Jlly 1, 1913.] 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



541 



DEATHS OF NOlliU Kl lUIKK MEN. 



Mr. E. Sugii, proprietor of the Sugii Rubber Works, Tokio, 

 recently died froin heart failure. He went to the United States 

 in 1905, where he entered Yale University. After his return to 

 Japan, he established the East Marine Insurance Co., the Com- 

 merce Bank, and the Sugii Rubber Works. 



Mr. J. Iwaya, Japanese vice-consul at Singapore, has died of 

 brain fever. He frequently reported to his government on 

 Malayan and Dutch Indian plantations, and contributed to the 

 development of rubber planting with Japanese capital. 



Mr. Isamburo Yamada, the first aviator and airship constructor 

 in Japan, lately died, from a carbuncle. His experiments had 

 lasted from 1897 to 1904. His airships, whicli are oval in style, 

 as shown by the illustrations in The India Rubber World, De- 

 cember. 1911, were the only kind used in the Russo-Japanese 

 war. There is no metal used in their construction, and their 

 weight is consequently light. His funeral was attended by many 

 prominent officials and other personages. 



NEW JAPANESE COMPANIES. 



The Kinshu Electric Wire Co. has been established at Osato, 

 Fukuoka-Ken, with an area of 1J4 acres, of which about one-third 

 is built on. The machinery has been installed by Birmingham 

 makers and by the Japanese Iron Works of Tokio, the total 

 capacity being 100 h. p. 



In the equipment are included: 1 calender, 1 mixing roll and 1 

 washing roll. The product includes weatherproof wire, rubber 

 wire, silk or cotton cord, lead tubes, etc. The officials are: 

 President, S. Fujinami; director, S. Higase; manager, T. Seida, 

 and expert S. Uemura. 



The Taisho Rubber (Watanabe's Works) was established 

 through the purchase by N. Watanabe, of the Tokai or Kwanto 

 Rubber Works of Tokio, which were in financial difficulties. Its 

 equipment consists of a 40 h. p. boiler and IS h. p. engine, 2 

 mixing rolls and three vulcanizers. The product consists of 

 "tabi' and "zori" soles. 



NOMOTO RUBBEK •WOHKS BURNED. 



The rebuilding of the Nomoto Works, of Tokio, burnt in March 

 last, is being actively proceeded with. In compliance with the 

 wishes of the owners of adjoining premises, a three-foot wall is 

 being erected, encompassing the factory, to diminish the risk of 

 fire spreading. 



WHEELS WANTED FOE HICKSHAWS. 



According to the report of an American consular officer in the 

 Far East (published under Xo. 11015, by the Bureau of Foreign 

 and Domestic Commerce, Washington, D. C), there is a con- 

 siderable market at that point for wheels for rickshaws. A 

 local company would be glad to hear from manufacturers of 

 these wheels, with a view to taking an agency. The specifica- 

 tions furnished by this company are as follows : Wheels, 32 inches 

 in diameter from rim to rim, not counting pneumatic tire or 

 cover; hubs, extra strong, 4 inches between flanges, having 

 -^-inch spindles, or screwed right and left to suit tubular axle; 

 rims, 321/2 by 2 inches, to take tires 36 by 2 inches, made of 

 steel 17^ gauge; axle, tubular, either plain or screwed right 

 and left to suit hub spindles; spokes, best quality, strong gauge, 

 tangent spokes, and nipples to suit. 



Vice-Consul Raymond S. Curtice, of Dalny (Darien), also 

 reports that pneumatic-tired jinrikishas have recently been im- 

 ported at Dalny from Shanghai, the wheels being of smaller 

 diameter than the rubber-tired jinrikishas of Japanese make. 

 The suggestion is made that American rubber manufacturers 

 should note this possible opportunity for extending trade. 



PROGRESS OF THE RUBBER INDUSTRY IN DUTCH 

 GUIANA. 

 By a Resident Correspondent. 

 IT has long been known that the rubber tree grows in Dutch 

 *■ Guiana, but it has been cultivated commercially on an ex- 

 tensive scale for only a few years, the plantations being situated 

 along the banks of some of the great rivers of the colony. 



It is unnecessary to discuss the adaptability of the soil for grow- 

 ing rubber here, for no less an authority than the Editor of The 

 Indi.\ Rubber World, who visited the colony some years back, 

 has declared that the common soil was equal to the best he had 

 seen in the Malay country. 



The colony is undergoing a great change in regard to its rub- 

 ber raising industry, which will undoubtedly prove a source of 

 wealth to those who have already invested, and to others who 

 may put money into rubber growing in the colony. It will be 

 interesting, however, to learn that in all the plantations on which 

 Para rubber — Hevea Brasiliensis — has been planted, the rapid 

 grow^th of the trees and the large returns in latex have 

 astonished visitors from other rubber producing lands. These 

 facts certainly go to prove that the soil in Dutch Guiana is 

 admirably adapted to the successful cultivation of this product. 

 On plantation "Voorburg," for instance, during the month of 

 March of the present year, tapping operations with 51 laborers 

 at a cost of fl. 31.60 ($12.64) per day, yielded on an average 

 IS kilograms (33 lbs.) rubber per day. The total expenses, 

 including preparation, etc., came to fl. 3 ($1.20) per kilogram 

 (2.2 lbs.). Two hundred tapping days are calculated upon in 

 the year, which would bring the production up to 3.(X)0 kilograms 

 at a total expense of fl. 6,320 ($2,S28). as against a market price 

 of fl. 5 ($2) per kilogram; which shows a profit balance 

 of fl. 8,780 ($3,512). These returns and costs of production 

 from only one plantation with about 7,000 trees, now nearing 

 maturity, will be sufficient evidence that the rubber industry in 

 the Dutch colony will prove highly remunerative, even when the 

 market price of rubber stands at a lower figure than that used 

 in the calculations above. It must also be remembered that the 

 returns in rubber will be increased yearly as the trees grow older. 



A little word of advice to those anticipating rubber ventures in 

 the colony may be timely, and may help to remove any preju- 

 dicial feelings caused through misleading statements emanating 

 from the late pessimistic Director of Science and Agriculture. 

 This official, for reasons of his own, tried to impress the idea 

 upon the public that the rubber industry in Dutch Guiana would 

 never be remunerative; at least that it would not be nearly as 

 productive as, for instance, in the Far East, where he claims that 

 the soil conditions are superior. It is not our intention to com- 

 ment too strongly on the unjust statements of this gentleman, 

 as he has since been removed from the colony, for the colony's 

 good, and sent to another part of the globe where he is likely to 

 do less harm. Dutch Guiana is passing through a period of mis- 

 fortune, and her good name must always be safeguarded against 

 such unwarranted attacks, especially when she is endeavoring to 

 make good what she has lost through repeated "black eyes" 

 from some of her own sons. Incorrect statements from high 

 officials, if left unchecked and unchallenged, tend to convey wrong 

 impressions to those who may be inclined to consider the colony 

 seriously at some time or another. It is pleasant, however, to 

 know that in the face of all the false statements that have gone 

 out from here — and which have been allowed so far to remain 

 uncontradicted by those who by virtue of their prominent official 

 positions, should be the first to make every possible effort to 

 spread the truth about the colony — plantation "Niew- Clarenbeck" 

 was sold at public auction to an American combination. 



We repeat, and with the strongest emphasis possible, that the 

 future of Dutch Guiana as a rubber producing country is assured; 

 and we are prepared at any time to contradict any incorrect 

 statements that may be damaging to its reputation. 



