390 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[May 1, 1912. 



JAPANESE INCREASED CRUDE RUBBER IMPORTS. 



JAPANESE imports of crude rubber and gutta-percha for 

 May, 1911 (as shown in the Indi.\ Rubber World of Septem- 

 ber 1, 1911, page 474), amounted to 54.493 pounds, value $45,514. 

 The impetus given to the Japanese rubber industry by the opera- 

 tion of the increased tariff on manufactures (which went into 

 effect July 17, 1911), is proved by the import returns for January, 

 1912, showing a quantity of 84,630 pounds, with a vakie of 

 $62,951. 



A comparison of the two months gives the following results 

 as to sources of Japanese supply : 



J.\P.\NESE IMPORTS OF CRUDE RUBBER .\XD GUTT.V-PERCHA. 



May, 1911. January, 1912. 



Pounds. Value. Pounds. Value. 



Straits Settlements 18,346 S9,716 52,312 $29,655 



Dutch India 6,893 4.513 7,237 3,865 



British India 7,240 4.125 Xot Specified. 



Great Britain 6,590 8,868 6.846 7,482 



United States 15,424 18.292 5,773 6,408 



Germany 2.259 2,432 



Other Countrie:, 10.203 13.109 



54,493 $45,514 



84,630 $62,951 



The salient points of this return are the threefold increase of 

 Japanese imports from Malaya, coupled with a falling off to the 

 extent of about two-thirds in those from the United States. 



As the average price of the former in January, 1912, was about 

 56 cents and that of the latter nearly double that rate it is evident 

 that Japanese manufacturers are using increased quantities of a 

 lower class of rubber than was the case in May, 1911. 



THE RUBBER INDUSTRY IN JAPAN. 

 By Our Regular Correspondent. 



EFFECTS OF THE NEW JAPANESE TARIFF. 



A LTHOUGH, on account of the dift'erences in classifications, 

 •**■ it is frequently impossible to exactly compare the rates 

 of the old and new Japanese tariffs, where such a comparison 

 is possible, the eft'ects of the new measure, which went into effect 

 July 17, 1911. are visible. Thus in May, 1911, the imports of 

 bicycle tires represented $20,849; this amount being almost cut in 

 half in January. 1912. Comparing the sources of suppl)' the 

 following results are obtained : 



May, 1911. January, 1912. 



Pounds. \'alue. Pounds. Value. 



Great Britain 15.506 $18,251 6.009 $10,353 



France 253 215 .... 



United States 1.033 2.383 110 292 



Total 16,792 $20,849 6,119 $10,645 



ASIA RUBBER COMPANY, LIMITED. TOKYO. 



This stock company was established at Tokyo in December, 

 1911, for the purpose of manufacturing and selling rubber goods, 

 with a capital of $50,000, of which one-fourth is already paid in. 

 It is contemplated to give attention at first to the selling depart- 

 ment of the business situated at Tokyo, pending the construction 

 of the factory elsewhere, which is expected to be completed by 

 the end of the year. Mr. Masao Watanabe is managing director. 



TEIKOKir RUBBER CO., LIMITED, TOKYO. 



This company, established in February., last, purchased the 

 Teikoku Rubber Works, which had already been built at 

 Kameido. Tokyo ; the capital amounting to $75,000. of whidi 

 one-fourth is paid in. Its chief products Will be rubber soles 

 and rubber materials for toy balloons. 



YOKOHAMA ELECTRIC WIRE CO., LIMITED. 



On February 18 a serious fire took place at the plant of the 

 above company, destroying the finishing, tubing, stranding and 

 painting shops, the damage representing about $100,000. This 

 important concern (of which the India Rubber World published 

 an illustrated description in its February issue), will probably 

 rebuild upon an enlarged scale. 



VISIT OF MR. ERNEST E. BUCKLETON. 



Mr. Ernest E. Buckleton, managing director of the Xorth- 

 \V'estern Rubber Co., Limited, of U. S. A., Liverpool, arrived in 

 Yokohama from San Francisco on February 26, per steamer 

 'J'anba-niaru, proceeding to Kobe on February 28, "and afterwards 

 returning to Tokyo. Mr. Bucklel;on's visit is for the purpose 

 of developing trade with the largest Japanese factories, in the 

 reclaimed rubber produced by his cnni],any. 



FERTILIZERS IN RUBBER CULTIVATION. 



PXPERIEXCE has proved the necessity of a certain amount of 

 ' — ' fertilization, as a condition of successfully cultivating rub- 

 ber trees in tropical climates, this being particularly the case with 

 Hevea. This fact has commenced to interest tropical planters, 

 more especially those of the Federated Malay States, Ceylon and 

 the Dutch Indies, who are trying to derive advantage from the 

 more or less exact data now available on the subject. 



As pointed out by a writer in "Le Caoutchouc et La Gutta- 

 percha," it has become more and more evident that certain 

 . chemical products exercise a favorable influence, not only upon 

 the development of rubber vegetation, but also upon the yield of 

 latex. On this point, preliminary experiments made in British 

 India have proved that the application of nitrate of soda increases 

 the flow of latex and the proportion of rubber produced. 



In the course of experiments at Hawaii (Keanoe) with Mani- 

 hot trees, to which Chilian nitrate had been applied at a depth of 

 4 inches, those to which 14 pound had been applied gave from 

 1 to 3 ounces of rubber, while those with which yi pound had 

 been used yielded from 2 to 3 ounces. The action of the ferti- 

 lizer was noticeable after 48 hours. 



As to Castilloa, European theoretical experiments have demon- 

 strated the probable value for the purpose in question of salts 

 of lime and potash and of azoted compounds. The opinion has, 

 however, been expressed that the use of potassic fertilizers en- 

 courages the development of vegetable parasites ; this subsidiary 

 question needing consideration. Lime, it is added, seems to be at 

 present justly attracting the particular attention of planters in the 

 East. 



While the results obtained in the Federated Malay States by 

 the use of lime are of interest, they are not, it is believed, of 

 universal application. Where it is impossible to procure a suffi- 

 ciency of lime at an advantageous price, it is considered ques- 

 tionable whether the attempt to cultivate W^t/^o is advisable. 



The soils in the English .Asiatic possessions are generally de- 

 ficient in lime, phosphates and potash, but often contain quan- 

 tities of azote, particularly in situations formerly covered with 

 virgin forests. 



Based on the above facts, there follows an interesting disquisi- 

 tion of the action of fertilizers on turfy, argillaceous and sandy 

 soils ; concluding with the following remarks : 



"There are consequently arguments for and against the use of 

 fertilizers, either in the form of chemicals, or as a vegetable 

 covering. It is for the planter, after studying the diffen-nt 

 methods of cultivation, to ascertain for himself, in each particular 

 case what kind of fertilizing is advisable. . . . The question is a 

 very complex one and does not admit of a solution applicable 

 to all cases." 



