Arci-ST 1. 1916.] 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



627 



(.Tokyiii, vvliich \\a? in liiiaiicial difficulties last yiar. lias been 

 rcestahlishetl by new members, to manufacture "tabi" or 

 "zoTi" soles. 



The Taiheiyo Rublier Co. (Tokyo) increased its capital to 

 JO.OOO yen I$15.000] in January. The Eastern Rubber Works 

 (Tokyo) changed its capital to 15,t)00 yen [$7,500] in March, and 

 the Fujikura Rubber Cloth Works (Tokyo) increased its capital 

 to 200.000 yen |$100.000| in May, this amount being invested 

 by Kenzo Okada and T. Matsumoto, leading members of the 

 Fujikura Electric Wire & Rubber Co., Limited (Tokyo). The 

 Cotton Belting Co., Limited, was established at Suma, Ilyogo- 

 Ken with a capital of 25,000 yen [$12.5001 to manufacture cotton 

 beltings and rubber goods, and the Xitto Rubber Co. was estab- 

 lished in Xagoya for manufacturing rubber tires for bicycles, 

 and is to commence manufacturing in a few days. The Komo 

 Rubber Cloth Works (Tokyo), which was burned on the 20th 

 of May, is to rebuild on a large scale. The \ihon Cristall Rub- 

 ber Works (Tokyo), changed its title to tlie Sliibuy;i Rubber 

 Works on the 15th of June. 



CRl'DE RUI!I!1£K I.MrOKTS. 



The imports of crude rubber from January to .\pril, 1916, 

 amointed to 2.3;9,084 yen [$1,179,5421, increased 1,627.522 yen 

 ($813.7611, comparing it with the amount imported in the same 

 period in 1915. 



;.\P.\.\ESF. n .\.\T.\1II>X.S IN .MAl.W .\.\I) HORNKO. 



Japanese rubber plantations in Malay aggregate 85,850 acres, 

 on the 147 plantations, at the end of 1915, in which acreage 27,- 

 880 acres are already planted and some yielding their products. 

 The Xanyo Rubber Co., Limited, which was established for 

 rubber plantation in Johore with capital of 200.000 yen [$100,000] 

 in December, 1910, doubled its capital in January of this year 

 and purchased the Xanyo Oita Rubber Plantation Co., Limited, 

 which was established for the same purpose ii> .\pril. 1911, and 

 planted 600 acres of total acreage, 1,301 acres. Thus the Nanyo 

 Rubber Co., Limited, became possessors of a total acreage of 

 3.343 acres, 1,6(X) acres having been planted. On May 10 the 

 Xanyo Rubber Cultivation Co., Limited, was established with 

 2,000,000 yen [$1,000,000]. One-fourth of the sum was paid in, 

 and a Chinese rubber plantation was purchased next to the 

 Fujita-gumi Rubber Plantation (Japanese) in Johore, the Fujita- 

 gumi Rubber Plantation (established October, 1911), having 6,970 

 acres and having planted 3,797 acres. The total acreage of the 

 newly purchased plantation is 6,630 acres, of *hich 1,790 acres 

 are planted; that is. ISO acres of 6 and 7-year trees, 500 acres 

 of 5-year trees. 700 acres of 3 and 4-year trees, etc. The 

 plantation is yielding 50 piculs [666 pounds] a month, having 

 50.000 trees to be tapped and having 80 coolies and 50 workers. 



In British Borneo there were no Japanese rubber plantations, 

 but Mokutaro Yoneda had 1,000 acres and has now added to 

 this. Fusanosukc Kuhara, one of the richest men in Osaka, pur- 

 chased a plantation of 2,000 acres under the name of B. Tanabe, 

 Mr. Kuhara's manager, paying therefor 180,000 yen [$90,000], 

 in which acreage 500 acres are planted, 70 per cent with Hcvca 

 trees and 30 per cent cocoa. The rubber trees will yield next 

 \ ear. 



RUBBER PLANTING IN FORMOSA. 



Rubber planting in Formosa has been of questionable profit, 

 for hurricanes visit the island once or twice a year, and the cli- 

 mate is not as good or beneficial for rubber growing as the 

 -Malay peninsula. However, as the trees seem to stand these 

 handicaps, a few planters have interested themselves in pro- 

 ducing rubber, more as a curiosity than as a business proposition. 

