8 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[October i, 1901. 



RISE AND DECLINE OF RUBBER PRODUCTION IN COLOMBIA, SOUTH AMERICA. 



THE WASTE OF RUBBER RESOURCES. 



THE above diagram is designed to illustrate the rise and 

 decline of the production of crude India-rubber in the 

 United States of Colombia, in South America. The volume of 

 production there at one time was second only to that of Brazil. 

 But this was attained only through the practice of destroying 

 the rubber trees, whereby the immediate yield was larger than 

 if the trees had been merely tapped for their latex and allowed 

 to stand for future use, Consequently wide districts, naturally 

 rich in rubber, soon became wholly exhausted, and have since 

 remained so. In some districts, it is true, attempts were made 

 by the authorities to prohibit the felling of the trees, where- 

 upon the Indians tapped them excessively, with the same 

 result — the speedy death of the tree. For awhile the total out- 

 put from Colombia was maintained at a high figure, through 

 the activity of the caucheros in penetrating new regions, but 

 wherever they worked the same wasteful practices were fol- 

 lowed, and when the inevitable decline of production began, it 

 was rapid, as is indicated in the diagram. 



In 1857 Great Britain imported 12,320 pounds of crude rubber 

 from Colombia. The amount increased yearly until 1868. when 

 it was 1.867.376 pounds. There was then a steady decline, until 

 it had fallen to 45.472 pounds in 1900. 



No record is available of the first imports of Colombian rub- 

 ber into the United States, but by 1873 the receipts from that 

 source amounted, in one year, to 5,738,529 pounds, or more 

 than the imports from Pard. Then the decline began, and last 

 year only 815,091 pounds were imported from Colombia. 



The record of total exports from Colombia, upon which the 

 diagram is based, is made up by adding the imports from that 

 country, year by year, by Great Britain and the United States, 

 together with small amounts taken by Germany in 1899 and 

 1900. There is no consideration here of the small shipments 

 direct to France, and also to Germany during certain years 



other than those mentioned. It may be mentioned that the 

 quantity received by the United States during some of the 

 earlier years has been estimated, since the custom-house re- 

 turns for those years take account only of values. But if abso- 

 lutely accurate figures could be obtained, they would not affect 

 the general conclusion to be arrived at — that the rubber re- 

 sources of Colombia have been simply wasted. 



The rapid decline in the Colombian production of rubber 

 gave no concern to consumers, for the reason that discoveries 

 of rubber were being made elsewhere at a rate which gave a 

 steady impetus to the world's total production. New fields 

 have been opened constantly elsewhere in South America, and 

 the enormous output from Africa has occurred almost wholly 

 since the palmy days of rubber collection in Colombia. 



But the situation in Colombia is referred to here as aflfording 

 an object lesson which, ultimately, must be considered seriously 

 throughout the rubber world. 1\it caucheros of Colombia had 

 no sooner devastated the richer and more accessible rubber dis- 

 tricts of that country, than they descended to Ecuador, and, 

 following the principal streams, repeated their work of destruc- 

 tion in that country. Thence they entered Peru, Bolivia and 

 eastern Brazil — everywhere, without molestation, carrying on 

 the work of extinguishing the rubber tree. 



Eleven years ago the United States consul at Para. Major 

 Kerbey. reported to his government : 



The Peruvian rubber or caucho forests are already fast disappearing, 

 and the nearest are now far away. The practice of felling the tree to 

 collect the rubber has destroyed all the trees near the rivers, except far 

 up on the Ucayali and Javary rivers. It is affirmed that extensive tracts 

 of forests have not yet been touched, but that they are difficult of access 

 on account of the distance from the rivers and the lack of roads. It is 

 perfectly safe to assert that in the near future all the available caucho 

 forests of Peru will have disappeared unless other methods are speedily 

 adopted. 



Other warnings of the same kind have not been lacking, all 



