March 1, 1913.] 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



289 



ing power of the healthy strengthened. Then again, the rubher 

 districts will be more attractive to immigrants and will en- 

 courage the settlement of a permanent population. For the pro- 

 ducing capacity of the country, these improvements are probably 

 of more importance than any other, as they bear on a factor 

 keenly appreciated in Amazonia — the human element. 



That does not mean that there will not be other reforms re- 

 garding the conditions of work in the rubber forests. 



First of all, I have always advocated the special protection of 

 young ficrca trees in the rubber forests, and even interplanting 

 in cases where this is possible. More than 10 trees per hectare 

 (1 hectare = 2^2 acres) are seldom met with in the natural 

 rubber forests, and even if we do not intend to have a pure rub- 

 ber plantation, it should be possible to obtain in favorable situa- 

 tions at least 20 trees per hectare by protecting the young trees 

 and replacing only occasionally some of the other forest trees 

 by Hevca trees. 



I am sure that the methods of tapping used in the East could 

 be applied to the old forest trees, thus increasing their yield, and 

 the whole output of the rubber forest would be much larger, 

 perhaps double the present amount. 



There are, however, two principal reasons which have until 

 now, prevented the introduction of these methods in native 

 seringacs. First : most of the trees are already deformed by the 

 old systems of tapping with the machadinha, so that it would be 

 impossible to work them with the tapping knives without giving 

 them first a rest of several years. Second : it would be difficult 

 to train the scriiignciros for systematic tapping according to the 

 methods used in the East. 



There are other reasons, for example, the moisture content 

 of the bark in these forests, which would probably prevent 

 the latex from flowing straight down to the cup. In spite of 

 these circumstances, I thought it advisable to encourage some 

 experiments of tapping forest trees, according to the best methods 

 used in the East. 



As is now generally admitted, the superiority of the Amazonian 

 Hcvca rubber is due principally to the smoking process. It 

 would not therefore be prudent to introduce any other method of 

 preparing the rubber, without having positive proofs of its supe- 

 riority over the smoking process. In Europe it is known that 

 a considerable part of the Amazonian Hcvea rubber is produced 

 in the form of scrap, and "Sernamby de Cameta!" Of course 

 it would be better to produce this part also in high-grade qual- 

 ity, but that would not be possible even with the greatest care, 

 as part of the latex always coagulates on the bark of the trees 

 and on, or in, the collecting tins. The idea of turning out only 

 one standard grade of Amazonian Hcvea rubber, is therefore 

 not feasible. It is, of course, possible to work the scrap into 

 crepe, as is usual in the Eastern plantations, but then we should 

 always have two grades. If the Cerqueira Pinto process — prov- 

 ing superior to the smoking process — should be carried out more 

 commonly, it would allow us to reduce the scrap considerably ; 

 and as it permits the coagulation of watery latex, it wo'dd avoid 

 the loss of considerable quantities of latex, which in rainy 

 weather are actually not worked out either in form of smoked 

 rubber or in form of scrap ; but simply thrown away. 

 PLANTATIONS ON THE AMAZON? 



Is it possible to start plantations successfully on the Amazon? 

 This is a very important question, not only for the inhabitants of 

 that region, but also, I think, for the whole rubber industry. 

 As I have always advocated plantations on the Amazon, I have 

 naturally followed with great interest the planting movement in 

 Brazil, which some j'ears ago — owing to the news of the splendid 

 success of the eastern plantations, and thanks to official protec- 

 tion — has set in with renewed energy. 



Of older plantations there are only a few. at least in the State 

 of Para, and these have as a rule not been very successful. Some 

 private plantations may have given better results, but we have 

 no records as to their production. On the other hand the new 



plantations, started under the protective State Laws, are now 

 too young to permit a prophecy as to their future. 



After the enactment of the State laws providing many advan- 

 tages to the rubber growers, there was a rush in obtaining these 

 advantages, especially the premium in cash. The registration at 

 the Agricultural Department has reached in two years over 

 eight million Hcvca trees, to be planted in the next four years. 

 Of these, 340,000 w-ere reported as planted at the end of 1911. 

 Most of the registrants are private planters, but the bulk of the 

 proposed planting will be done by companies, one of which, on 

 the river Mojn, is operating with American capital. 



Comparing our conditions with those prevailing in the East, 

 our chief advantage is that of cheap land, against which must 

 be entered the very serious disadvantages of expensive labor 

 and high export duties. It is true that the new laws reduce the 

 duty to a considerable extent for rubber produced on planta- 

 tions. There are other advantages, which have more bearing on 

 lowering the cost of the first establishment of the plantations 

 than of their production later. 



Taken as a whole, planting on a large scale, by companies 

 with foreign capital, is not at all out of the question in the 

 .\mazon region. Since I visited the Eastern plantations, I am, 

 however, inclined to think that to operate our plantations in ex- 

 actly the same way, as, for instance, in Malaya, is neither pos- 

 sible nor would it be advisable. This is impossible with the 

 Brazilian worker, who is at least three times more expensive, 

 even taking into consideration his higher working power. He is 

 much more independent than the Indian coolie and imported 

 coolies are undesirable in most cases. 



I think that by introducing contract work to a great extent, 

 some big plantations could be established in places where fre- 

 quent supervision as well as free supply of labor and food can 

 be assured. The neighborhood of Belem or the lower course 

 of the Amazon ofifers these conditions. Of course, there will be 

 some danger of frequent changes in the labor force, but the best 

 elements, if well treated and reasonably paid, will stay and form 

 a nucleus of skilled workmen able to introduce the new comers 

 into the work. 



In a general way, however, I am of the opinion that the rubber 

 planting on the Amazon has to be carried out either by the 

 actual occupants of the country or by companies with very 

 large funds, which can combine the planting with an efficient 

 scheme of colonization. 



In any case — and this can not be sufficiently insisted upon — 

 the first work of every planting company should always be the 

 sanitation of the place and the creation of an attractive viilicu 

 for the workmen, either by giving them the opportunity of set- 

 tling under favorable conditions, with their wdves and children, 

 or oflFering them good housing and good fresh food at a reason- 

 able price, if they are to be employed only for a limited time. 



I have always had a strong belief in the necessity and useful- 

 ness of rubber planting done by the native and settled popula- 

 tion. If every owner of a small seringa! would only plant a 

 thousand rubber trees, there would be in ten years a very sen- 

 sible increase of the output. It is true that plantmg in this line 

 is now generally done in a very deficient manner, and it will 

 require a serious campaign of agricultural education to improve 

 the condition of these small plantations. Above all, these plan- 

 tations should be operated upon good principles of selection. 

 Then they should afiford an opportunity for experiment and 

 demonstration of the best tapping methods applicable to the 

 proper scriugaes. Finally, they should show the way to the best 

 method of improving rubber forests by interplanting. 



There is no doubt that the big plantations will have some 

 influence upon the methods used in the native rubber forests, 

 and the reverse is likewise true. It would seem strange that in 

 the Amazon region, the very home of the Hevca Brasilicnsis, its 

 cultivation has not made more progress, in spite of the many 

 efforts in that direction. The cause is not only in the general 



