August 1, 1914. | 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



593 



The English colonics in the tropics all have extensive experi- 

 ment stations, in practically all of which ruhlier cnlture is studied. 

 They are foinid not only in the places mentioned above but in 

 other parts of the West Indies and in British Honduras. They 

 have also been established on a liberal scale in Southern India, 

 Ceylon, I'"edcrated Malay States. Borneo, Northern Australia. 

 Papua and in other islands. .At some of these stations the 

 llcvca is the principal subject of research work, while in others, 

 as in Soutliern India, much attention has been given to the I'icus, 

 and otlier indigenous trees. There are a number of these stations 

 in the British possessions in Africa, where a great deal of pains- 

 taking study has been given to the LciiiJol/>hi(i and l-unluin'ui 

 plants. 



The interesting feature of all this experimental work in llu- 

 British tropical possessions is the fact thai wherever these 

 stations are situated they all draw their inspiration from the 

 gardens at Kew. They arc practically all branches of those 

 great botanical gardens near London. They all look to Kew 

 for advice, instruction and assistance ; it is the center tliat 

 vitalizes all these ramifications. It is a w-onderful system, ad- 

 mirably conducted, and has already achieved the most beneficent 

 results, with greater results still to come. 



COWBOYS' "CHAPS" BEING MADE OF RUBBER. 



SOCItT* FINANCltRE DES CAOUTCHOUCS. 



The report presented to the general meeting of this Belgian 

 company on June 10. shows a total area under inspection of 

 69.850 acres, planted or in course of being planted. Of this total, 

 about 70 per cent, belongs to the various companies forming 

 the combination, which holds a certain interest in the balance. 

 The plantations are divided into three groups, controlled by the 

 respective agencies, as follows: Federated Malay States, U 

 plantations — .34.750 acres; Sumatra, 10 plantations — 31,250 acres; 

 Java, 3 plantations — 3,850 acres. Total 24 plantations — 69,850 

 acres. While the technical inspection is in all cases con- 

 fided to the company's agents, it is not in all instances accom- 

 panied by financial control. 



During the past year the technical control of the company's 

 .Asiatic business Vi'as centralized in Mr. 1-2. 1!. .Skinner, formerly 

 at the head of its Straits agency. 



.Mtbough the balance of profits for 1913 represents about 

 $5()0.000, the board has devoted about $540,000 to writing oflf 

 de[)reciation in the companies' shares and other assets; the dif- 

 ference of about $20,000 being carried over to new account. 

 I'he report states that it has been considered the wiser policy 

 not to pay any dividend, but to devote the chief portion of the 

 profits to the total extinction of the above-named depreciation ; 

 adding that the sudden fall in rubber could not this year be 

 made up by an increased production. Hence the drop in rubber 

 shares and the consequent depreciation of the company's assets. 



.-\ppreciatory reference is made to the late Mr. C. .\. Haggen- 

 macher. head of the Sumatra agency, who died in the early 

 part of 1914. 



While a large proportion of the company's plantations has not 

 yet reached maturity, its holdings include some producing 

 estates — such as : Kuala Lumpur Rubber Co., planted area 5.040 

 acres, 10 months' production. 984.603 pounds; Federated Malay 

 States Rubber Co., planted area 4.800 acres, II months' produc- 

 tion, 1,071,865 pounds. 



This company's headquarters are at Antwerp; the admiiuslra- 

 live board including E. Bunge, E. Cheneviere, de Lagotclleric, 

 Alfred and Emile Grisar, Herbert Wright, and other prominent 

 rubber men. 



The exports of rubber waste from Kotterdain amounted in 

 1913 to 76,743 tons, an increase of 21,986 tons over the exports 

 of the previous year, when of the 54,757 tons exported 39,545 

 tons were shipped to the United States. 



PX' FRY BODY is familiar, pictorially if not fropi actual ob- 

 *— ' servation, with the general aspect of the great American 

 cowboy, and particularly with (hat distinctive feature of his dress 

 which consists of a pair of leggings or overalls made of leather 



Sotrn .A.viKRicAN Cnwnovs in W ^ 



IVKKPI) "I H.M'S. 



or of sheepskin with the wool left on and that reach from the 

 feet to the waist. The cowboy refers to these as "chaps," which 

 is short for "chap-a-re-jos" borrowed from the Mexican. 



These "chaps" are a highly essential part of the cowboy's cquit)- 

 ment, as without them his clothes would be torn to tatters when 

 he rides through the stiff underbrush. They are worn not omly 

 by the cowboys on the American plains, 'but by the men engaged 

 in herding cattle on the great plains of Mexico, Argentina, Colom- 

 bia, and practically everywhere else where there are cattle and 

 cowboys to round them up. 



But while tliese leather or sheepskin "chaps" render highly effi- 

 cient service in places where the underbrush is dry, obviously they 

 are not very well suited to climates where there is a great deal of 

 rain and where vegetation is continuously wet ; and that is the 

 reason that the cowboys of the Colombian lowlands have resorted 

 to "chaps" (though they call them "zamarros") of a difTcrcnt 

 sort, namely, made of rubber covered with fabric on both sides. 

 These, up to the present time, have all been made in England, 

 but as these cloth-covered rubber "chaps" arc obviously much 

 better suited than their leather counterpart for work in wet 

 weather, it is very likely that their use will spread wherever 

 there are cows and cowboys ; and if they are adopted, as they 

 probably will be, in our own western country, they will naturally 

 be made in American mills. 



ALL-FLANTATION TIKES. 

 1 1 is reported from London, that a number of car owners 

 interested in the rubber industry have been ordering sets of 

 "all plantation" tires. These will be submitted to full and com- 

 plete tests under the supervision of experts. 



