652 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[September 1, 1914. 



The Editor's Book Table. 



THE RUBBER INDUSTRY IN BRAZIL AND THE ORIENT. BY 

 C. E. Akers. London. 1914. Methuen & Co., Limited. [Cloth, 320 

 p.iRes, with 26 illustrations. Price, 6^. net.] 



THE official report of the "Akers Rubber Commission" of 

 1912-13 was dealt with by The Inui.\ RunnER World in 

 May, 1913 (page 417). It will be recalled that this com- 

 mission (appointed by the Booth Steamship Co. and other prom- 

 inent shipping interests) had two sections, dealing successively 

 with the Orient and the Amazon. Mr. C. E. Akers, who formed 

 part of each division, has now formulated his own report on the 

 entire subject of "The Rubber Industry in Brazil and the Orient." 



While the broad features of the .Amazon rubber industry, as 

 described in the first nine chapters of this volume, are familiar 

 to most rubber men, the tenth chapter, comparing the Brazilian 

 and Oriental rubber industries, is of special interest at the 

 present time. 



BR.\ZIL. 



In the Orient there is an abundant and cheap supply of method- 

 ical plantation labor, while in Brazil the high wage rate prohibits 

 the use of a collective force, all enterprise being dependent 

 on individual energy, with little or no supervision. Xo effort 

 is apparently made in that country to aid the growth of the 

 rubber trees or to check pests. The trees are self-sown, only 

 a limited proportion of those germinating coming to maturity 

 in the dense forest shade. .According to Eastern methods, the 

 seed is selected and planted in special nurseries, the young trees 

 being afterw-ards transferred to land prepared with a view to 

 the maximum growth of root and branch. 



The planted area in the East may, in the author's opinion, be 

 taken appro.ximately as 1,500,(XX) acres, containing about 180,(X)0,- 

 (XX) to 200,(XX),(XX) trees. In the Amazon valley, he remarks, the 

 acreage of planted trees is of such limited extent as not to 

 affect the general conditions ; while there is no reason to suppose 

 the official estimate of 2(XI,000,CXX) wild trees to be an exaggeration. 



Mr. Akers .states that the seed sent over by Mr. Wickham 

 was of the white (or weak) description, valued in the Brazilian 

 markets at 20 per cent, less than the black variety, which stands 

 preeminent for the resilient quality of its yield, and which 

 is the species principally grown in the .Amazon valley. The rubber 

 tree referred to for comparative purposes is the Heiva, as there 

 is only an unimportant quantity of Caucho or Castilloa in the 

 East ; while the opinion is expressed that within a few years the 

 exportation of that class of rubber from the Amazon valley will 

 be a thing of the past. It constituted only 23.37 per cent, of the 

 Amazon rubber exports of 43,362 tons for the year ending June 

 30, 1913. Of this grand total 31,362 tons were produced on the 

 upper rivers, including Bolivia and Peru, whik 12.000 tons came 

 from the lower Amazon and its tributaries. The production 

 outside the Amazon valley for the period named (chiefly Manihot 

 varieties from Ceara and the adjacent states) was 4,000 tons; the 

 total Brazilian crop being thus for the rubber year 1913 about 

 47,000 tons, or 40 per cent, of the world's production. 



As to rainfall, the .Amazon valley and the Malay Peninsula 

 each get about 100 inches annually, but in the latter the distribu- 

 tion is more uniform than in Brazil, where there is a regular 

 dry season from June to October. Owing to the comparative 

 absence of moisture in Brazil the heat, however, is less trying than 

 in the East. With the aid of careful cultivation the rubber tree is 

 successfully planted in the East in many different soils, avoiding 

 undrained swampy lands or those exposed to strong prevailing 

 winds. 



The average daily wage rate (without rations) in the East is 

 under \s. (24.33 cents) for able-bodied men. In the rubber dis- 

 tricts of Brazil the average is 6.5. 8rf. ($1.62) per day, which. 

 including rations, equals about $2 per day. The rubber collector 



receives no money wages, but is a partner on equal shares with 

 the estate owner, being entitled to 50 per cent, of the rubber he 

 delivers during the season. In the East the coolie lives on rice 

 and curry at a cost of a few pence per day ; while in the .Amazon 

 valley the laliorers cannot purchase the daily necessities of life 



A Gi.^.vT SiECiMEX OF Hcvca Brasilicnsis. Mirarv. River 



M.MiEiR.v. Girth .\t 3 Feet fro.m the Grolwd, 



266 Inches. 



for less than 2s. 6d. (60.81 cents) per day. Responsible posts, 

 as superintendents, can be filled in the East for moderate salaries, 

 much below those demanded in Brazil for like services. 



Rubber trees begin to produce in the East when four years 

 old, while in Brazil twelve or fifteen years is the period when 

 they are considered fit for tapping without injurious effects. 

 In the East a rubber tree 75 feet high, with a girth of 100 inches 

 at 3 feet from the ground, is thought a giant, while in the Amazon 

 valley one of 150 feet in height with 200 inches girth is not 

 considered remarkable. 



Transport to the port of shipment in the East is easy and 

 inexpensive whether the production be in Ceylon, Malaya, Java 

 or Sumatra. In the Amazon valley the rubber properties are 

 mostly situated on rivers far distant from Manaos or Para, and 

 the cost of steamer freight to one or the other port is a con- 

 siderable item in the cost of production. 



Two comparative calculations show the respective inclusive 

 costs of Malayan and Brazilian rubber delivered in Europe as 

 respectively Is. lOrf. (44.60 cents) and 2s. 4lid. (57.27 cents) 

 per pound. The Malayan quotation dates from 1912. since 

 which the cost of production has been in some cases reduced, 

 while the Brazilian calculation is of 1913. 



Regarding future costs. Mr. .Akers quotes an estimate to the 

 effect that within five years, with increased yields and reduced 

 percentage of weeding expenses, an average cost of Is. 3d. (30.41 

 cents) will be reached by Malayan plantations. He sees no 

 reason to doubt the attairment of this figure, which has become 

 an accomplished fact on many Ceylon properties. 



