196 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[March 1, 1911. 



dent; John R. Allen, secretary; and Herbert W. Knoble, treas- 

 urer. The additional directors are J. Wilfred Thompson and 

 Emil E. Keller. The office of the company is in the Penobscot 

 building, Detroit. A communication from a Mexican corre- 

 spondent in this issue contains some details regarding the palo 

 Colorado plant, which is said not yet to have been classified 

 hotanically. 



LITTLE KNOWN RUBBEHS OF MEXICO. 



To THE Editor of The Ixdi.\ Rubber World: There has been 

 recently a great deal of notoriety given to the different rubber and 

 sap producing trees that grow along the Pacific coast of Mexico, 

 but very little of the information can be considered as authentic, 

 and it has been more prejudicial than beneficial. Such is the 

 case with the notoriety given to the Palo Amarillo and Palo 

 Blanco trees, which are known to contain a low percentage of 

 rubber, and these trees are confounded with other plants that 

 contain a much higher percentage of rubber. But on account of 

 the general opinion existing that the two trees mentioned do 

 not contain sufficient rubber to make its extraction profitable, 

 the whole industry is condemned. It is my object to classify in 

 a brief manner the several trees that are known to contain 

 rubber, that grow in the states of Sinaloa and the territory of 

 Tepic, and to show that there are trees that produce rubber in 

 sufficient quantities to form the basis of a profitable industry. 



Palo Amarillo. — There is very little Palo .\marillo existing 

 on the Pacific ; it is principally found in the states of Guanajuato, 

 Durango, and Quertetaro. It is an anomaly that nearly every 

 one who discusses rubber trees thinks that all the trees on the 

 Pacific coast are Palo Amarillo. There is a very low percentage 

 of rubber in this tree — insufficient to make it profitable. 



Palo Colorado, nr Chitte. — This tree is better known in Sinaloa 

 and Tepic as Chilte. There it grows wild in abundance, and 

 contains a very high percentage of caucho. From analyses made 

 in Mexico City by Professor Villagran, it appears that this tree 

 produces 37 per cent, of caucho, dry. Another analysis, made 

 by Philip Schirdrowitz, ph. d., f. c. s., of London, gives the fol- 

 lowing result: 



Moisture 26.44% 



Resin 35.08% 



Insoluble fibrous matter 1.20% 



Rubber 37.28% 



He says : "The separated rubber, a small sample of which I 

 am enclosing, for your inspection, is in my opinion of a very fair 

 quality and would, if obtainable at a reasonable cost, be of con- 

 siderable commercial value. The separated resins are softish 

 white crystalline bodies, which melt to a pale amber color, and 

 I think it should be possible to find a market for them." 



There is no doubt of the existence of enough trees from which 

 to produce immense quantities of this rubber. One company 

 now operating in the states of Sinaloa and Tepic have extracted 

 20 tons during the past two months, while merely teaching its 

 employes how to extract it. One of the reasons why a good 

 market has not been found heretofore is that the Indians col- 

 lected it in small quantities, and sold it at a small price, but not 

 in sufficient quantities to permit the market to depend on a steady 

 supply. But now the immense tracts of land have been either 

 purchased or leased, and the Indians have been stopped from 

 gathering it. 



Copal and Copalillo. — This tree is very similar to the Palo 

 Colorado, or Chilte, the difference consisting mainly in the color 

 of the tree, the Copal being of a dark earth color. It grows in 

 the valleys principally, whereas the Palo Colorado grows up on 

 the mountains. According to the different analysis made, the 

 sap contains a much higher percentage of rubber than the Palo 

 Colorado, averaging 52 per cent., dry. For many years the 

 Indians near the coast have manufactured artificial flowers and 

 curiosities from the dry sap, merely drying the milk, and forming 

 flowers, small baskets, and the like, the color being a beautiful 

 creamy white, and with a grain like ivory when dried. Several 



tons of this rubber has been shipped to England, where it fetched 

 58 cents, gold, per pound. b. n. 



Torreon, Mexico, January 16, 1911. 



MEXICAN PRODUCTIO'.T OF CHICLE. 



The output of chicle gum from Mexico— the chief source of 

 supply— continues to increase, as shown by the following figures 

 compiled from the annual statement of the federal treasury sub- 

 mitted to the congress now in session. Weights are expressed 

 in metric tons and values in Mexican silver; the fiscal year ends 

 June 30: 



1905-06 tons 2,182 $1,696,523 



1C06-07 2,166 2,144,724 



1907-08 2,295 2,251,520 



]C08-09 2,624 2,447,041 



1909-10 3,173 3,409,567 



In spite of the increasing production, there has been a large 

 increase in the market value. As shown by the figures above, 

 the exports for the last fiscal year were larger by 45 per cent, 

 than in 1905-06. while tlie average value per ton increased in 

 five years from $777. .iO to 1,074.55— an advance of 38 per cent. 



MABEROS PLANTING GUAYTTLE. 

 The growing importance of the guayule rubber interest in 

 Mexico was the topic of a recent conference between President 

 Diaz and Ernesto Madero, a member of the important family 

 of Madero concerned with guayule, according to an interview 

 with a brother, Rafael Madero, printed in the Mexican Herald. 

 -After declaring (hat the late political troubles in Chihuahua were 

 purely local in character, and with no sort of general significance, 

 Rafael Madero is quoted as saying: 



"My brother had an interview with President Diaz, but this 

 meeting had nothing to do with the revolution. It was purely 

 concerned with the guayule industry and concessions concern- 

 ing it. You can see that we are not greatly worried about the 

 outcome of this little uprising when I tell you that my brothers 

 and myself are putting out thousands of acres of this rubber 

 plant for future cutting. The exports of guayule now amount 

 to something like $30,000,000 each year, against $14,000,000 of 

 henequen and less of other products, so that we believe this 

 rubber plant is destined to be the greatest agricultural factor in 

 the republic. 



■'We are investing hundreds of thousands of dollars in plants 

 for the manufacture of rubber from guayule and do you think we 

 would do this if we believed the revolutionary propaganda of 

 Francisco I. Madero would prevail? Well, I should say not. 

 The results do not worry us, but, naturally, the fate of a member 

 of our family, no matter how greatly he may have erred, is of the 

 most vital interest, and there certainly will be trouble ahead for 

 Francisco if he is caught on this side the line." 



The leader in tlie recent uprising [see I R W, December 1, 

 1910, page 98], it will be remembered, was Francisco Madero, a 

 nephew of the two brothers mentioned in this article. 



NOTES. 



A pi..\NT in Mexico known locally as clai'cl de Espaiiii ^ Spanish 

 carnation) which is mentioned in the Bulletin of the Pan .Xmer- 

 ican Union (Washington: January, 1911) is being studied as a 

 possible source of rubber of value. It is stated to be abundant 

 in the state of Sinaloa and in the mountains of Matatan. "The 

 results so far obtained are satisfactory, and promise a success 

 equal to that of the guayule plant." 



Mr. Horace E. Levesley, manager of Hacienda "La Es- 

 peranza," in the State of Oaxaca, Mexico, the development of 

 which estate has been in his charge from the commencement, 

 12 years ago, has been shipping rubber prepared from planted 

 Castilloa by smoking it in a machine of his own invention, no 

 coagulent of any kind l.vins; added to the latex. Si)ecimens of 

 this rubber sent to The lNDr.\ Rubber World, described as 

 licing 14 months old and since kept in the hot climate of Mexico, 

 make a good showing in resiliency and strength. 



