596 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[September 1, 1912. 



THE BALATA TRADE— PRINCIPAL CONSUMERS OF THE EXPORT. 



The report of the Comptroller of Customs for the financial 

 year 1911-12 has just been issued. The following are the 

 figures relating to the quinquennium: 



Pounds. Value. 



1907-1908 973,269 $373,640.14 



1908-1909 1,090,405 471,016.89 



1909-1910 1,034,076 468,034.81 



1910-1911 1,162,558 670,192.32 



1911-1912 1,101,593 673,350.11 



The industry thus, despite its many troubles, is in a 

 progressive condition so far as output is concerned. Although 

 the exports in 1911-12 were slightly smaller than in the pre- 

 ceding year, values were somewhat better. The following 

 table gives the direction of the exports: 



UNITED KINGDOM. UNITED STATES. 



Pounds. Value. Pounds Value. 



1907-1908 625,531 $237,409 259,189 $111,296 



1908-1909 734,665 321,166 248,715 103.543 



1909-1910 764,131 353,938 186,456 75,938 



1910-1911 786,759 483,342 101,217 75,181 



1911-1912 923,759 542,123 175,602 129,887 



CEARA RUBBER GROWING— POSSIBILITIES FOR THE INVEST- 

 MENT OF CAPIT.^L. 



I have had a conversation with Mr. H. P. C. Melville, Com- 

 missioner of the Rupununi District, which includes the 

 Savannahs bordering on the Brazilian Savannahs, and he 

 informs me that the possibilities of establishing a Ceara 

 rubber industry there are most favorable. The opportunity 

 for the prudent investment of capital appears to be an ex- 

 cellent one. Mr. Melville, who has a homestead in the dis- 

 trict, has planted a fairly large acreage to Ceara trees. His 

 trees are now four years old and he has commenced tapping, 

 in order to obtain a commercial sample for the New York 

 exhibition, but on learning that no colony exhibit was to be 

 sent, he confined his work to experimental tappings. He 

 obtained from twelve trees after eight days' tapping lYz 

 pounds of rubber, of which only ]4 pound was "scrap," the 

 remainder being very fine amber-colored biscuits. Mr. Mel- 

 ville informs me that there is a large area in the district 

 available for the cultivation of Ceara, and that he has no 

 doubt even if rubber goes to 2s. 6d. per pound a fair margin 

 of profit would be secured. Means of communication are 

 defective, but not such as to lessen the possibility of profit- 

 ably conducting the industry, which, if established, would 

 further influence public opinion in favor of the trunk railway, 

 in which direction it is already strongly inclining. It may 

 be of interest to point out that the Department of Agricul- 

 ture has already spoken favorably upon the possibilities of 

 Ceara cultivation on the Savannah. On the coast lands it 

 has proved unsatisfactory, but on the Savannah area the 

 growth of Manihot Ghziovti has been very good. They 

 state that this district of the far interior resembles in many 

 of its characteristics the Ceara district of Brazil. There 

 would appear to be every reason to believe that the district 

 is well suited to the cultivation of Ceara rubber, and that 

 early returns could be obtained. Mr. Melville's information 

 more than establishes this. 



TESTING RUBBER AT PLANTATIONS. 



MEXICAN RUBBER WEALTH. 



According to a carefully prepared table of the present wealth 

 of Mexico, which has been transmitted to our government by 

 the American Consul at Chihuahua, the rubber industry of 

 Mexico is valued at $22,000,000, $15,000,000 of which is owned 

 by Americans, $2,500,000 by other foreigners, and $4,500,000 by 

 citizens of Mexico. 



I N recent discussions of the question of testing rubber at planta- 

 *■ tions it has been pointed out that it is very difficult for plant- 

 ers and manufacturers to keep in touch with each other. Rub- 

 ber goes on to the market and passes into the hands of the manu- 

 facturer. Some seems to go well and some does not prove satis- 

 factory, but the planter cannot usually ascertain the precise 

 reason. . 



With a view to affording a solution of this difficulty, it has 

 been asked whether the planter can maintain a uniform standard 

 of quality, so that if he furnishes a commodity approved by the 

 market, he may continue to furnish that product. The question 

 is then : By what means can the planter so keep track of a qual- 

 ity produced that his subsequent product shall be according to 

 that particular standard? 



According to statements of plantation experts, there is at pres- 

 ent no test of the character indicated, the only one being the 

 negative test of keeping the rubber free from tackiness. In this 

 connection the suggestion has been made that while an absolute 

 test may seem impracticable, a comparative test can be carried 

 out. The principal difficulty seems to lie in the application of a 

 reliable test for elasticity, which, of course, is the principal char- 

 acteristic of a good rubber. At the London Rubber Congress of 

 1911, Dr. Huber described a comparative test which showed 

 which of two strips of rubber was the stronger. While such was 

 not an ideal test, it would enable the planter to ascertain whether 

 one lot was inferior to another. The difficulty has been pointed 

 out, however, of getting two pieces of rubber exactly alike in 

 all three dimensions. 



The planter's idea should be, it has been urged, to ship planta- 

 tion rubber free from traces of the coagulating medium and en- 

 tirely dry, so that further washing and drying by the manufac- 

 turer will not be necessary. Traces of the coagulant or of mois- 

 ture will afTect the vulcanization by the manufacturer. It has 

 also been suggested for planters to test rubber in the early 

 stages, and not to wait till it is in block form. 



While the desirability of plantation tests of rubber has been 

 forcibly represented, their practicability has been questioned. It 

 has, however, been considered possible, that uniformity in the 

 quality of rubber produced might be ensured by uniformity in 

 the methods of preparation. This uniformity is naturally a mat- 

 ter which planters can control for themselves, on the principle that 

 like treatment of a like material will produce like results 

 wherever the tests are made. Uniformity of product can be ob- 

 tained, it has been urged, by simply keeping to the same condi- 

 tions all the way through — from the collection of the late.x to 

 the shipment of the rubber. 



While a good deal of attention has thus been paid to the ques- 

 tion of the testing of rubber at plantations, as compared with 

 previous shipments, the establishment of uniform standards, to 

 which both should conform, would carry the question a step 

 further, necessitating a definite understanding between planters 

 and consumers. It has been pointed out that the quality of a 

 rubber does not wholly depend on its tangible external char- 

 acteristics, but on the local conditions, which call for study before 

 setting a standard based on external appearance. It has like- 

 wise been represented that too exacting requirements should 

 not be applied to planters on the subject of uniformity, it being 

 urged that no manufacturing process could be relied upon to 

 obtain a uniform product by simply observing the same condi- 

 tions throughout. Methods have, however, been evolved, by 

 which manufacturers can tell when they are going wrong and 

 can prevent evil consequences. 



The place where the manufacturer comes into close touch with 

 rubber, and where he draws his first accurate conclusion, is 

 where he vulcanizes it, and the vulcanization test is not by any 

 means out of the question on plantations. A simple little mixing 



