September i, 1910.] 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



411 



distance" view of the various processes and operations 

 through which the rubber must pass. His sys- 

 tematically acquired knowledge of chemical principles 

 enables him to discern defects and their causes long 

 before the other man is aware of their existence. 



There is another point which the manufacturer must 

 bear in mind when he concludes to consult a chemist 

 and have his raw materials and his processes exam- 

 ined. Money expended for professional advice is 

 "capital invested" and should be so entered on the books 

 — for the money spent in fees will enable the manu- 

 facturer to make better goods, sell more goods, and 

 declare larger dividends. If he makes the error of 

 entering these fees under the "expense account" he 

 may during dull times be tempted to curtail these ex- 

 penses, anil thus strike at the very root of his 

 welfare. The more progressive corporations in the 

 leather, textile, and paper industries have long since 

 realized the benefits to be de/ived from systematic 

 chemical control of their processes and their raw 

 materials. 



It may be that many of the claims for damaged and 

 defective goods could be eliminated and the cause 

 remedied by retaining a qualified chemical engineer for 

 a careful inspection of the works. We say chemical 

 engineer, for a man who is to investigate industrial 

 processes must at once have a knowledge of machines 

 and the chemical operations which are carried out in 

 those machines. It may be that here, as in other in- 

 stances, no particular attention will be paid to chemi- 

 cal control until a lawsuit with its dire consequences 

 is instituted by some particular dealer. Then sud- 

 denly the chemist will be called upon to "explain 

 away" some of the more obvious defects.' 



An interesting illustration of a new tendency on the 

 Amazon is to be found in the amount of space devoted to rub- 

 ber culture in the excellent agricultural magazine, A Lavoura 

 Paraense, published at Para. A few years ago nothing on this 

 subject was thought worth publishing in the land of "Para" 

 rubber ; now full reports on rubber cultural progress everywhere 

 are printed there, and, what is more, read with interest. The 

 rubber lords of northern Brazil cannot afford to be outdistanced 

 by the British in Asia. 



A recent list of products of an important rubber manu- 

 facturing company includes a page the heading of which car- 

 ries the words "Low Grade" and "Not Warranted." This is 

 interesting, because it is not usual. It is interesting, also, as 

 typical of the growth of sound business morality. There are 

 other goods in the list which are described as "high grade," 

 and they are "warranted" ; goods marked plainly with the name 

 of the company, or with one of their widely advertised brands. 

 But the "low grade" goods — openly offered as such, for people 

 who want something at a low price — do not bear any indication 

 of their source. We like the idea of the name of a company 

 being reserved for use on its higher grade products, for other- 

 wise purchasers unable to discriminate might be led, by the 

 appearance of a well-known name, to buy inferior goods under 

 the impression that the best was being obtained. We also like 

 the idea of "low grade" goods being so described, for in this 



case no one can be deceived. Of course, when it comes to the 

 ultimate consumer, he must depend upon the honesty of the 

 retailer, but we do not doubt that a better tone in business 

 honesty is developing throughout every stage of trade, and that 

 purchasers in general can depend upon being told whether any 

 article, in staple lines, is "low grade" or "high grade." It is 

 indispensable, of course, that goods should be made in differ- 

 ent qualities to fit different purses or tastes, and no wrong is 

 involved so long as the seller doesn't deceive his customers. 



The fact that the government of Dutch Guiana is now 

 planting 500 acres to Hevca rubber draws attention to the possi- 

 bilities of that country for the same sort of development that 

 has taken place in the Far East. There are at present many 

 going plantations that are producing cacao and sugar, where the 

 land has been dyked and drained and upon which there are sub- 

 stantial plantation buildings. The partial failure of the cacao 

 crop and the far greater profit in rubber has turned the at- 

 tention of the planters to it. The movement seems to be in 

 favor of a joint planting of bananas and rubber, there being a 

 good market for the former now that the United Fruit Co. have 

 established a regular weekly service between Paramaribo and 

 New York. That the Hcvea Brasiliensis will do well is proved 

 in that a number of experimental plantings already exist. These 

 plantations are about a flozen in number, the oldest contain- 

 ing some 300 trees ten years old recently producing 3 pounds 

 contains 14,000 Hevca trees from I to V/2 years old. With a 

 stable government and absolute freedom from unjust taxation, 

 and a climate and soil fittest for such cultivation, it would seem 

 likely that considerable will be done in rubber in the next five 

 years. Added to all of the above is the government's assistance 

 in oroviding BHtish cnoly labor under the indenture system. At 

 only a normal cost to the planter it would seem that Hevea 

 could not only be grown as well, but nearly as cheaply as in the 

 Far East. 



Among the many letters which continue to reach The 

 India Rubber World in relation to the articles on "Castilloa 

 Rubber in Chiapas (Mexico)" by Mr. J. L. Hermessen, 

 a. m. 1. e. e., published in The India Rubber World earlier in 

 the year one points out a misspelling in the issue of February I 

 (page 163) of the name of the Castilloa species designated by 

 Mr. O. F. Cook as lactiflua. The spelling in these pages, 

 lactiflora, was due to an error in printing which the author had 

 no opportunity to correct. Mr. Cook's report on species of the 

 Central American rubber tree, by the way, appeared in Science 

 (New York) XVIII: 436. 



PROFITS OF WIRELESS. 



A T the late annual meeting of Marconi's Wireless Telegraph 

 ** Co., Limited, the reports showed a profit for the year 

 19C9, in spite of the serious set back by the disastrous fire which 

 destroyed the station at Glace Bay, Canada. This station has 

 been rebuilt, leading to the resumption of their trans-atlantic 

 service, and the prospects for the future are regarded as most 

 favorable. The profit for the year was ^11,432. Several of the 

 wireless companies in which the Marconi company own an in- 

 terest are beginning to show profits. The French company de- 

 clared a dividend for the year of 5 per cent., and the Belgian 

 company of 10 per cent. The directors recommended the pay- 

 ment of the cumulative 7 per cent, dividend upon the preference 

 shares to June 30, 1909, and an intimation was given that before 

 long an announcement of a similar dividend for the remaining 

 six months of the year would be made. The capital outstanding 

 ranking for dividend is £250,000. 



The wireless service established to connect with the rubber 

 district of the upper Madeira, mentioned on another page, is 

 under the Marconi svstem. 



