THE INDIA RUBBER \VORLD 



[October i, 1901. 



ten to combat the idea that an exhaustion of supplies 

 was in prospect. Some of these have been intended to 

 discourage movements to invest in rubber exploitation 

 schemes having an unsound basis, and which appealed for 

 support on the idea that all natural rubber resources were 

 near an end. And there have been articles meant to allay 

 any present fears on the part of manufacturers that rubber 

 was about to be " cornered," by pointing out how won- 

 derfully wide is the natural rubber zone. Again, we have 

 given prominence to discoveries of hitherto unknown rub- 

 ber forests, as indicating a prospect of lower rubber prices, 

 at times when manufacturers were fearful of a rise. 



In a word, our idea has been to discourage any alarm- 

 ist ideas with regard to the supplies of rubber, at least 

 within our own generation. We may mention, by the way, 

 that since The India Rubber World was first issued, the 

 Congo rubber supply has been developed, and the large 

 output from the Gold Coast, Lagos, and other African 

 districts, besides the growth of the Caucho supply in 

 South America, and the discovery of rubber in immense 

 quantities in Bolivia. But the rate at which many of these 

 sources of supply have begun already to diminish, and 

 fuller information regarding the wasteful practices in- 

 dulged by rubber gatherers, and the inability of govern- 

 ments to restrain them, make it proper, in some measure, 

 to take fresh bearings on the subject. 



Not that we are ready yet to take any alarmist position. 

 There still appears to be enough rubber in sight for all 

 purposes for many years to come With better transpor- 

 tation facilities and better organized systems of operation, 

 the more remote districts become gradually, in effect, less 

 remote, and rubber now reaches New York and Liverpool 

 from points whence it could not have been brought, twenty 

 years ago, except at prohibitive prices, even if the exist- 

 ence of the rubber had been known. There is yet no need 

 for any rubber manufacturer to cast about for a new occu- 

 pation, lest he should suddenly find himself without rub- 

 ber for carrying on his business. And we fancy that no 

 one in the trade will lose sleep over what the next gener- 

 ation will do for rubber. 



At the same time, the rubber is diminishing. An im- 

 pressive object lesson is given on another page of this 

 paper, in the form of a diagram illustrating the rise and 

 decline of rubber production in Colombia, and a similar 

 diagram might be prepared for several other countries. 

 In time, under existing conditions, one could be prepared 

 for every rubber producing country, excepting, perhaps, 

 the Para rubber districts. The reason is further illustrated 

 by a cut, made from a photograph of a felled tree. It will 

 not yield gum a second time. 



We believe that disaster to the industry will be avoided, 

 ultimately, by the cultivation of rubber. Not that every 

 scheme proposed in this field should be encouraged. Many 

 of them should be vigorously discouraged, just as has been 

 true in respect to orange growing, gold mining, and other 

 interests requiring large amounts of capital for their devel- 

 opment, giving incapable or dishonest promoters an oppor- 

 tunity to profit at the expense of uninformed investors. 



In The India Rubber World of April 15, 1890, an 

 editorial article on "The Cultivation of Rubber" ex- 

 pressed some views to which we still hold, after nearly 

 twelve years, for which reason these extracts from it are 

 presented : 



Great as the use of rubber has become, it is little more than a begin- 

 ning. Every year the number of consumers of rubber increases, while 

 busy inventors continue to find new uses for it. But the supply of rub- 

 ber does not grow in lilte degree. - - - The culture of rubber will 

 soon be a live question. Plantations of rubber near shipping ports and 

 under intelligent supervision are needed. - - - The great trouble is 

 that the time required for the first returns from the rubber tree is greater 

 than most farmers would find practicable. The work would have to be 

 done, therefore, by organized capital. - - - Wecall attention to this 

 subject as one of interest, not only to the rubber trade, but possibly to 

 some American capitalist who may seethe importance of being a pioneer 

 in the business of supplying the world with cultivated rubber. 



WHY NOT ASSIST NATURE ? 



' I ^HE time was when nature did its own seed sowing, 

 ■*■ and did it fairly well. It was not, however, until 

 man became nature's assistant that the necessities and 

 luxuries that come from the vegetable world were planted 

 and harvested with any degree of system or success. We 

 are apt to forget that the commonest food products once 

 grew wild, but when the need arose, man stepped in, and 

 not only increased the product a thousand fold, but in 

 almost every instance brought fruitage up to a far higher 

 plane of production and protection. No doubt the time 

 was, when the conservative capitalist of the stone age pre- 

 dicted the utter failure of the enthusiast who planned to 

 cultivate wheat. His mantle seems to-day to have fallen 

 upon the persistent pessimist who is equally certain that 

 India-rubber cannot be cultivated. There is little doubt, 

 however, that some day cultivated rubber will displace the 

 wild. 



Crude Rubber Stealing. — In another column appears a 

 note that should interest every rubber importer and manufact- 

 urer in the world. It relates to the stealing of a large amount 

 of rubber from an importer and the sale of the same in small 

 quantities to the very house which owned the goods. It is 

 freely granted, that it is very rare that so large an amount is 

 stolen. It is also well known, that small amounts of rubber are 

 often stolen and sold. Nor is this remarkable. India-rubber 

 is an exceedingly valuable and portable product, and will al- 

 ways be a temptation to the dishonest. It should, therefore, 

 be f;uarded as carefully as the mint guards its gold, and any 

 seller should be obliged to show a clear title to its possession. 



Rubber imports at Antwerp during the past month in- 

 cluded one cargo by steamer from the Congo of 1,783,540 

 pounds. The receipts of Congo sorts had previously amounted, 

 for the year, to 7,725,291 pounds. This volume of trade, built 

 up only in a few years, is a most notable development in rub- 

 ber, and particularly the large single shipment here recorded. 

 If this son of thing can be kept up, the annexation of the Con- 

 go Free State will prove a good thing for Belgium, but there 

 is no assurance that a decline in the Congo rubber production 

 is not near at hand. 



