Febrcarv I, 1917.] 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



295 



During the intervening four months the trees were allowed to 

 rest. They were from three to four years old and varied in 

 girth from 18 to 20 inches at 3 feet from the ground, the ma- 

 jority being about 20 inches. Half of the trees had been tapped 

 during the previous year, but the remainder were being tapped 

 for the first time. 



The sample consisted of rough sheet rubber, in pieces measur- 

 ing about 5 inches square. The color varied from pale to dark 

 brown, but many of the pieces were whitish on the surface. The 

 physical properties of the rubber were good. 



A chemical examination gave the following results : 



Loss on washing (moisture and impurities) Per cent.. 8.0 



Composition of dry washed rubber: 



Caoutchouc 84.7 



Resin 6.3 



Protein 7.7 



Ash 1.3 



The rubber was valued at 2s. bd. per pound in London (April 

 3, 1916), with plantation Ceara crepe at is. 2d. per pound and 

 plantation Para crepe at is. 2d. per pound. 



This latter sample was also satisfactory in composition. In both 

 cases the amounts of resin and protein were not excessive for 

 Manihot rubber, but the loss on washing was rather high. 



RUBBER PLANTING IN THE MADRAS REGION OF INDIA. 



The Madras Presidency at the present tiine is the most pro- 

 ductive rubber region of British India. The area under rubber 

 cultivation in that Presidency is 12,922 acres, and the number 

 of Hevea trees is estimated at 1,636,476. The only other im- 

 portant rubber-producing regions of India are .Assam, with 

 4,681 acres and 137,430 trees, and Burma, with 29,544 acres and 

 4,011,399 trees. The yield of the Assam plantations is rela- 

 tively small, but is increasing steadily. The output of crude 

 rubber in Madras in 1913 was more than double that of Burma, 

 where most of the trees have not yet reached a tappable age. 

 Practically all Hevea is "stump-planted,", stumps being obtained 

 from nursery trees from 9 to 12 months old. At the average 

 rate of development of plantation Hevea in India, trees become 

 tappable about four years from the date of stump-planting. 



The American consul at Madras reports that in 1915 the 

 United States purchased crude rubber for the first time from 

 India direct, the quantity purchased amounting in value to 

 $110,035. The exports from the Madras Presidency to all 

 countries showed in the fiscal year 1915-16 an expansion of 50 

 per cent in quantity, while the value increased 31 per cent. The 

 average value declined from $99 to $88 per hundredweight. 

 Shipments to the United Kingdom and Ceylon increased from 

 $1,675,090 to $2,065,018, and from $688,448 to $937,612, respectively 



The following table shows the quantities and values of exports, 

 with average price per pound, for the last four fiscal years : 



Quantity Total Value Value Per Pound 



in in U. S. in U. S. 



Year. Pounds. Currency. Currency. 



1912-13 888.800 $1,323,139 $0.08 



1913-14 1,595,900 1,989,101 0.07 



1914-13 2,388,600 2,367,714 0.06 



1915-16 3,559,300 3,113,262 0.05 



RUBBER THEFTS IN THE FAR EAST. 



Far Eastern exchanges contain many items relating to thefts 

 of both crude rubber and latex. These thefts appear to be in- 

 creasing each day, but this is not surprising when one considers 

 the tremendous growth of the rubber-producing industry in that 

 part of the world. In Malaya the records show that the courts 

 are imposing exemplary punishment on rubber thieves, and it 

 appears that the government is seeking to devise a system that 

 will effectively check rubber stealing. 



MAURITIUS RUBBER IMPORTS. 



Mauritius, the prosperous little British island of the South In- 

 dian Ocean, has about 382,740 inhabitants, of which 261,093 are In- 

 dians, who make up the laboring element; the balance of the 

 population being composed of Mauritian descendants of the 

 former French and Dutch settlers, and Britishers. The sugar 

 industry is the economic and commercial mainstay of the colony; 

 other products are aloe fiber, manioc, maize, tea, vanilla, cofifee, 

 fruits, vegetables, etc. 



OfiScial statistics for 1915 show that, besides wearing apparel 

 containing rubber, Mauritius imported $54,723 of rubber articles, 

 against $42,442 the previous year. 



HEVEA PLANTING IN THE FIJI ISLANDS. 



Tlie latest available official reports regarding the rubber 

 plantation industry in the Fiji Islands are for the year 1914. 



Rubber planting is still in an experimental stage there. 

 Hevea trees from seedlings planted in 1906 at a distance of 17 

 by 17 feet had attained in 1914 an average girth of 17.1 inches 

 at 3 feet from the ground. Thirty trees tapped about 170 days 

 ( in all 4,970 tappings) yielded 22V-! pounds of smoked biscuits 

 and W^ pounds of scrap. Seedlings planted in 1908 attained a 

 girth of 11.4 inches and stumps planted the same year a girth 

 of 11.1 inches; in each case at a height of 3 feet from the 

 ground. In most cases the plots had sufifered much from storms. 



RUBBER IN UGANDA. 



The Hevea rubber crop was next in importance to coffee on 

 plantations in Uganda during the fiscal year. 1915-16, according 

 to a report recently published by the Department of Agriculture 

 of the Government of that British colony. 



The area under rubber plantation was divided up as follows : 

 1.072 acres over five years old and 328 acres under five years. 

 In addition to this 4,506 acres over two years old and 238 acres 

 below that age were interplanted with coffee, making a total of 

 6,144 acres under Hevea on regular plantations. Besides these 

 plantation areas, it was estimated that the natives had 1,062 acres 

 under Hevea and 2,273 acres under Ceara (Manihot) rubber; 

 while the several religious missions had 169 acres of Hevea and 

 121 acres of other rubber. 



A comparatively small area had reached the tapping stage, 

 but the exports were rising gradually, being 52,349 pounds in 

 1915-16 compared with 22,056 pounds in the previous fiscal year. 



The output suffered but little from pests and diseases, the 

 small shipments of plantation rubber made realized good prices, 

 so that it is conservative to state that rubber promises to become 

 of considerable importance in the agricultural development of 

 Uganda. 



Mr. Pearson's book "What I Saw in the Tropics" will interest 

 every rubber man who aspires to know more about crude rub- 

 ber production. Price, $3. 



THE RUBBER TRADE IN MALAYA. 



By Our Regular Correspondent. 



A LL talk in local rubber circles is chiefly concerned with the 

 projected ".American invasion." As mentioned in previous 

 articles, American capitalists are taking a lively interest in the 

 Malayan rubber industry, an interest which promises to develop 

 very speedily into active participation in production, and this on 

 a very big scale. Matters have already progressed so far as to 

 justify mention in the realms of government. Speaking at a 

 recent meeting of the federal council of Malaya, Sir Arthur 

 ^'oung, G. C. M. G., who, besides being governor of the Straits 

 Settlements, is the high commissioner of the Federated Malay 

 States, said : "With reference to what has been termed the 

 .American invasion I understand that the large company in ques- 

 tion do not wish to have land alienated to them. They have no 

 desire to lead to over-production. They want to purchase land 

 already alienated, and, first of all, they wish to find out whether 

 the planters want them to come here or not. It is for the planters 

 to say. There is no law to stop land being sold to .Americans." 



