134 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[January i, 1910. 



they did in 1906, profits aggregating the important sum of 

 £1.. 71.61 1, or $6,i8o,oj v ?. American gold — more than 4.? per cent. 



Taking now in consideration the extent of American trade in 

 Brazil, especially in the buying of rubber and coffee, it will 

 not be exaggeration to assume that the American part of these 

 profits amounts to $2,000,000. 



Could not the American manufacturers keep the couple of 

 million dollars for themselves without being so philanthropic as 

 to give it to their brothers, the Britishers? 



Could they not have their own banks 111 Brazil? 



Great enterprises born in America, such as the Madeira- 

 Mamore railway, the ports of Para and the like, are obliged 

 to be financed in Europe, because no American banks exist in 

 Brazil to which they can apply, and the ultimate result is that 

 the supplies they require are purchased in Europe. 



A Brazilian importer buying goods from the states is obliged 

 to pay three commissions in exchanging his money: 



Eirst, the local British bank, receiving from the American 

 manufacturer a bill for collection, presents it to the Brazilian in 

 pounds sterling. The Brazilian merchant pays it with the cur- 

 rency < f the country, which the bank reduces to pounds sterling. 

 Now, the bank settles the bill with the American manufacturer, 

 exchanging again the pounds for dollars. 



And yet there is no safer place in the world for the invest- 

 ment of money than the Brazilian market. Over all the Latin- 

 American republics Brazil has won the supremacy, not only be- 

 cause of her stable government, but also because she has made 

 every effort to improve the conditions of the country and to 

 develop the immense natural resources. The government loans 

 are paid punctually, and great funds are deposited in London for 

 the future payments. 



The inexhaustible rubber forests of the Amazon are furnishing 

 and will still supply the world's need of crude rubber for a 

 great while to come. Minerals are discovered everywhere in 

 Brazil, and the constant European immigration is aiding to the 

 forces needed to develop the riches of that country. Capital em- 

 ployed in Brazil not only is safe, but is sure to turn out a very 

 good profit. 



The Salesman and the Spanish Language. 



Other great factors in the failure of American trade in Brazil 

 are the use of the Spanish language in propaganda work and 

 the unpreparedness of the average traveling salesman for trans- 

 acting business in that country. 



The greatest mistake ever perpetrated by the American manu- 

 facturer in connection with the propaganda work, has been in 

 sending his advertising literature to Brazil in Spanish. Still 

 more inexcusable is it to send out salesmen who speak only 

 Spanish. 



Too many American manufacturers have the idea that Span- 

 ish and Portuguese are similar languages, since one is derived 

 from the other. Yet it is a great mistake. The difference be- 

 tween Portuguese and Spanish is as marked as that which exists 

 between Dutch and German. I don't suppose that an American 

 manufacturer would send out to Germany a representative who 

 could only speak Hollandish. 



The truth is that the Portuguese-speaking people despise the 

 Spanish language. The most expensive catalogue printed in 

 Spanish, sent to Brazil, goes at once to the waste basket. 



Imagine, now, a first class American salesman, however well 

 acquainted with the methods of trade in the Spanish-American 

 countries — which differ greatly from those of Brazil — employing 

 in the latter country the same methods in selling his goods. 



The Brazilian merchant is a highly educated person, with all 

 the European refinements. It is not unusual there to find a 

 man of university training behind the counter of a store, or a 

 clerk in an office. The Brazilian merchant meets the foreign 

 salesmen not only commercially but also socially. He extends 

 his politeness even to inviting them to his home or introducing 

 them to his club. 



But unfortunately, not accustomed to these conditions, the 

 American salesmen do not meet the expectations of the Bra- 

 zilian merchant. 



It is worth while for the American bankers, and especially the 

 American manufacturers, to take into consideration the points 

 which I have tried here to outline briefly but clearly. 



M IcjlK.I r. SHELLEY. 

 Para, Brazil. 



RUBBER IN THE IVORY COAST. 



UNDER the intelligent and progressive policy of the colonial 

 authorities in French West Africa in relation to rubber, not 

 only is the production of this material in that region steadily 

 increasing, but it promises to be long maintained, not only 

 through the conservation of the native resources but also on ac- 

 count of the gradual systematic planting of the species best 

 suited to the different colonies. Of late the Ivory Coast has 

 come to be of importance in the production of rubber, and the 

 situation in that colony has been the subject recently of some 

 very interesting studies. 



Mention may be made particularly of a report on a scientific 

 mission in East Africa by Mons. Aug. Chevalier in Nouvelles 

 Archives des Missions ScientiUques, in connection with which is 

 given an interesting map on a considerable scale of the forest 

 regions of the Ivory Coast, indicating particularly the distribu- 

 tion of rubber species. He indicates many different lianes 

 (creepers), in addition to the Funtumia trees. 



The conclusions of this authority are supported in a later 

 report by Mons. L. Nicolas, sub inspector of agriculture in 

 French West Africa, in L 'Agriculture pratique des pays chauds 

 (Paris, October, 1009). Of special interest in the latter paper 

 is the information regarding the Funtumia species. Formerly 

 the rubber producing trees of Lagos and other West Africa 

 were identified as Kickxia Africana, but latterly they have been 

 included in the genus Funtumia (Stapf), of which no fewer than 

 seven species are referred to by Mons. Nicolas, including Fun- 

 tumia clastica, which perhaps is the most important. 



The value of the Funtumia species has been referred to fre- 

 quently in these pages (see The India Rubber World, October 

 1, 1909 — page 28), and doubtless it will come into wide cultiva- 

 tion throughout the rubber zone of Africa, since its product is 

 of a good quality and it is capable of cultivation under conditions 

 where Hcvca has not proved successful. Mons. Nicolas quotes 

 results from the coagulation of Funtumia rubber through ex- 

 posure to the air, by boiling with the juice of the "bossanga" 

 vine, evaporation in the sun, and smoking. 



There are also in the Ivory Coast several other rubber trees, 

 including at least three species of Ficus, and finally may be men- 

 tioned several of the more important species of Landolphia. 

 To sum up, the Ivory Coast appears to have valuable natural 

 resources in rubber, and to be adapted for rubber cultivation 

 both of which points seem likely to be taken advantage of in 

 supplying the French markets, with every encouragement from 

 the government. 



Exports of rubber from the Ivory Coast increased from 

 456,377 kilos in 1907 to 915,642 kilos in 1908. 



The cable manufacturers of Austria and Hungary, about 

 the first of October, announced a rise in the price of all their 

 insulated wire products, from 15 to 25 per cent, on account 

 of the advancing cost of rubber and other materials, and the 

 recent increase in the scale of wages. 



Among recent new articles of equipment for rubber plantations 

 in the Far East may be mentioned carts for the transport of 

 latex from the trees to the central factories. They are made in 

 80 gallons' capacity for bullock draft, and 40 gallons for hand 

 draft. They are being introduced on several of the larger estates. 



