July i, 1901.] 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



295 



METHOD OH EXTRACTING BALATA IN VENEZUELA. 

 [By the courtesy of El Cojo Ilusirado^ Caracas.] 



GROWTH OF BALATA PRODUCTION. 



THERE are indications that the production and consump- 

 tion of Balata are increasing, though at what rate it is 

 difficult as yet to say, owing to the want of system which pre- 

 vails in most quarters in the statistics kept of this commodity. 

 Mr. Henry Souther Tufts, formerly of Boston, who was a re- 

 cent visitor to The India Rubber World offices, stated that 

 he was interested in a company employed in the collection of 

 Balata in the section, rich in that gum, due south from Cuidad 

 Bolivar, on the Orinoco, in Venezuela. The company has been 

 devoted to this business alone for a year or more, with such 

 success that more capital is to be employed. Mr. Tufts reports 

 that the Orinoco Co., an American company holding large con- 

 cessions in the delta of the Orinoco, are also devoting their 

 attention in a large measure to the collection of Balata. It 

 seems that the Venezuelan product is shipped chiefly to Ham- 

 burg, owing to the predominance of the German element in 

 the trading in the Orinoco valley. But the German trade sta- 

 tistics do not happen to specify Balata. In the German reports 

 of imports of " Kautschuk und Guttapercha" the following 

 quantities have been credited to Venezuela, and in the opinion 

 of Mr. Tufts the greater part — or possibly all — is Balata : 



1897. 1S98. 1899. ,900. 



Pounds.. 103,400 219,780 552,420 773,080 



Meanwhile the arrivals of Balata at Rotterdam have about 

 held their own, private statistics supplied by Messrs. Weise & 

 Co. being as follows, and the Venezuelan sorts predominating : 



1897. 1898. 1899. 1900. 



Pounds 497.970 524,920 324,390 407,220 



Coming to Great Britain, the official statistics still include 

 Balata in the imports of Gutta-percha, the latest available fig- 

 ures showing the following results (by converting cwts. into 



pounds) : 



1897. 



British Guiana 538.608 



British West Indies 87,696 



Venezuela 9,072 



Colombia 1,568 



Dutch Guiana 24,976 



Total 661,920 791,952 664,496 



How much of these British imports were actually Bal-ita 

 there is no means of knowing, but presumably all, though the 



figures for Colombia yet require some explanation. The 

 amounts credited to the West Indies were first imported at 

 Trinidad, mainly from Venezuela. 



A summary of the above figures shows imports at the three 

 centers mentioned of 1,263.290 pounds in 1897. Allowing as 

 much for Great Britain in 1900 as in the preceding year, the 

 total for that date would reach 1,644,796 pounds. Formerly the 

 Guianas were almost the only sources of Balata, and figures are 

 at hand covering the exports from those colonies very thor- 

 oughly for the earlier years of the industry. These figures 

 show the average exports during the five years 1892-1896 in- 

 clusive :' 



British Guiana 229,824 pounds. 



Dutch Guiana 185,472 " 



Total 415,296 " 



It will be seen, therefore, that the total movement of Balata 

 is taking on greatly increased proportions. It does not appear, 

 however, that the United States have participated in this in- 

 crease. The official import returns for the fiscal year 189S-99 

 embraced only 21,913 pounds of Balata, valued at $7633. But 

 the classification is not very exact at the custom house in rela- 

 tion to this material, and for the year 1899-1900 the Balata 

 item disappeared completely. From the reports of arrivals 

 published monthly in The India Rubber World it appears 

 that Balata was imported into the United States during the 

 calendar year 1900 as follows (in pounds) : 



From 

 Trinidad. 



From 

 Surinam. 



From 

 Great Britain. 



From 

 Hambur" 



Total. 

 30,500 6, goo 23,000 17,291 77,691 



The leading firm handling fialata, however, state that their 

 arrivals alone were 75,000 pounds, and that probably 100,000 

 pounds altogether were imported. 



The usual methods of collecting Balata are treated fully in 

 The India Rubber World for August, 1899, by Mr. Joubert. 

 It appears, however, that in Venezuela the practice of felling the 

 trees is general, on account of the much greater immediate re- 

 turn, and the area over which the trees are distributed is so 

 great that no possibility of exhaustion is admitted by those en- 

 gaged in the business. By tapping, the tree can be made to 

 yield only up to the highest point reached conveniently with a 

 ladder, while by felling the tree the sap can be obtained some- 

 times for a length of 100 feet or more. Besides, under a method 



