572 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[July 1, 1914. 



old the people of that colony would touch nothing in the "bush" 

 line except gold, and in consequence had no desire to tamper 

 with balata; with the exception of a few isolated instances, where 

 the work was carried on by negroes from British Guiana. The 

 French have made large profits in gold digging, and it was hard 

 to persuade them to go in for anything else. Many of these 

 French Creoles became very rich from placer washings by hand 

 process ; the precious metal being freely distributed throughout 

 that portion of South America and the mining laws so favorable 

 that the inducements were too tempting not to be taken advan- 

 tage of. In consequence every man and almost every woman 

 was a gold digger. 



The Mini creek, a tributary of the Maroni river, on the French 

 shore produced alone in five years about $25,000,000 in dust and 

 nuggets, and this was nothing in comparison with the wealth 

 taken out of the Carsewenne district — now annexed to Brazil — 

 in the early nineties. These placer diggings were discovered un- 

 der peculiar circumstances. The story is an exceedingly inter- 

 esting one but can be given here only briefly : An old halfbreed 

 Indian confided to a friend of his, a young French fisherman, 

 that he had made a great gold discovery at a point on the Car- 

 sewenne river, a twelve days' trip from Cayenne. The fisherman 

 doubted the tale but passed it on to a negro prospector, who got 

 the old halfbreed to accompany him and took a trip to the spot 

 indicated. He brought back to Cayenne a bag of sand which 

 being assayed proved to have 500 ounces of pure gold. The au- 

 thorities, being sure he had stolen it from some mine, put him 

 in jail, but no mine owner appearing to claim the gold he was 

 finally released. A second trip netted him 5,000 ounces of gold, 

 and on the third trip, so goes the story, he and a companion made 

 $200,000 each. 



Is it any wonder, then, that the French people have never 

 turned their attention to any other industry? 



But most of the placers are worked out at the present time, 

 and the French are turning to some other enterprise. The balata 

 business opens to them unusual opportunities for making money 

 quickly on their investments. The balata forests are accessible, 

 the laws governing the industry are simple and millions of acres 

 can be had for the asking. 



The Government exacts a small tax per kilogram on the 

 produce when brought in for export, but there are no restric- 

 tions as to methods of tapping. Under the circumstances it is 

 natural to suppose that French Guiana will become a very lucra- 

 tive field for the bleeders and others of modest means ; and al- 

 ready there is an e.xodus to that colony, where men experienced 

 in that line are in great demand. 



One hears very little talk of the rubber industry at the present 

 time. ■ The very low market price of the article would appear to 

 have chilled in a great measure the enthusiasm displayed by the 

 growers, who some time ago had great hopes that the industry 

 would be a lasting and highly remunerative one. The present 

 prevailing low market prices have caused the planters to suspend 

 operations on the trees and thus give them a chance to develop, 

 with the hope that at some future time the prices of rubber will 

 increase. 



It is gratifying to record that the Javanese women and some 

 of the men on the plantations have rapidly acquired proficiency 

 in the accepted methods of tapping; and. when the markets are 

 tempting, Dutch Guiana rubber will be produced in large quanti- 

 ties. The action of the rubber growers in playing a waiting 

 game is highly commendable. It must not be forgotten, how- 

 ever, that the planters have not to depend on the rubber pro- 

 duced to meet current expenses. Cocoa, coflfee and other pro- 

 ducts are grown to great advantage and profit, and in conse- 

 quence the planters who have areas clutivated with rubber are 

 quite independent of the state of the rubber market. 



BALATA IN DUTCH AND BRITISH GUIANA. 



A French account states that after 20 years' existence the balata 

 industry of Surinam seems to be losing ground. The trees are 

 spread over a large area; the lack of the needed attention being 

 the cause of their diminution. Regulations have been introduced 

 with a view to the prevention of their destruction. Returns of 

 exports show 892 tons for 1910; 1,145 tons for 1911 and 727 tons 

 for 1912. This reduction is attributed to the fall in the price of 

 rubber, in conjunction with the destruction of the balata trees. 



COMMERCE AND INDUSTRIES OF TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO. 



According to a report from Consul .\ndrew J. McConnico of 

 Trinidad, the imports for consumption in 1912 were $12,306,809, 

 against $13,400,154 for 1911. The exports include balata gum 

 $22,182 for 1911 and $28,732 for 1912. Total exports were $23,- 

 210,704 for 1911 and $21,765,795 for 1912. 



Later information gives the total shipments of rubber from 

 January 1 to May 31, 1914, as 3.785 pounds, against exports 

 for the corresponding periods of 1913 and 1912 of 1,505 and 

 1,725 pounds respectively. 



Trinidad being one of the chief shipping ports of the West 

 Indies, a bright future is confidently predicted for it with the 

 opening of the Panama canal. 



The cultivation of rubber was continued during 1913 and the 

 yield showed an increase, but was not up to expectations, owing 

 to the adverse weather conditions. 



CUBAN PURCHASES OF RUBBER GOODS. 



Cuban imports of rubber goods for 1912 included waterproof 

 cloths, $277,500, of which amount $150,000 were received from 

 the United States; $82,500 from the United Kingdom; $12,250 

 from Italy, and $10,000 from Spain. Rubber hose and other 

 manufactures of rubber came from the United States to the 

 amount of $110,000. 



REDUCTION IN MEXICAN RUBBER SHIPMENTS. 



Statistics of Mexican exports from July to December, 1913, 

 as compared with the corresponding period of 1912, show: 

 Guayule $354,132, against $2,174,741; rubber $369,353, against 

 $2,495,731, and chewing gum $693,019, against $879,666. 



RUBBER ESTATES OF JOHORE, LTD. 



The eighth annual report of the above company, covering the 

 year 1913, records a crop of 323,501 pounds, against 106,261 

 pounds for 1912. Inclusive cost of production was Is. 9V2d. 

 (43.58 cents) per pound and gross price realized 2s. 8J4d. (.65.37 

 cents) per pound. Three new washing mills were erected dur- 

 ing the year and additional ones will be installed in 1914. 



PATALING RUBBER ESTATES SYNDICATE (FEDERATED MALAY 

 STATES). 



The annual report shows the inclusive cost price as Is. 0.79d. 

 (25.87 cents) per pound. Forward sales for 1913 were 72 tons 

 at an average gross price of 4s. 3.57d. (104.06 cents) per pound. 

 .-X dividend (including the interim payment) of 150 per cent, 

 was declared for 1913. The yield in 1913 was 485.627 pounds, 

 against 429,547 pounds in 1912. 



The Colombian Congress (law 52 of 1913) appropriated $20,000 

 to explore the Caqueta and Putumayo countries of the southern 

 border of Colombia and for a general report on the possibility 

 of their colonization, the plan being to grant unconditionally 125 

 acres to each family or man over 21 years of age immigrating 

 there. 



The accepted authority on South .\merican rubber — "The 

 Rubber Countrv of the .\mazon." bv Henry C. Pearson. 



Should be on every rubber man's desk — The Rubber Trade 

 Directory of the World, 1912. 



