48 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[NdVKMBER 1, I9IO. 



Three Year Olr Rubiier at Diamantino. 



Dwelling and Family of D. B. Riker. 



industry. He is doing wonders for Para, and some time in the 

 future this will be the El Dorado of the world. Lands are being 

 sought for, and rubber is the mania. 



My brother and I are planting on a larger scale; this year we 

 expect to put in 40,000 trees; we are t»urning all our attention 

 to the cause. Rubber properly planted and cared for can be 

 cut to advantage in from six to eight years. There is nothing 

 we can embark in and be so sure of success as planting rubber in 

 Para soil. Once planted, the future is secure. We have sold a 

 part of Dianiantinri to an English company, the Diamantino Rub- 

 ber Plantations, Limited, witli nffioes in London. But we have 



reserved land for our planting that will hold many millions of 

 trees. d.wid is. riker. 



Santarem, Estado do Para, September 23, 1910. 



It is interesting to note that the Messrs. Riker are no less 

 enthusiastic now over the prospects of planting Hevea rubber on 

 the Amazon than they were more than ten years ago, when they 

 wrote us regarding their first tapping. [See The India Rubber 

 World September i, 1900 — page 326.] The London company re- 

 ferred to in the above letter was registered March S, 1910, with 

 an authorized capital of f 100,000 [=$486,650]. — The Editok. 



Points on the Cotton Situation. 



THE WORLDS COTTON PRODUCTION. 



THE semi-annual convention of the National Association of 

 Cotton Manufacturers, held at Portsmouth, New Hamp- 

 shire, September 15-17, has been mentioned in The India 

 Rubber World [October i, 1910— page 18]. From further re- 

 ports of the proceedings the following details regarding the 

 production of rubber have been compiled. 



India.— At a hearing given by Viscount Morley, secretary of 

 state for India, in the British cabinet, on July 27, 1910, to a 

 deputation from the International Cotton Federation, it was 

 stated that — 



"It was to India that all the cotton manufacturing countries 

 of the world looked for the speediest relief from the shortage 

 of raw material, and it must als o be bo rne in mind that India 

 came next in importance to the United States of America as a 

 cotton producing country. India produced nearly one-fifth of 

 the cotton supply of the. world, and although it was not suit- 

 able to any great extent for the English cotton industry, yet it 

 would be an enormous relief if its cultivation could be so en- 

 couraged that both the quality was improved and the quantity 

 largely increased. The development of India was of supreme 

 importance to England. Forty per cent, of the products of the 

 cotton manufacturers of Lancashire were exported to that 

 great country." 



It is claimed that with improved methods in India the pres- 

 ent acreage could yield 10,000,000 bales instead of only half as 

 much, and that it is possible for India to raise 20,000,000 bales. 

 The president of the National Association of Cotton Manu- 

 facturers suggests that "It will be interesting to us [Americans] 

 all to watch -the- developments in that country along these lines, 

 for, while we do not use much of this cotton, it is true that the 



more of it there is, the more American cotton will be available 

 for other purposes.'' 



[A report by United States Consul Dennison, at Bombay, 

 states that during the five years ending in 1908-09 certain prov- 

 inces — estimated to yield 75 per cent, of the cotton output of 

 India — had an annual area under this crop of 15,659,500 acres. 

 During the year named the cotton acreage in these provinces 

 was estimated at 12,289,000, and in 1909-10 at 13,463,000. The 

 estimated acreage for the present season is less than last year.] 



Russia. — The production of cotton in the Russian empire is 

 confined to certain governments in Asiatic Russia — principally in 

 Turkestan, where conditions exist for cotton cultivation com- 

 parable with those in Egypt. Russia now supplies herself with 

 half the cotton she uses. In 1899, of the total import of 

 367,000,000 pounds, 79,000,000 came from Turkestan, leaving 

 288,000,000 pounds to be supplied by the rest of the world. In 

 1908 Turkestan alone supplied 288,000,000 pounds for Russian 

 consumption, out of the total of 582,000,000 pounds required for 

 the factories of the empire. 



Mexico. — There is a steady increase in the cotton manufacture 

 in Mexico, owing to the growing demand for the products, yet 

 the mills do not yet produce one-fifth of the cotton demanded 

 by the country. A small amount of raw cotton is raised in 

 Mexico, but not enough to supply the mills of the country. 



California. — After several years of experiments with cotton in 

 Imperial Valley (in southeastern California) the first commer- 

 cial crop of about 500 acres was planted in 1909. The result is 

 reported to have been satisfactory. From one 160 acre plantation 

 the gross income was $11,200, which netted the owners over 

 $S,ooo, or about $50 an acre. On land valued at $100 to $150 

 this makes a very profitable business. When more experience 



