408 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[May 1. 1914. 



The headquaneri of Herca . in the State of Pars 



are the alluvial lands of the estu„..- . . ...i rivers Para and Ama- 

 zon, whereas this species is almost completely wanting in the 

 plains of Marajo, Mexiana and CaWana. In all this r^on it 

 would seem that the rubber tree never grows far from the direct 

 influence of the sea. The same remark applies to the river 

 T:-rr>.rtin- and to tbe n^rrbem affluent? of the mouth of the 

 ere the . - limited to the lower 



p^- -L- rivers, : ^ ve the first waterfalls. 



Last year Dr. Huber received some incomplete specimens of 

 rubber plants from the river Jary, an accurate study of which 

 revealed the existence of Guaynit-nsis above the first waterfall, 

 of a character related to the Spruccana f — ' "-^ 'tt that point. 



.\nother large sub-division of the of Hez'ea 



Brasilicnsis in the State of Para is the fluvLil "L^sin of the river 

 Xingii. .\mong noted explorers wh-^ hz<S \-!S'ted this section 

 were: Karl von den Steinen. ng the river 



Matto Grosso. met with the tir- ne below -he 



Manias waterfall ; and Henry Coudrean, who discovert ' 

 trees as far as the southern limit of the State. 



The third grand di\-ision of the area of Hezva BrasUieitsis in 

 the State of Para — that of the basin of the Tapaioz — while pre- 

 >enrine certain features of analogy with the second, differs from 

 : by its re' ition. 



the disi- : Hevca BrasUicnsis rr. the 



three pnnapai zones in the State of Para. 



The three other varieties of Hcfca — iorradj. rv;.: 

 Sfruft-ana — are then dealt with from a botar ;>t view 



in connection with the details quoted at the .^^ - ' t'^- 



section. 



n. \.\RI.\ELK CH.VRACTERISTICS OF GEXtS HEIBA .\SD 

 POSSIBILITIES OF .\ METHODICAL SELECTION. 



In this iinal chapter on Hezca. Dr. Huber urges the importance 

 of not c<Mifining investigations to Hcz'ca Brasilicnsis, but of ex- 

 tending them to other \-arieties of the genns. .\mong the points 

 touched upon are: 1. Fluctuating variations or fluctuations, gen- 

 erally more or less dependent upon external conditions. 2. Sud- 

 den and hereditary variations or mutations. 



The above conclusions. Dr. Huber adds, may seem to possess 

 a more or less theoretical character, in the absence of positive 

 information as to the influence of various fluctuations on the 

 yidd of latex. Methodical cultivation and exact statistical rec- 

 ords are, however, points demanding careful attention. Above 

 all, it is necessary to avoid the crossing of different varieties, 

 so as to obtain a pure and immixed character of vegetation. 



A letter from Trinidad of the Editor of The Ixbia Rubbes 

 \VoRU>, which appeared in the July, 1912. issue of that journal. 

 is quoted on this subject, as proving that this crossing does in 

 some cases take place. 



Hezea Brasilicnsis, the best-known species of this genus, has 

 been up to now considered as a well-characterized imit in a 

 Linnean sense. Hcvea Rondiana, by its vegetative and repro- 

 ductive qualities, approximates so closely to Hezca Brasilicnsis 

 as to entitle it to be considered a particularly well-pronounced 

 sub-species. Various instances are recorded in support of this 

 view. 



Other points dealt with are the systematic study of fluctuatii^ 

 variability, by individtial observation of the size of the leaves: 

 the quality and quantity of latex; the correlation of variability 

 in seeds with variations in the lactiferous system: the charac- 

 teristic form and size of Hcvea Brasilicnsis seeds, etc 



Much of the text of these articles is of a detailed nature of 

 interest to specialists, but the maner of general import is suffi- 

 cient to merit anention. The fcoir articles have been reprinted 

 by the Hiho-typographic firm Ernesto Lohse & Ca.. Para. 



REPORT OF THE BRAZILIAN MIXED COMMISSION. 



YY/HILE the question has formed the subject of Brazilian 

 •' '--^islation, a Mixed Commission of Federal Senators 

 ■Jties has likewise been investigating the causes of 

 tfic present Amazon crisis. The report of this commission, 

 as presented by its spokesman. Dr. Eloy de Souza, and re- 

 produced by the "Revista" of the Commercial .\ssociat! • 

 .Amazonas, refers to various points of importsrfc. 



In the first place. Dr. de Souza urges that th rouble 



is one of an organic character, affecting nati-:^ , .-ction. 

 which has cost numerous lives and much money during the 

 thirty-five years in which efforts have been made to counter- 

 act it. the public authorities having been tardy in the solution 

 of so important i .Administration incapacity has. 



moreover, been ': r permitting the competition of a 



sin:' - a of foreign origin on such conditions that it 



wi;; alt to establish a just equilibrium between the 



cost of producing Brazilian rubber and that at which com- 

 peting qualiries are offered in the markets of consumpuon. 



Special reference is made to the two reports of Dr. Oswaldo 

 Cruz, principal medical authority on existing sanitary condi- 

 tions: one with regard to the construction of the Madeira- 

 Mamore railway, and the other of a general character. In 

 the frtrrper it b stated that the climate seems to have reduced 

 -r cent, the normal working capacity of laborers from 

 -^"ions. The examples of the governments of Ceylon 

 and Malaya are quoted in the latter as deserving of imitarion 

 by the Brazilian authorities in the enactment of sanitary 

 legislation. 



The respective production per acre in Brazil and the Elast 

 is compared, attention being called to the saving of time in 

 the latter case by reason of the fact that the trees are close 

 together instead of being widely- scattered. It is estimated 

 that the laborer can in a given rime tap twice as many trees 

 on the one continent as on the other. 



-Another subject treated in detail is the example afforded by 

 the L'nited States in the improvement of river navigation by 

 the removal of snags. This question has considerable interest 

 for Amazonia, as the river system of the for— - r- - t!y re- 

 sembles that of the latter. .At the Philadelph :.:ional 

 Congress of Xavigation. in 1912. this similarity- ci cmditions 

 was commented upon by Dr. Manoel Bandeira, the delegate 

 from Brazil. The proposed new railways are likewise dis- 

 cussed in this report of the Mixed Conunission. 



woaij> strasEs siahsxics f20k axsxehdail 

 According to an estimate of the "Indische Mercuur," of 

 -Amsterdam, the world's rubber production of recent years has 

 been: 



Plantation. Brazilian. Var ji TotaL 



1905 tons 145 J4.00T 2r.Sjj 60,945 



1906 510 36C" 2^?.X0 66j010 



1907 l.OOD 3S.0LIJ 30,000 e9j000 



1908 1.800 30^000 24J290 65.000 



1909 3.600 42.0n0 23.-«» 60.000 



1910 &200 AOK'j 2\JC0 70.000 



1911 14300 38.0CO 2,' = '' "• >» 



1912 27IOi 42.500 J- •• . O/XX) 



1913 (estimated^ 45.000 4Z500 3a000 115,000 



For 1912 the world's consumption was estimate ' - 



IttZjOOO, or slightly more than the production of Z ■ 

 Its approximate distribution was as follows: Uniteu Sistes. 

 47jOOO tons : Great Britain, 15,0<rO tens : Germany. 15.000 tons ; 

 France, 10,000 tons: other countries. 15.000 tons- 



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

 Directorv of the Woiid, 1912. 



Irade 



The accepted authority on South .American rubber- 

 Rn'nber Coimtry of the .Amazon." by Henrv C. Pearson. 



>The 



