July 1, 19-1 1. 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



361 



MEXICAN RUBBER PLANTATION NOTES. 



INDIA-RUBBER AND BALATA IN DUTCH GUIANA. 



IT is an interesting fact that the plantations of CastiUoa that 

 suffered from fire and that were thought to be utterly de- 

 stroyed, are sending up lusty sprouts th.-it look as if the fields 

 would be re-forested, and that very soon. At Obispo, for ex- 

 ample, the new growth is very strong and growing faster than 

 ever. With a root development uninjured, the trees are bound 

 to go ahead much faster than would new plantings. 



Concerning the shooting of the late Dr. Pchr Olsson-Seffer, 

 it is said that he resembled to a marked degree a Jefc politico, 

 who was heartily hated, and it is probable that one of the in- 

 surrectos mistaking him for that official, thought he was paying 

 off an old grudge. 



El Palmar Rubber Estates, Limited, which was purchased by 

 a Scotch company, is planting considerable of the land to Hevea 

 Brasiliensis. At present they have 10,000 thrifty trees planted 

 from stumps that are about five months old, and are 4j^ feet 

 high and quite stocky. As far as can be seen, they are develop- 

 ing just as fast as they would in any other part of the tropical 

 world. Next year the company will put in 30,000 more, for 

 which seed has already been ordered. In their first seed ven- 

 ture, which came from Ceylon, they saved more than 80 per 

 cent. This perhaps is due to tlie explicit directions given by 

 the manager, J. C. Harvey, who it will be remembered, solved 

 the problem of seed carriage by his theory of almost arrested 

 germination by dampened charcoal. La Buena Ventura Plan- 

 tation produced one ton of Caslilloa rubber this year, which, 

 together with the Cacao crop, paid all of the plantation expenses, 

 and left a small profit. 



J. Herbert Foster, manager of the Meriden Plantation, is 

 living in the city of Veracruz, and running a correspondence 

 school in Spanish. He keeps an eye on the Meriden, however, 

 and his capable foreman, Don Mateo, got enough CastiUoa rub- 

 ber to pay all of the running expenses. They tapped 3,500 trees 

 once and got 299 pounds of rubber, which was sold at $349.90 

 gold. 



Some one of these days there is going to be a dropping off 

 in the chicle exports from Mexico. Your correspondent not 

 long ago had occasion to travel over the part of the country 

 where the tree has been most abundant and where the "Chewing 

 Gum Trust" is getting the most of its supplies. The trees are 

 dying and few new- ones are taking their places. Just how the 

 killing of the trees can be avoided is not apparent. The outer 

 bark is so hard that it takes a strong man with a machete to 

 cut through so as to free the latex. The wood is unavoidably 

 injured by this rough cutting, and it rots, and the tree dies. 



An exhaustive report of the President of the Tehuantepec 

 Rubber Culture Co., dated May 26, 19n, and covering, with a 

 table of measurements of trees and a reprint of the report made 

 by Harry S. Smith to the Board of Agriculture of Trinidad, 

 W. I., 42 octavo pages has been published for distribution to 

 stockholders in the company. It gives a detailed history of the 

 development of the company's Rubio plantation, and describes 

 its present condition and prospects, in an exceedingly lucid and 

 interesting manner. 



EXOTIC RUBBERS IN MEXICO. 



A FRIEND of The India Rubber World in Me.\ico, who wrote 

 requesting some information regarding Manihot Glaziovii, sends 

 a further communication, from which v/e quote : 



"I was not very enthusiastic before about the planting of 

 Manihot in Mexico ! I now know that it will not answer our 

 purpose, and will drop it. I have met lately a friend who has 

 "been experimenting with Para rubber {Hevea) in the Pichu- 

 cales district of Chiapas. The seed came from Ceylon, arrived 

 in good condition and sprouted well, but the trees have made a 

 poor growth and seem to show less vigor as time goes on. Dif- 

 ferent lots were planted in a low ground and on rich, hilly soil, 

 but the poor results were practically repeated in all parts." 



