March 1, 1913.; 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



329 



IMPORTANCE OF VARIOUS GRAE ;S. 



First in the order of importance comes Plantation Para sheet 

 and biscuit (from Singapore and Ceylon) ; second, Upriver Fine 

 Para (from New York and London) ; third, Borneo (from Singa- 

 pore) ; fourth, India (from Singapore) ; fifth, Islands Fine Para 

 (from New York). 



Few Japanese rubber manufacturers know how many grades 

 there are of crude rubber, the Japanese industry being still in the 

 early stages of its development. Only about four or five grades 

 are familiar to them. Hence their requirements are relatively 

 simple. Electric wire companies mostly use Para ; toy balloon 

 manufacturers only Borneo and Para biscuit. Other manufactur- 

 ers use all of the grades named. 



THREE INTERESTING CHARTS. 



Three interesting charts have been prepared by Mr. Y. Matsuo, 

 director of the Tokio office of De VVette & Co., representing the 

 local movements during 1912 of prices for three standard grades, 

 wliich may be summarized as follows : 



Lowest Equaling Highest Equaling 

 per lb. per lb. 



Upriver Hard Fine Para. .. .Nov. 7 $1.09','i March 27 $1.30'/2 



Para sheet (Fair av'gequality)Nov. 4 $l.0OVz April 15 $1.26'/2 



Borneo No. 1 Nov. 4 $0.52% March 14 $0.66 



THE BALATA INDUSTRY OF SURINAM, DUTCH 

 GUIANA. 



By a Resident Correspondent. 



p\URING the year just ended the balata industry of Surinam. 

 '-^ Dutch Guiana, suffered terribly owing to the unpre- 

 cedented drought that passed over the colony. This long spell 

 of dry weather began in November, 1911, and lasted until the 

 middle of May, 1912. The condition was then serious. There 

 were large numbers of contracted men (bleeders) who were 

 compelled to remain in Paramaribo (the capital) owing to the 

 low state of the rivers and the scarcity of water for drinking 

 and other purposes in the bush. These men had to be fed by 

 their employers, according to the terms of contract, for as long 

 as they were detained in town. This paying out of money 

 weekly by the companies and others engaged in the industry, was 

 the cause of much dissatisfaction and the result was that many 

 laborers were released from their contract (pro tern) to enable 

 them to obtain employment on the plantations and other places. 



This arrangement was on the part of the employers a wise 

 one, for it released them temporarily from further disbursements 

 to the men. About the end of May the weather began to be 

 favorable for bleeding operations and the bulk of expeditions 

 left Paramaribo for the hinterland. Soon after tapping opera- 

 tions began another difficulty presented itself, the trees began to 

 blossom, and operations were stopped. Experienced balata men 

 resorted to prospecting their grants rather than incur the ex- 

 pense of bringing their workers into town. This was wise, for 

 in September, when the trees were again fit for bleeding, the 

 collectors knew exactly the extent and number of trees they 

 had to handle, and bleeding operations were rushed ahead witli 

 a determination to make up for the time lost. The results were 

 that the production for 1912 was not so alarmingly low as was 

 expected. After taking into consideration the many drawbacks 

 and unforeseen circumstances which attended the industry in 1912 

 the returns can fairly be said to be satisfactory. In reality 

 the bleeders have only been at work for three months out of the 

 nine which makes up the season in a year. 



The balata produced in the colony during 1912, according to 

 Government reports, amounted to 1.651,000 pounds; of which 

 65,116 pounds were produced from private lands; the balance 

 from concessions. 



NOTES FROM BRITISH GUIANA. 



from Our Regular Correspondent. 

 HALATA IN 1912— THE PROSPECTS FOR THIS YEAR. 



THE year closes better for the balata industry than could have 

 been expected. The exports are very much reduced, of 

 course, as compared with the total for 1911, but they are not 

 so discouraging as was feared would be the case and large 

 shipments are still coming down from various parts of the 

 colony, chiefly from the Siparoni district, for the Consolidated 

 Rubber and Balata Estate, Ltd. The completed returns for 1912 

 place the balata export at 705,214 lbs., against 1,149,924 lbs. for 

 1911. Consideration is now being given to the work of 

 1913. The drought and all its consequences are being forgot- 

 ten as rapidly as possible. Prospections for the year have been 

 good, provided the reports are reliable, and if management is 

 prudent there ought to be less difficulty with labor. One thing 

 is assured, and it is that the advances — a pernicious feature of 

 the industry— will be on a far less generous scale. Companies 

 have been too seriously hit by the drought to throw money away 

 in advances. Most of the employers have accordingly agreed 

 to a set of fourteen difTerent conditions for 1913, drawn up 

 by the council of the Institute of Mines and Forests, and cov- 

 ering the whole question of advances in its various ramifications 

 — the granting of store orders, the payment of hotel bills and 

 transportation, the giving of bonuses and the treatment of ab- 

 sconders. 



It is believed that adherence to these conditions will probably 

 mitigate the labor troubles which have been such a burden on 

 the industry in the past. 



THE POSITION OF RUBUER- EXTENSIVE PLANTING. 



Although the export of rubber during 1912 was very small, 

 chiefly owing to the drought, the foundations of an industry 

 have been laid. A good deal of work was done in a quiet way 

 during the year, and it is estimated that there are at the present 

 time 3,000 acres under cultivation. At Calabash Creek, Canje, 

 and Davson's, the sugar estate owners have established cultiva- 

 tion on a fairly large area. On the east coast of Demerara ex- 

 periments on sugar estates have shown that rubber does not 

 thrive on wind-swept areas or on the heavier types of land on 

 the front of the estates, but that better results are obtained 

 when the plantings take place in well-sheltered positions. On 

 the Demerara river plantations — the Diamond and Noitgedacht — 

 tappings have already taken place on 12-year-old trees, and it has 

 been demonstrated that on loamy land, with a regular rainfall 

 and beyond the reach of the wind, satisfactory growth may be 

 expected with certainty. Large areas of land in the Polder dis- 

 trict, on the west bank of the Demerara, are exceptionally well 

 adapted, both in respect to soil and the prevailing meteoro- 

 logical conditions for the cultivation of Para rubber. On the 

 Demerara river, at Plantation Christianburg, the Government 

 has established an experimental station. The experiments have 

 proved that light sands are not favorable to the rapid growth of 

 rubber. 



Cultivation proceeds on the west shore of Demerara. Aliki, sit- 

 uated in the rain belt of the Essequibo, and on the right bank of 

 the river, is admirably adapted to the cultivation of rubber. The 

 young trees have made good progress. Satisfactory growth has 

 been made at Liberty Island, at the Onderneeming School Farm, 

 Essequibo. The Golden Fleece, sugar estates on the same coast, 

 have put in a large number of plants which have made fair 

 progress. Near Bartica there are the Hills Estates where good 

 work is being done. In the Pomeroon district suitable land 

 has been found, and the farmers there are keen over the cul- 

 tivation of rubber. The Northwest District of the colony has 

 the largest cultivation of rubber, the soil there being well 

 adapted to it. 



