386 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[Ai'Rii. 1, 1913. 



Some Rubber Planting Notes. 



THE AKERS RUBBER COMMISSION. 



ONE of the mi>st interesting events in the recent history of 

 the rubhcr industry was the appointment of the Akers 

 Commission, which has now published its reports upon 

 tlie rubber situation in the Orient and in the Amazon territory. 

 The commission was divided into two sections as follows ; 



Orient Commission. — Mr. C. E. Akers, Dr. Jacques lluber, 

 Mr. A. Ufenast and Mr. F. Lugones. 



Am.\zon Commission. — Mr. C. E. .\kers, Mr. H. C. Kendle 

 and Mr. F. Lugones. 



The objects of the Commission included tlic reporting upon 

 the Amazon rubber industry, and the endeavor to tind improved 

 methods of administration, collection and preparation, with a 

 view to enabling the Brazilian product to compete with that of 

 the Orient. Another subject treated was the formulation of 

 practical ideas for the colonization of waste lands. While the 

 investigations of the Commission have thus been of an extended 

 character, it had been appointed by a group of tinanciers closely 

 connected with the port of Para, in conjunction with the Booth 

 Steamship Co., and other interests closely allied with the trade 

 of the -"Xmazon Valley. Its inquiries were first carried out in 

 the East and then continued on the Amazon. 



.•\mong the subjects treated in the reports are the working of 

 wild rubber properties, as well as tapping and preparation, and 

 other points tending to facilitate comparison between Brazilian 

 and Eastern methods. 



The questions of labor supply and relative cost of production 

 are likewise treated. The reports will be dealt with later in 

 detail. 



MABIRA FOREST (UGANDA) RUBBER COMPANY, LTD. 



At the recent extraordinary general meeting of the above 

 company, a resolution was carried for the creation of 30,000 

 new Participating Preference shares of il each. It was stated 

 that a surplus of revenue over expenditure might be expected 

 in 1915. and a satisfactory profit in 1916. By latest census pub- 

 lished the company had about 700 acres planted in rubber, 

 chieflv in Hcvca. 



SUNGEI MATANG RUBBER COMPANY, LTD. 



In his report on his recent visit to the company's estate of 

 1,000 acres, in the State of Perak, Federated Malay States, Mr. 

 F. O. Streeten, a member of the board of the company, com- 

 mented on the fact that the older rubber was doing very well, 

 while the younger was excellent for its age. About 700 acres 

 are planted. Mr. Streetem adds that the treatment of Tamils 

 is thoroughly understood, they being well and happy. In proof 

 of the assertion, he mentions that it is no uncommon thing for 

 those who have worked on the estate and then returned home, to 

 come back again subsequently, bringing friends and relations 

 with them. The hospital accommodation he found to be ex- 

 cellent, but, fortunately, in limited demand. 



SMALL COMPANIES PAYING BEST. 



Dealing with the successful record made by some of the 

 smaller rubber companies, "Truth," of London, remarks that it 

 is the small companies which have done the big things. The 

 Cicely Company (established 1904") with £16.000 capital, brought 

 829 acres into bearing and paid for 1910 a dividend of 200 per 

 cent. Pataling (established 1903) with a capital of only i22.000 

 has brought 1.467 acres to the tapping stage, paying for 1910 as 

 much as 325 per cent.; while Selangor (established 1899) with 

 1,836 acres under cultivation, has a capital of only £30.0(X). and 

 paid 375 per cent, in 1910. 



While profits are lower than in the bonanza year 1910, the 

 latest dividends of respectively 75, 175 and 187 Ja per cent, are 

 still highly remunerative for the original investors in the three 

 companies named. 



Comparing past conditions with future prospects, the journal 

 adds : "Companies formed in the early days, however, had the 

 advantage of cheaper land, cheaper labor, and lower salaries ; 

 and estates were brought into bearing at a figure which would 

 now be impracticable. No one expects to see the young pro- 

 ducers reach the magnificent premiums attained by the older 

 companies. The days of prosperity, however, have not yet 

 departed from the rubber market, and if profits are to be 

 smaller in the future, there is still a margin large enough to 

 bear a gradual diminution w^ithout seriously cutting into the 

 profits of progressive companies." 



MANURING RUBBER. 



Commenting upon the general question of manuring rubber, 

 Mr. J. F. Naughton in a letter from Colombo, in the columns 

 of the "Malay Mail," remarks that the subject is still more or less 

 in a stage of discussion in the Federated Malay States, as com- 

 pared with Ceylon, where manuring is almost universally rec- 

 ognized as a sine qua non. 



With reference to comparisons which have been drawn be- 

 tween the manuring of wheat and rubber, he calls attention to 

 the fact that wheat is a field crop and a direct product, whereas 

 latex is only an indirect product obtained by the unnatural 

 method of removing bark. The largest and healthiest trees 

 naturally produce the most latex; the object of manuring rubber 

 trees being the indirect increase of latex by the direct nourish- 

 ment of the tree. 



OFFICIAL REPORT ON BRITISH MALAYAN EXHIBIT AT NEW YORK 

 RUBBER EXPOSITION. 



In his official report on the above exhibit, Mr. Leonard Wray. 

 I. S. O. (the commissioner to the recent New York Rubber Ex- 

 Dosition for the Federated Malay States and the Straits Settle- 

 ments) has described the preparations which led to the satis- 

 factory result achieved on that occasion. 



This section occupied about 3,500 square feet, being second in 

 extent only to Brazil. Seventy-four plantation companies were 

 represented, as against 34 at the London Exhibition of 1911 ; 

 the total number of samples being 141, with an aggregate gross 

 weight of 18.474 pounds. In quality, it is recorded that the rub- 

 ber showed as great an advance over that sent to the 1911 ex- 

 hibition as the latter did over that of the 1908 exhibition. This 

 statement is confirmed by the fact that out of the ten awards in 

 the prize competition of the Rubber Growers' Association, Lon- 

 don, eight were taken by the Federated Malay States. 



TO EXPLORE THE UPPER AMAZON, 



The expedition organized under the auspices of the L'niversity 

 of Pennsylvania, for the purpose of exploring the upper tribu- 

 taries of the Amazon — an enterprise regarding which quite a 

 little has appeared in the press during the last year — set sail 

 from Philadelphia on the 19th of March in the "Pennsylvania." 

 a yacht of 184 tons burden. The expedition will be gone about 

 three years and is expected to penetrate to regions never before 

 visited by white men. 



The yacht is in command of Captain J. C. Rowen, L^. S. N., 

 retired, and the expedition is headed by Dr. William C. Larra- 

 bee, curator of the American section of the museum. His chief 

 associates are Dr. Franklin B. Church, an authority on tropical 

 medicine, and H. Sandy McNab. a traveler and scientist. The 

 "Pennsylvania" carries a crew of eleven men. 



