March 1, 1913. 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



287 



The Present and Future of the Native *'Hevea" Rubber Industry. 



By Jacques Huhcr, Ph. D., Director of the Muscu Goeldi, Pard. 



PAPER READ AT THE THIRD INTERNATIONAL RUBUER CON- 

 FERENCE, HELD IN NEW YORK, 1912. 

 THE opinion is common among persons interested in planta- 

 tion companies, that native Brazilian rubber will be entirely 

 knocked out by the product of the eastern plantations with- 

 in the next ten years, when the output of these will be over 100,- 

 000 tons. 



Regarding those opinions, it is evident that "the wish is father 

 of the thought." Most of these prophets hope that the disappear- 

 ing of the Brazilian crop from the market will relieve the planta- 

 tions from the danger of over-production. Others perhaps are 

 instinctive enemies of Brazilian rubber because of the manner 

 in which Brazil has protected its coffee output. 



If we consider the problem from a higher and more objective 

 point of view than that of the plantation shareholder, if for in- 



Dr. J.\cques Huber. 



stance, we consider the views of the manufacturing industry, we 

 find that there is no necessity for the disappearance or reduction 

 of the Brazilian crop; on the contrary, there will be an increased 

 need for the Amazonian grade, and especially for the Hard-Cure 

 Para rubber. 



Of course, the wonderful development of the whole rubber in- 

 dustry would have been seriously checked had it not been for that 

 very necessary asset. The plantations and their rapidly increasing 

 production will enable the manufacturing industry to develop 

 without fear of shortage. The opportunities for the manufactur- 

 ing industry are increased by the low cost of the plantation rub- 

 ber, which can be sold at much lower prices than those prevailing 

 for Para. There is, further, no doubt that in their downward 

 movement, the prices of plantation rubber are bound to affect, to 

 a greater or less extent, even the quotations for the highest grade 

 of rubber — the upper .\mazonian Hard-Cure, the prices of which 

 (without the prodigious development of the plantations and the 

 improvement of their product) would, of course, have steadily 

 and considerably increased. 



The Brazilian producing centres appreciate the changed posi- 

 tion of the rubber market, and instead of trying in vain to force 

 the prices to a higher level, they are now preparing themselves 

 to improve the position of the article by lowering the cost of pro- 

 duction. This, of course, involves some sacrifice, but as the life 



of a whole country depends on it, the sacrifice will be made with- 

 out muttering. 



It is now generally conceded in Brazil, that that country can- 

 not monopolize the rubber production of the world, and that we 

 have to reckon with the fact that within a few years the Eastern 

 plantations may produce more good quality low-priced Hevca 

 rubber than Brazil. 



At the same time the people interested in rubber plantations 

 will probably realize the fact that the Amazonian rubber, although 

 at the present time more expensive to produce than the plantation 

 grades, will hold its position, thanks to its superior qualities and 

 thanks to the efforts which are being made to improve the con- 

 ditions of the industry. 



Perhaps the following statements will help to give an idea of 

 the true position of wild rubber in comparison with its younger 

 brother, the plantation rubber, and may contribute to strengthen 

 the conviction above expressed, which, I believe, is shared by all 

 who understand this very complicated problem. 



SUPERIOR QUALITY OF AMAZONIAN RUBBER. 



In spite of all the drawbacks of the native rubber industry on 

 the Amazon, there is, fortunately, one great advantage — the 

 superior quality of the Amazonian product. This remark has 

 reference only to smoked rubber, and more especially hard-cure 

 smoked Para, the superior elasticity and strength of which (over 

 the other grades, and principally over the plantation rubber) has 

 been proved by the daily experience of the manufacturers, and by 

 many scientific experiments. 



It is hoped that we will before long have a complete compari- 

 son of the Para Hard-Cure with plantation Hevea, as carried out 

 according to the program of the Rubber Testing Committee. 



For the moment I think that it is not yet possible to give defi- 

 nite figures, but I wish to call your attention to some points which 

 seem to me to be even of more importance than the usual figures 

 about tensile strength. I refer to the behavior with regard to the 

 exterior influences — light and temperature — which together de- 

 termine more or less the "keeping quality." The stock of rub- 

 ber held by the Para Syndicate is one very instructive example 

 of the good keeping qualities of the smoked Para rubber, .\fter 

 two years of keeping in more or less overheated stores, this rub- 

 ber has only improved in quality. There are other more striking 

 cases of the resistance of smoked rubber, which have always 

 astonished me, when I heard on the other side, of the precau- 

 tions which are necessary to preserve the plantation rubber from 

 being injured by light or heat. Smoked rubber balls can be left 

 for months in the sun without being spoiled, and this happens 

 for instance in Bolivian seringaes. 



Perhaps the keeping qualities of the raw rubber are not as im- 

 portant as those of vulcanized rubber, but it is probable that the 

 raw rubber which better resists the action of sunlight and high 

 temperatures, will continue to resist these influences when vul- 

 canized. That is only a suggestion which I desire to bring to the 

 attention of this conference. 



One of the principal arguments of those who predict the dis- 

 appearance of native Hevea rubber from the market, is the 

 difficulty of exploiting scattered forest trees in comparison with 

 the very easy exploitation of modern plantations. There is in 

 fact a big difference in favor of the plantations, but it is com- 

 pensated to a certain extent by the size and age of the native 

 trees. It is worth considering that, in the .Amazonian rubber 

 forests a worker not only collects, but prepares by the tiresome 

 smoking process from three to five or even ten kilograms of 

 rubber, instead of the one or two kilograms furnished by one 