 According to the reports from The Fujikura .Afforestation De- 

 partment and The Murai Afforestation Department, the plan- 

 tations produced a fair quality of Manihot. 



THE FUJIKURA AFFORESTATION DEPARTMENT. 



The Fujikura Afiforestation Department was established as 

 an attribute of The Fujikura Electric Wire & Rubber Co., Lim- 



ited (Tokyo), in the south part of Formosa, in 1912, and its 

 acreage is about 2,400 acres, in which was planted teak, iWa»i- 

 hot. llt-.va. camphor-trees, red sandalwood trees, and some 

 other tropical plants. Among these, Manihot and teak have 

 proved best fitted for plantation growth. The results in June, 

 1915, are as follows; 



Manihot. planted in May. 1913, is 30 feet high and one foot in 

 diameter, two feet from the earth, and has shown better results 

 than in plantations in Java. In two years and a half after plant- 

 ing, the Manihot in Formosa can be tapped. 



Hcvca, planted in May, 1913, in one year and a half attains 

 a height of IS feet, the growth being about as rapid as in Malaya 

 for the first two or three years, but it seems to grow more 

 slowly from three years on in Formosa. 



In Formosa, Manihot is the most successful rubber tree. By 

 the hurricane of 1813, buds, leaves, branches and even trunks of 

 Manihot were broken off, and the authorities and planters 

 thought that the rubber plantation in Formosa would be hope- 

 less. But, on the contrary, the injured trees grew their trunks 

 larger than before, making the tapping period earlier than was 

 previously expected. 



Formosa, situated within the Torrid Zone, is able to grow 

 Hcvca trees and will, undoubtedly, yield as beneficial a product 

 as the plantations in Malaya, although the growth is slower 

 compared with that of Malaya. Crude rubber exhibited at the 

 Formosa Exposition of May, 1915, the product of Hcvea trees 

 in the official garden in Kagi, Formosa, was recognized as of 

 good quality. 



Though the percentage of loss in washing for Para rubber is 

 less than that of Manihot, the latter is more beneficial in 

 Formosa for the reason that it can be tapped at from two 

 and a half to four years, while Hcvca trees need from seven 

 to ten years. So rubber plantitig in Formosa is promising, if 

 confined to Mnniliot planted on the slopes of hills protected 

 from hurricanes. 



THE MURAI .\FFORESTATION DEPARTMENT. 



The Murai .Afforestation Department, established in 1910 by 

 Kichibe Murai, a wealthy resident of Tokyo, planted Manihot 

 and camphor trees, the latter to protect the former from the 

 hurricanes. The total acreage is 2,773 Ko [6,018 acres], a Ko 

 (Formosan measure) being 2.17 acres, in which 452 Ko [981 

 acres] are planted, and 1,300 Ko [2,821 acres] will be taken to 

 cultivate tropical plants, except the acreage for roads, bamboo 

 forests, refreshed forests and necessary uses. The results of 

 the afforestation to June, 1915, are as follows: 



First (1912) - Manihot. Camphor Trees. 



Planted trees 42,162 192,036 



Coniplemertal plaine.I trees 41,325 183,371 



^ Trees in June, 191.5 42,163 192,038 



Second (1913) — 



Planed trees 36.220 189,100 



Complemental planted trees 17,597 141,205 



Trees in .Tune, 1915 36,220 189,100 



Third (1914) — 



Planted trees 52,769 2,248 



Complemental planted trees 5,701 450 



Trees in .Tune, 1915 34,915 2,248 



When finishing the complemental plantation, camphor-trees 

 will aggregate 383,384 and Manihot and Hevea 131,152, be- 

 sides a few tropical trees, such as coffee, orange, teak and others. 

 Planting on the remaining 1,300 Ko [2,821 acres] has been 

 postponed until results from present plantings prove financially 

 successful. 



NEW TARIIK FOR MOIOKCYCI.ES AND RUBBER TREES. 

 The Diet of Japan in the spring passed two new customs tar- 

 iffs, one for motor cycles and the other for rubber trees, as fol- 

 lows : 



New T.iriff. Old Tariff. 



United United 



States States 



, . , Ven. Currency. Yen. Currency. 



Motorcycle (combined with engine). roc/i 93.60 $46.80 93.60 $46.80 



Motorcycle (without engine) each 77.60 $38.80 16.60 $8.30 



Rubber trees Free 15% ad val. 



