receptacle is attached to the knife, which collects 

 the bark cut from the tree in the process of tapping. 



IMPROVEMENTS IN LATEX COLLECTION. 



Mr. Oswald Dufaur-CIark, of Sungei Limau Estate, Perak, 

 has been granted by the Government of the Federated Malay 

 States, exclusive privileges for fourteen years, in respect to an 

 improvement in the method of attaching latex-collecting cups to 

 rubber trees. Similar privileges have been granted Messrs. J. G. 

 Barclay and H. W. Weigall, of Kemendore Estate, Jasin, Mal- 

 acca, for a latex cup holder. 



PROPOSED GERMAN INVESTIGATIONS IN VENEZUELA AND GUIANA. 



With the financial support of the heads of three leading Ger- 

 man rubber manufacturing companies, an expedition is being 

 organized which will visit the territory of the Orinoco and its 

 affluents, for the investigation of rubber and balata conditions. 

 Two years will be devoted to the work, which will be under the 

 direction of Dr. Siegfried Benig, of Berlin, who lately returned 

 from a visit to Venezuela. Satisfaction is being expressed at 

 the prospect of the countries referred to being thus opened up 

 to German enterprise, instead of being left in English and 

 American hands. 



RIVERSIDE (SELANGOR) RUBBER CO., LTD. 



Returns for the eleven months ended November 30, 1912, show 

 a total yield of 153,217 pounds, against 52,645 pounds for the 

 same period of 1911; the quantity being almost threefold. 



BRAZILIAN AGRICULTURE. 



According to cable advices from Rio de Janeiro, the estimates 

 for the Ministry of Agriculture included about 36.000 contos of 

 reis (about $12,000), for improvements in public services and the 

 promotion of agriculture; including the advancement of the rub- 

 ber industry in Amazonas and the other rubber producing States, 

 in accordance with the plan elaborated by Dr. Pedro de Toledo, 

 Minister of Agriculture. Among the features of this plan, it will 

 be recalled, were the perfecting of the methods of production and 

 extraction of rubber, as well as the reduction of cost of labor. 



The Federal Senate at first proposed to cut out several of the 

 items included in the estimates, but on hearing the explanations 

 of Dr. de Toledo gave way and adopted the proposed legislation, 

 which had already passed the Chamber of Deputies by a sub- 

 stantial majority. 



