290 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[March 1, 1913. 



conditions of the country, and in the scarcity of labor, but per- 

 haps principally in a factor which unfortunately has too often 

 been overlooked — that of management. In the East the rubber 

 plantations were nearly all started by men of experience in the 

 management of tea, coflfee or other big estates. In .Amazonia 

 there are practically no plantations on a large scale and trained 

 plantation managers are seldom to be found there. They have, 

 therefore, to be contracted for, from Southern Brazil or from 

 the Eastern plantations. They should be familiar not only with 

 rubber planting, but should be able to adapt themselves to 

 changed conditions of life and work. 



In conclusion, we must admit that the evolution of rubber 

 planting on the Amazon will probably be something quite dif- 

 ferent from what was witnessed in the Eastern plantations. 

 There is no doubt, that during the immediate future the East 

 will continue to lead in planting enterprises. On the Amazon 

 the plantations will be established more slowly, but they will be 

 of great importance as the necessary complement of the native 

 rubber extraction. 



The old method will be helped and develop from a crude em- 

 pirical process to a scientifically established and more econom- 

 ically operated industry. 



ENGLISH VIEWS ON RUBBER SITUATION. 



r\IFFERING to some extent in details, the annual reports of 

 ^-^ the leading English rubber authorities show an increase in 

 the past and estimate a still further augmentation in the produc- 

 tion for 1913. 



One of the most complete presentations of the statistical posi- 

 tion is that published by Messrs. J. A. Henderson & Co., Ltd., of 

 London, including figures of actual production for 1911 and 1912, 

 together with estimates for 1913. The table is subjoined : — 



RUBBER SUPPLY AND CONSUMPTION ESTIMATES. 

 ESTIMATED WORLD'S SUPPLY (TONS). 



1911. 1912. 1913. 



Amazonas and Brazils 39,000 40,500 40,000 



West African 15,000 13,800 13,800 



East African, etc 5,300 4,000 4.000 



Central American, etc 2,500 2,500 2,500 



Plantation 14,200 28,500 38,000 



76.000 89,300 98,300 



Guayule 9,200 7,000 7,000 



Malaysian, etc 2,800 2,700 2,700 



Totals 88,000 99,000 108.000 



ESTIMATED CONSUMPTION (toNS). 



1911. 1912. 1913. 



England 12,000 14,500 17,520 



Germany, Austria, etc 14,000 16,000 18,286 



France 8,000 9,500 11,281 



Russia 8,500 9,000 9,529 



Italy, etc 2.000 1.500 1,125 



Japan and Australia 1,500 l.OOO 667 



America and Canada 42,000 47,500 53,720 



Totals 88,000 99,000 112,128 



These figures indicate an augmentation of the supply by 9,000 

 tons for the present year. Leaving out of consideration the 

 minor variations in receipts from other quarters, this result prac- 

 tically represents the increase in the estimated supply of planta- 

 tion rubber from 28,500 to 38,000 tons. Mr. Lampard (prominent 

 as a director of various planting companies), had named 40,000 

 tons as a probability. An estimate of an average of 3,000 tons a 

 month of plantation rubber for 1913 seems generally accepted. 



In their annual review, Messrs. S. Figgis & Co. comment on the 

 freedom with which Brazil continues to supply the markets of 

 the world, quoting the following shipments for the last four years : 



1909, 42,000 tons; 1910, 40,500 tons; 1911, 39,500 tons; 1912, 40,500 

 tons. The improvement which has taken place in the preparation 

 of rubber by Eastern planters, has proved of mutual benelit ; hav- 

 ing stimulated the forward order business. Further progress is 

 urged in this direction, in conjunction with a renewal of the 

 previous suggestions to standardize qualities into: No. 1 Latex 

 pale; No. 2, clean light brown and grey, and No. 3 (from bark), 

 dark and brown. 



Messrs. Figgis estimate 950,(XX) acres as being the area under 

 rubber cultivation in the East, and place the number of trees at 

 probably 110 millions, of which only a moderate proportion have 

 been tapped. 



Messrs. Gow, Wilson & Stanton in their report for the year 

 1912 point out an interesting fact. Six years ago the production 

 of rubber from the whole of the East was about one thousand 

 tons ; the price then realized averaging 4/9j^ per pound. In 1912 

 the total product has exceeded 28,000 tons, while the price ob- 

 tained at the London auctions averaged 4/7J4, being only a slight 

 reduction on the figure realized for the smaller quantity at an 

 earlier date. The consuming power of the industry is thus clearly 

 demonstrated. At the same time the development of the trade 

 has shown that the physical properties of the best prepared sam- 

 ples of plantation rubber are fully equal to those of any other 

 description. .\ large proportion of the whole crop is shipped in 

 the form of crepe. The premium lately ruling on smoked sheet 

 will probably stimulate its production, with the possible ultimate 

 result of the premium not being maintained. 



AS TO DIRECT SHIPMENTS FROM THE EAST. 



IN the December issue of The India Rubber World there was 

 •'• an editorial advocating the shipment of rubber direct 

 from the Eastern plantations to New York, instead of having 

 it shipped, as at present, from the East to some Continental 

 or English port, to be re-shipped to New York later. This 

 article has elicited the following letter from the well-known 

 firm of John Lang, Ltd., of London. 

 To the Editor, India Rubber World — 



Dear Sir: Referring to your very interesting article on the 

 "Shipping of Rubber Direct to New York," we should like to 

 state that, although this would be very desirable from a manu- 

 facturer's point of view, we fear that it will never assume 

 large proportions, as it is, of course, common knowledge that 

 the bulk of the plantation rubber sold either privately or in 

 the auction here is graded by the buyers, each of whom have 

 their own standard types by which they sell to the trade, and 

 consequently the original parcels are sorted and divided into 

 these various standards before they are sent to the manu- 

 facturers. 



There is, of course, a certain reason, and sometimes a 

 necessity, to deal with certain packages in this way, but the 

 necessity is not unavoidable. 



We have for years acted as buyers for manufacturers here 

 and on the Continent, and always forward the original pack- 

 ages with the original marks as received from the East, so 

 that the identity of the rubber is never lost or tampered 

 with. We find it necessary only to see that the packages 

 are put in good repair for shipment, and our experience 

 always has been that the manufacturers appreciate the origi- 

 nal packages, and we have never had any complaints either 

 as to the quality of the rubber or the condition of the pack- 

 ages on arrival at their destination. 



We should be pleased to hear from any firms desirous of 

 buying on this market with the understanding that they buy 

 and receive only first hand rubber in the original packages. 

 Yours faithfully, 



JOHN LANG, LTD. 



J. R. Briggs, Director. 



