400 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[May 1, 1913. 



state of affairs, he promptly took a house there, and has l)een 

 perfectly healthy and contented ever since. 



Speaking of climate, Rio possesses one of the most equable in 

 the world. The hot season of January and February is not op- 

 pressive, and as for the rest of the year it is enchantingly 

 spring-like. The rainfall is evenly distributed and torrential 

 tropical downpours are unknown. The nights are characterized 

 by heavy dews, so that from one year's end to the other flowers 

 bloom, and grasses and leaves arc always green. Almost any- 

 thing tropical or sub-tropical thrives there, and the result is an 

 exceedingly varied flora. 



No city in the world possesses so picturesque a setting. The 

 original site was a tiny plain bordering on the bay, backed by a 

 maze of mountains big and little, most picturesquely disposed, 

 and covered to their tops with jungle. .Vs the city grew it 

 climbed the slopes, went up the valleys, skirted the shores and 

 covered other little plains until today it extends some fifteen 

 miles, with suburbs so unevenly and remotely disposed, that were 

 it not for the excellent electric car service, the fine boulevards 



an investigation by certain corporate interests was also made, 

 the report of which tended to minimize the danger of the planta- 

 tion rubber in competition to wild. It therefore came about 

 that the great governmental planting of Hei'ca that was projected 

 came to nought. The Minister of .Vgriculture. however, was 

 able to put through his "Defcsa da Borracha'' plan. This con- 

 sists in a central bureau situated at Rio, the head of it being 

 Senhor Pcreira Da Silva. Under him are sub-heads located at 

 various centers throughout the ruljber areas. .At once commis- 

 sions were sent out in all directions to collect and prepare facts 

 about gathering, costs, notes on transportation, etc., all of which 

 will be passed upon at the head office in Rio. It is also said 

 that the government has charge of the Cerqueira Pinto process 

 for coagulating the late.x of the Hcvea and Castilloa Ulei. This 

 process, it will be recalled was exhibited at the International 

 Rubber Exposition in New York. For the Manihots the Hess 

 process is also government property. The most interesting pro- 

 ject for the reduction of the first cost of rubber, however, was 

 the plan to wa.sh it all before it left the country, .^s already 



The .Mu-NkuK Bl'ilih.m... Kiu. 



and the automobile, it would l)e a metropolis of magnificent dis- 

 tances but of residential isolations. 



The ''bonds," this is, the street cars, are controlled by a com- 

 pany that also does the electric lighting. It is a foreign corpora- 

 tion, partly European and partly American, the moving spirit 

 in which is Percy Farquhar, an American, who has financed 

 many other great undertakings, such as railroads, the Port 

 Works at Para and Rio ; and according to the Brazilian papers 

 he and his are a cruel monopoly. However that may be, they 

 give wonderful service, and have added much wealth to the 

 country. 



The man to whom Brazilians have naturally looked to assist 

 them to maintain their supremacy in rubber is Senhor Pedro de 

 Toledo. Minister of .Agriculture. He is an able head of his de- 

 partment, but it must be remembered that all of the agricultural 

 interests must be considered by him, and that perforce he has 

 been obliged to move slowly. No doubt the recommendations 

 put forward by the Rubber Congress in Manaos in 1910 had their 

 effect ; for shortly after that an investigation of the present and 

 the future of rubber planting in the Middle East was fully made 

 by Dr. Jacques Huber of Para. Unfortunately at the same time 



The Gu.\ranteir.\-.Am-\zoni.\ Bldg., Rio. 



chronicled (see India Rubber World^ April, 1913) this was to 

 be done by laws that gave bonuses for washing plants in the vari- 

 ous centers such as Manaos, Para, etc. This would mean that in- 

 stead of some 40.000 tons of rubber wet and dirty, Brazil would 

 ship say 30.000 tons clean and approximately dry. It was fur- 

 ther planned to have lots kept separately, and to fix a govern- 

 ment stamp upon each lot — a guarantee of quality. 



The washing of rubber is to the man in the rubber mill a very 

 simple operation. But to one in Brazil, familiar only with crude 

 rubber and with at best only a book knowledge of its handling 

 in the factory, it is very much of an unknown art. One alert 

 Brazilian, J. Simao da Costa, however, went to Europe and 

 spent some months in England, France and Italy in the great 

 rublicr mills, learning to wash rubber. On his return to Rio he 

 placed his knowledge at the disposal of the government. In the 

 meantime a law had been passed designed to encourage the man- 

 ufacture of rubber goods in Brazil, and the Goodyear Tire and 

 Rubber Co. of South America had been formed to put up a fac- 

 tory, draw the bonus and manufacture goods. It was right in 

 the midst of this interesting state of affairs that I arrived at Rio. 



The head of the Botanical Gardens at Rio. Dr. J. C. Willis, 



