June 1. I'"n2.] 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



423 



tion. San Felix is the great balata rendezvous of tlie lower 

 Orinoco. Here the flaiichas are brought in small boats or in 

 ox-carts overland, and shipped to the big importing and export- 

 ing houses in Bolivar. 



That Venezuela possesses great rubber forests none can deny. 

 The vast territory adjacent to Brazil, contiguous to the Rio 

 Negro, the Cassiquiare, and the upper Orinoco produces consid- 

 erable Ilevea rubber which comes sometimes down the Orinoco 

 to Ciudad Bolivar, and sometimes down the Rio Negro to 

 Manaos. It will be remembered that the Cassiquiare river forms 

 a navigable channel between the head waters of the Orinoco and 

 the Rio Negro — that is. during the rainy season. This rubber 

 area, said to contain nearly 100,000,000 acres, has never been 

 thoroughly exploited. The Hevea rigidifolia is probably the 

 source of the rubber gathered in this territory, and not the 

 Brasiliensis. Over toward the border of British Guiana there 

 are also Hezxas, but whether good or bad, none know as yet. 

 There seem to be no Hevea trees on the lower Orinoco. In fact, 

 none can be discovered after several days of journeying above 

 Bolivar, and even beyond the rapids, which are the end of steam- 

 boat navigation. 



The headquarters for rubber traders — that is, in the upper 

 country — is San Fernando, in the Alto Orinoco, and near the 

 Venezuelan territory of Amazonas. From this point on, it is 

 easy to get from the Government concessions for the exploita- 

 tion of rubber forests. Many of the tributaries of the great 

 river above San Fernando are said to have no Hevea trees at all. 

 But that there are other and new rubber producers is probable. 

 Mr. Kuhn, of the house of Blohm & Co., Bolivar, who do a 

 large business in rubber and balata, showed samples of rubber 

 that were new to me, at least; one called "Caura" closely re- 

 sembled cameta, while another known to the natives as "!Mata- 

 palo" was not unlike a fine grade of Niger Gutta. In this upper 

 region there is a goodly population, and in and about the Cas- 

 siquiare much rubber is gathered. The gathering starts in Sep- 

 tember to October and lasts until the floods begin in March 

 or April. The rubber is worked much as it is in Brazil, the tap- 

 pers laying out "estradas." tapping, smoking, etc.. in the time 

 honored way. The laborers, however, are not Cearenses, but 

 native Indians. At the end of the season they gather at San 

 Fernando and barter their rubber for the price in silver then 

 ruling in Bolivar. The annual output is from $800,000 to $1,000,- 

 000 worth. 



The story of our delightful stay at the Hotel Mononi. at Bol- 

 ivar, where the food was by far the best we had enjoyed all 

 winter, of visits to the great cattle ranges, of the journey down 

 the river, and how we ran aground, would be in a measure a 

 repetition of what has already been chronicled. Besides, there 

 is also the second Venezuelan trip yet to be described. 

 fTo be continued.) 



RUBBER IN THE BELGIAN CONGO. 



THE most recent contribution to the existing literature affect- 

 ing the Belgian Congo is the address of M. Ed. Leplae, the 

 Director General of -Agriculture for the Belgian Colonies, de- 

 livered at Antwerp on the invitation of the "Association des 

 Planteurs de Caoutchouc." 



Planting had been commenced in 1893 of Manihot Glaziovii, 

 in 1894 of Funtumia and in 1896 of Hevea. These first plantings 

 were rather experimental than otherwise, the number of trees, 

 being small. It was only about 1897 that regular plantations were 

 started, and by private enterprise. By 1900 several companies 

 had established relatively important plantations, one of them 

 having over 24,000 Manihot trees, while another had 3,000 Hcvcas 

 and 150 Ficus Elasfica trees. 



RUBBER VINES. 



About this time there was displayed a general feeling in favor 

 of vines, instead of rubber trees. Large quantities of the 

 former were planted at the government stations and by private 

 individuals. In 1900 the "Afrikaansche Handelsvennootschap" at 

 Iboka had 26,000 rubber vines, and the "Plantations Lacourt" 

 20,000, while other companies had more than 100,000. By 1910 

 there were more than 12,000.000 rubber vines on government soil. 

 The vines seem, however, to have proved disappointing as to 

 results, it not having yet been foimd possible to cultivate them 

 in such a way as to yield a profit in due time. As M. Leplae 

 remarked, the maintenance ■ of vines on an extensive scale is 

 always too costly. The underwood grows so luxuriantly that it 

 chokes the young, very slow-growing plants. Production not 

 having covered expenses, most of these vines have been abandoned 

 in favor of the more profitable cultivation of rubber trees. He 

 added that in all the equatorial colonies the cultivation of vines 

 was regarded as devoid of prospects. 



FUNTUMIA. 



The first rubber tree planted on a large scale was the "Ireh," 

 or Funtumia, the first trees having been planted at Boma in 

 1894. As a result of the government's co-operation in the work 

 there were by 1910 3,490.000 Funtumia trees in the possession of 

 the State. 



HE\'E.\ BR.XSILIENSIS. 



Although today so much appreciated, Hevea at first only re- 

 ceived transitory attention, the generally accepted theory being 

 that Funtumia, as an indigenous species, would be more success- 

 ful in Africa than a foreign variety. Hence the Hevea planta- 

 tions long remained experimental in their character and received 

 all the less attention, as the method of wound-renewal was not 

 yet known. Funtumia, the native tree, conquered. The neglect 

 of Hevea was likewise due to the fact that at the period in 

 question the first tappings of those trees in Ceylon had been 

 small in yield. The success of modern tapping methods, and the 

 wonderful development of the Malayan plantations were neces- 

 sary for the revival in the Congo of faith in that species. This 

 development was facilitated by the disappointments to which 

 Funtumia had given rise. 



Through his personal observation in Malaya, on the occasion 

 of his visit in 1910, M. Leplae was impressed with the conviction 

 that the future belongs to Hevea. At first there was much 

 difficulty experienced in getting the seed from Ceylon, but as 

 soon as it was found that old native Heveas produced a suf- 

 ficiency of seeds, cultivation rapidly increased in the Congo. 



MANIHOT GLAZIOVII. 



Although Manihot is well adapted to existing conditions, 

 standing drought and growing in a poor soil^ it has only been 

 planted in the Congo to a limited extent. At the same time its 

 cultivation is on an important scale in German East Africa, 

 where there are 14,000,000 trees of this species. 



PRESENT CONDITIONS. 



The Belgian government owns the following trees this year in 

 the Congo : 



Funtumia 3,490,000 



Hevea 250,000 



Manihot 156,000 



In conclusion M. Leplae remarks : "Such is a brief outline of 

 the varied history of rubber cultivation in the Belgian Congo. 

 It teaches us that our rubber plantations are still far from being 

 models, but that we have a good deal to 'modernize' with respect 

 to them." 