By Our Reguhir Correspondent. 



OPENING "de Koloniale Staten" our "House of Commons," 

 his Excellency Governor Fock of Surinam, as usual, re- 

 viewed the economical events of the past year. He stated that 

 the crop of sugar, cocoa and rice was larger than in the previous 

 year. For cocoa the quantity was 20,400 bags of 100 kilos. 



Great interest was shown by the planters in rubber cultivation. 

 The variety planted out was the Hevea Brasiliensis. The growth 

 of the young trees was very favorable. The number of young 

 trees from one to three years now growing was 225,000. 



No disturbing diseases have appeared in rubber. On the gov- 

 ernment rubber estate "Slootwijk," a great number of the trees 

 now 15 months old were making branches and the growth of 

 these young trees is in no way second to any of those our 

 Director of Agriculture saw in the Federated Malay States, 

 one of the best known rubber countries. The bananas also 

 did well at "Slootwijk." F^xportations of balata are increasing. 

 The quantity exported in 1908 was 998,800 pounds ; in 1909 it was 

 1,500,400 iioiuids. and in 1910 1,964,600 pounds. 



About 2,500,000 acres were leased out as balata concessions. 

 .A large company in Holland has taken up the interests of two 

 balata firms in Surinam. Wild rubber exportation is also draw- 

 ing attention. A gold mining corporation, the Conipagnie des 

 Mines d'Or of the Marowyne river has formed a company for the 

 exploitation of wild and cultivated rubber in its territory. The 

 gold industry has not been satisfactory. The export of gold came 

 down from 2,492 pounds in 1909 to 2,378 pounds in 1910. 



According to information from the directors of the Balata 

 Conipagnie Suriname in Rotterdam, this is the company that 

 bought up all the 425 shares of the Balata Compagnie Guyana 

 for 425 new shares of the Balata Compagnie Suriname. These 

 new shares will have the same right as to dividends as the old 

 ones. The Balata Compagnie Guyana was formed and includes 

 the whole balata enterprise of J. M. Da Costa at Paramaribo 

 and G. H. de Granada at Wasbenaar (Holland). These gentle- 

 men guarantee a net profit for the year 1911 of at least 1.50,000 

 fl. ($60,300). In 1910 they got a crop of 176,000 pounds of balata, 

 w^orking with 250 laborers, and the net profit has been 100,000 

 fl. ($40,200). A specification of what they bring into the com- 

 pany reads as follows. 



Money paid to laborers and advances fl. 176,000 ($70,752) 



Food and provisions 34,500 ($13,869) 



Tools, camps, boats.' 25,000 ($10,050) 



Costs of prospcctions 12,500 ( $5,025) 



Taxes on concessions 27,000 ($10,854) 



All rights on balata concessions already pros- 

 pected covering an area of 200.000 150,000 ($60,300) 



fl. 425,000 (= $170,850) 



As the concessions of the Guyana are located next and be- 

 tween those of the Suriname company, the directors think the 

 new agreement a very useful one. J. M. da Costa will remain 

 as manager of the biisiness in Surinam, and G. H. de Granada 

 will be taken up in the directory, if the shareholders at the 

 first annual meeting will consent to do so. Of the 425 shares 

 of Mr. da Costa and Granada, 260 will be at the disposition 

 of the old shareholders at the rate of 140 per cent. The new 

 shares will enjoy all and full rights and dividends the first book 

 vear. 



-An enquiry published in .\. recent report from a United 

 States consular officer in Portugal, calls for the names of Ameri- 

 can firms who are in a position to export surgical rubber goods. 

 The reference number of the enquiry, to which replies may be 

 addressed, care of the Bureau of Manufactures, Department of 

 Commerce and Labor, Washington, D. C, is 6,86L 



