THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[Au( 



I, 1916. 



was that thinning out ; 

 be done early enough 

 branch. 



luld not be delayed too long but should 

 ) allow the trees ample opportunity to 



HUBBER IN SOUTHERN INDIA. 



According to a recently issued report, the Pudukad Rub- 

 ber Co., Limited, has already paid a S per cent interim divi- 

 dend and will probably pay a further dividend of 10 per cent 

 for 1915. Last year's rubber crop was 123.481 pounds, which 

 came from 653'4 acres, the total number of trees tapped being 

 88,155 and the yield per tree 1.56 pounds against 0.81 pounds 

 in 1914. The total area under rubber was 822 acres. 



The Kinalur Rubber Co., Limited, which held its first gen- 

 eral meeting in Madras May 17, harvested 22,493 pounds of 

 dry rubber last season, as compared with 1,814 pounds in the 

 previous year, and it was stated that the company was likely 

 soon to pay its first dividend. These are remarkable results 

 for plantations that, for the most part, are six years old or 

 less. 



BOLIVIAN RUBBER INDUSTRY. 



The Bolivian rubber industry has been enjoying some im- 

 provement; 1915 exports are estimated to have been over 5,000 

 tons, as against 4,485 tons in 1914. This improvement was mainly 

 due to higher prices obtained in 1915 for the product, and it is 

 believed that after the war Germany will be a large purchaser 

 of Amazonian rubber, as practically all other rubber comes from 

 lands controlled by the Entente Allies, who, it is believed, will 

 subject the Germans to disadvantages of various kinds. 



NEW BOLIVIAN RUBBER CORPORATION. 



The Bolivia-Brazil Rubber & Timber Corporation is the name 

 of a company recently incorporated under the laws of the State 

 of Arizona, capitalized with 1,000,000 shares of a par value of 

 $1.00 per share. The announcement of incorporation says that 

 the company has acquired 82,000 acres of rich land along the 

 Madeira and Negro rivers, the latter an affluent of the Abuna, in 

 the Republic of Bolivia. It is stated that this land abounds in 

 rich forests of rubber trees, hard cabinet woods, Tagua nuts 

 (used extensively in making buttons), and other tropical 

 products. 



The corporation expects to begin active work on the proper- 

 ties this month with a view to begin tapping the rubber trees 

 early in the coming year. The gathering and preparation of the 

 crude rubber will be carried on under the modern methods. It 

 is planned to supplement gathering wild rubber by establishing 

 large plantations of rubber trees. 



CHICLE CONCESSIONS IN VENEZUELA. 



The Venezuelan Government has recently granted Jose 

 Patrocinio Cuellar the exclusive right to export chicle from 

 Venezuela. This concession will be effective during the life 

 of a contract made by the Government in 1912, giving the sole 

 privilege of extracting chicle in Venezuela. 



According to United States "Commerce Reports." exports 

 of chicle from Venezuela to the L^iited States have been 

 rapidly increasing, the amount shipped in 1915 being 952,358 

 pounds, or four times the total shipments of Venezuelan 

 chicle to this country from 1912 to 1914. inclusive. 



EXPORTS OF CHICLE FROM BRITISH HONDURAS. 



Exports of chicle, or sapodilla gum, from British Honduras 

 in 1914 (last statistics published) amount to 3,461,809 pounds, 

 valued at $1,125,519, as compared with 3,163,129 pounds in 1913. 

 Only one-third of this export was the produce of the colony. 

 The United States received almost all of this chicle. 



THE SITUATION IN BRAZIL. 



By Our Special Correspondent. 



r^ ENER.\L conditions in the crude rubber trade here in Brazil 

 ^^ are better to-day than they have ever been since the de- 

 velopment of plantation competition. The situation has been 

 gradually improving and we are now looking forward to real 

 prosperity. 



The decline of exchange has had its effect on the currency 

 prices of our crude rubber and, as a result, those engaged in 

 gathering, preparing and dealing in rubber are prospering, and 

 the position of the Para and Manaos markets is stronger than 

 it ever was before. The depreciation of the pound sterling in this 

 country has, therefore, been of incalculable benefit to our rub- 

 ber industry. 



We are approaching the close of the .\mazon 1915-1916 rub- 

 ber season. The crop shows a considerable increase over that 

 of 1914-1915 and it is expected that the 1916-1917 crop will be 

 larger still, very likely the largest ever harvested in Brazil. Pro- 

 vided exchange does not advance, continued and increased pros- 

 perity may be very reasonably expected, and, at the close of the 

 war, we are sure to do wonderful business with Germany. 



M.JiN.\OS ATHLETIC CLUB INAUGURATED. 

 The Manaos Athletic Club has recently completed a com- 

 fortable club house on its grounds in that city. Naturally, a 

 large number of men connected with the rubber trade are 



members, and ^c^crdl may possibly be recognized l)y a close 

 examination of the picture, which was taken at the inaugura- 

 tion of the club. 



(;erma.\ requirements. 

 The Germans will need large quantities of crude rubber which 

 they will hardly be disposed or possibly will be unable to ob- 

 tain from lands under the control of the Entente Allies. It is 

 therefore probable that they will look almost exclusively to South 

 America for their supplies of this commodity. 



BRITISH BLACK LISTS. 

 Many of our large rubber dealers, who have contributed in 

 the past to the greatness of our crude rubber industry, are Ger- 

 mans or at least have German affiliations, and for this reason 

 they have been blacklisted by the British Government, with the 

 result that they are unable to ship their goods in British bottoms 



