396 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[Septemrek I, 1908. 



the money their contracts called for. At the stme time some 

 of the guayule companies, in order to meet this pressure, were 

 obliged to turn their shrub to account as speedily as possible, 

 and throw the product upon the market, whether prices were 

 favorable or otherwise. This has not been true of all the com- 

 panies, but the condition has been general enough to explain, in 

 part at least, why the producers of guayule rubber have been 

 so busy, in the face of a falling market, and why the American 

 rubber market has taken guayule more freely than other kinds 

 of rubber. 



It may be of interest to note that a single guayule company 

 has paid $300,000 (gold) to one hacienda proprietor for guayule 

 shrub which is not to be gathered until wanted, and smaller 

 amounts to several other proprietors. Companies that are in 

 this position, and not obliged to offer guayule rubber on a weak 

 market, look forward to the time when the total supply of shrub 

 will be greatly diminished, and when the price of guayule rubber, 

 in consequence, will go up. It will be time then to utilize the 

 shrub which they now are paying for in advance. They are 

 confident that guayule rubber, having come into use so generally, 

 and become known to every manufacturer, will find a definite 

 place in the trade, for certain lines of work, at a price much 

 above the present level. 



Four Hundred Tons of Guayule Shrub. 



[These bales vary in weight from 30 to 60 kilograms. That illustrated on 

 the preceding page is much larger — probably 150 kilograms.] 



It appears probable, after what has been said, that not a little 

 guayule rubber is being held out of consumption. On the other 

 hand, it is finding new uses. It is displacing reclaimed rubber 

 to an extent noted already in these pages. Again, some of it has 

 been utilized, after having been "deresinated," in the place of 

 higher grades of rubber, which the manufacturer is thus not 

 obliged to buy. 



The table which follows has been compiled for The India 

 Rubber World from Mexican official records. It shows the total 

 exports of rubber for 20 fiscal years, ending June 30. Formerly 

 only wild Castilha rubber was exported, the shipments of which, 

 in later years, probably have not increased any. The increase in 

 efforts is due, first, to the development of Castilloa plantations 

 [see The India Rubber World, July i, 1908— page 325], and, 

 secondly, to the large output of guayule rubber. 

 Rubber Exports from Mexico. 



Pounds. Pounds. 



1888-89 289,261' 1898-99... ^j 421.494 



1889-90 .100.685 - 1899-1900. 572..S8S 



1890-91 202,951 1900-01 415.906 



1891-92 141.203 190T-02 396.799 



1892-93 122.052 1902-03 428.749 



1893-94 168,026 1903-04 677,758 



1894-95 189,169 1904-05 1,095,169 



1895-96 182,474 190S-06 3,190,548 



1896-97 142,655 1906-07 10,321,247 



1897-98 192,324 1907-08 aio,io6,ioo 



[a — Ten months ending April 30.] 

 While On the subject of statistics, space may be given to this 

 unofficial estimate of the exports of guayule rubber from 

 Mexico for the last calendar year and for the first half of 1908, 

 showing the relative proportions taken by the United States and 

 Europe. The preceding table, it will be noticed, takes account 

 of fiscal years. The statement runs : 



United States. Europe. Total. 



January-December, 1907. . ./'oufirf.y 9,400,000 2,500.000 11,900,000 

 Januar}--June, 190S 6,980,000 1,830,000 S.gio.ooo 



There is one class of exports not embraced in the preceding 

 figures — guayule shrub sent abroad to be utilized. To this class 

 belong the entries into the United States, at Corpus Christi, 

 Texas, reported as follows : 



Pounds. Value. 



Twelve months to June 30, 1908 1,187,596 $24,613 



Nine months to March 31, 1908 1,172,309 22.614 



It will be seen that the average price at which such imports 

 are entered is in the neighborhood of 2 cents a pound. No im- 

 port duty is assessed by the United Sattes, but the shipment of 

 guayule shrub from Mexico is discouraged by the assessment of 

 a small export duty. A certain amount of guayule shrub is also 

 exported to Germany. 



New York Prices for Guayule Rubber. 



[Reported in The India Rubber World at the dates below.] 



1906. February I. ...44-45 December i... 30-31 

 June 1 35-40 March I -48 190S. 



July 1 35-40 April I -48 January i 32-33 



August I 39-45 May i -48 February i.... 29-30 



September i.. 40-45 June l 47 -48 March i 25-26 



October i 40-45 July 1 46-47 April i 25-26 



November i.. 40-42^-2 August i 45-48 ]\Iay i 29-30 



December i. ..44-45 September I. .45-48 June i 29-30 



1907. October i 44-45 July I 26-27 



January 1 44-45 November 1...40- August I 25-26 



REFERENCES. 



The "Guayule" Rubber Plant. By Rudolf Endlich, ph.d. The India 

 Rubber World. .Tuly i. 1905 — page 335; .August i, 1905 — page 367. 



The "Guayule" Rubber Plant. The India Rubber World, October i, 

 1905— page 3. 



A Journey Through Guayule Land. By the Editor. The Indi.\ Rubber 

 World, Maarch 1, 190; — page 173; April i, 1907 — page 205. 



The Anatomical Structure of Guayule. By Alfred Dominikus. The 

 India Rubber World, August i, 1908 — page 365. 



MEXICAN GUAYULE PATENTS. 



""P HE legal proceedings wherein Mr. William Magenau, gen- 

 ■'■ eral manager ,and other employes of the National Rubber 

 Co., at Gomez Palacio, Mexico, were charged with the infringe- 

 ment of patents granted to Ferdinand Ephraim, for the extrac- 

 tion of rubber from the guayule plant, seem to have been ter- 

 minated definitely. The supreme court of ^Mexico has confirmed 

 the judgment of the federal district judge at Durango, declar- 

 ing the proceedings of the court of first instance at Lerdo, in the 

 case of Ephraim vs. Magenau, to have been contrary to law 

 and justice. The Mexican Herald contains this comment : 

 "These men [Magenau ct a/.] are completely exonerated from 

 the charges, and the fact established that their company, as well 

 as several others of the most important rubber factories in the 

 country, using a similar process, are entirely within their rights, 

 and will in future be secure from prosecutions of this nature." 

 The defense was that the processes in use in guayule extraction 

 Iiave been developed in entire independence of the Ephraim pat- 

 ents. Ephraim, who lived formerly in California, is stated to have 

 left Mexico. 



Suit has been filed against the Todd Ruliber Co. ( New Haven 

 Connecticut"), in the United States circuit court at Hartford, by 

 the Parsons Non-Skid Co. (London), and the Weed Chain Tire 

 Grip Co. (New York), alleging infringement of a tire chain 

 patent. 



