422 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[Ai'Kii. 1, 1917. 



begin to proiliicc large quantities of first-qiialily plantation 

 rul;bcr. "The Journal of the Royal Society of Arts," referring 

 4o the cost and method of production, says the cost of the up- 

 keep of planted areas is calculated at about 30.?. per acre for the 

 rst year, 22s. for the second, ISj. for the third, and 10.r. for 

 Uie fourth. The trees begin to bear during the fifth year, and 

 it is said that over lyi pounds of dry rubber may be obtained 

 fronj a si.\-year-old fiiiiluiiiiii tree. The cost of tapping the trees 

 and shipping the product to Europe should not exceed Is. id. per 

 pound, and, if properly prepared, it is the belief of that journal 

 that tile Cameroon plantation rubber will fetch about the same 

 rice as tlie best Para rubber in European markets. Native labor 

 - fairly plentiful in the rubber-growing districts and costs, in- 

 huling board, about il per month. It is likely, therefore, that 

 rubber will continue to prove the most important product of the 

 I. ameroons lor manv years. 



THE SITUATION IN MALAYA AND JAVA. 

 By a Sl>t'cial Correspondent. 



WILL Singapore become the world's market for rubber? The 

 question is one which is being considered throughout the 

 n-.bber-producing sections of the East. The general feeling here 

 is that the war has not so far affected very severely the pros- 



i-rity of the Malay peninsula. On the contrary, in many ways 

 a has been distinctly favorable. Still, there are some changes 

 noticeable, .socially and commercially, which create comment and 

 on which opinions differ. Principal among tliem is the so-called 

 '.American invasion." Americans are settling here. They are 

 'ii'.ying land and cultivating rubber. They are here attending 

 ■ne auctions, and buying rubber to ship direct to America. The 

 closing of rubber auctions in Europe has cau.sed this, and with 

 this has come the question which heads this paragraph. 

 THE .XMKRILAN IXVASION. 

 Vet there are many who are inclined to resent the increasing 



umlier of Americans, and their persistence and steady progress 

 m the trade. Some of this is rightly attributable to loyalty to 

 tlie mother-country, whence most of the capital came to establish 

 and nurture the plantation industry. Yet there is no doubt that 

 the presence of these busy, bustling Yankees is distinctly ad- 

 vantageous to Singapore as a market, and the whole ot Malaysia 

 as a rubber-producing country. 



A CASE OF AMEUICANOPHOBIA. 

 However, there are persons here who think otherwise. In a 

 recent number of the "Malay Mail" a correspondent who signs 

 himself ".■\nti-Yank," after expressing a certain amount of grati- 

 tude lor the .winding-up of the affairs of a "too numerous alien 

 enemy competition," has quite a little to say about the success 

 CI the American encroachment upon the rubber tire industry in 

 the Straits, and further expresses surprise in noting the way in 

 which goods of American manufacture are being patronized to 

 the detriment of the British manufacturers "who wore the 

 originators of the rubber tire industry." 



The only apparent reason for this, according to the writer, is 

 a lack of patriotism on the part of his countrymen. 



MOVEV PI.EXTY AND PLANTERS PROSPEROUS. 



Notwithstanding the decline in the price of rubber, there seems 

 ;o be about the normal amount of money in circulation, and 

 retail traders reported a very good Christmas and New Year's 

 trade, though, since then, general business has shown a tendency 

 towards conservatism in some quarters. Rubber dealers are 

 adopting a cautious policy, because of present price conditions. 

 It is reported that at certain outstations some sizable parcels of 

 Smoked sheet, which might be considered No. 1 in quality, have 

 sold as low as $100 a picul (42.6 cents per pounds. Even at this 

 price, however, it leaves a good margin of profit to the native 

 producer. 



TOO MANY TIGERS. 



Planters in the Sepang district are having some difticulty in 



maintaining tlieir native labor forces, owing to a repetition of 

 the assaults by tigers. Some native laborers have been killed, 

 and tliis has caused desertions from the working forces. The 

 planters are now demanding that the M. S. V. R. be called to 

 exterminate these dangerous creatures. 



TIUEVERY AND INCREASED LICENSE FEES. 



The increasing number of rubber thefts during the past year, 

 and the dissatisfaction caused by the seeming inability of the 

 police to prevent this practice, or to detect and punish the offend- 

 ers, led to a proposed, amendment, by which the fee for licenses 

 granted to dealers who purchase rubber should be raised from 

 $25 to $250 and the deposit from $200 to $2,000. This would 

 have two effects, a lessened number of licensees, or a greatly 

 enlarged sum available for better police protection, or both. The 

 dealers protested, claiming that the proposed increase would 

 interfere greatly with the entire rublier trade, but finally a bill ' 

 has been rushed through, at a meeting of the Federal Council 

 at Kuala Lumpur, by which tlie license fee is raised to $100 and 

 in place of a deposit of $200 in cash, the licensee is required to 

 enter into a bond with sureties for the due performance of the 

 obligations imposed. 



r.ATAVlAX STOCK TRADE LIST ADVISED. 



The Rubber Trade Association of Batavia has sent a circular 

 to its mcml)ers, suggesting that meetings be held semi-weekly 

 and that all free rubber on hand be listed so that no time may 

 be lost, nor orders remain unfilled through difficulty in locating 

 the required stock. It often happens that when an exporter re- 

 ceives an order from some foreign customer he frequently has 

 to scour the entire market. Not infrequently a lot of rubber 

 v.hich has been offered subject to acceptance of the foreign cus- 

 tomer has been sold before such acceptance has been forwarded. 

 Then the exporter may be obliged to spend a considerable amount 

 of time, and some money, to locate available rubber to fill such 

 liclated order. The semi-weekly listing of all rubber on hand, its 

 quality and price, would be beneficial to both buyer and seller, 

 and the circular mentioned asks for cooperation in the move- 

 ment for the simplification and consequent improvement in busi- 

 ness. 



PALE CREPE S.\MPLE ST.\NnARDS. 



.\11 sales contracts made under the rules of the Rubber Trade 

 .\ssociation of Batavia, as decided at a general meeting held 

 last Tune, stipulated that any certain quantity of rubber pur- 

 chased must be delivered with a minimum of 75 per cent Pale 

 crepe according to the standard samples of the society. .\ cir- 

 cular sent out by the society emphasizes that in no single instance 

 of the established rules a word was spoken of a "color-shade," 

 in this connection. The reason why the term "color-shade" was 

 avoided was because the various conceptions of certain colors 

 are so divergent. Many disputes have arisen between buyer and 

 seller, which are not always easily adjusted, because a single 

 standard Pale crepe sample does not exist, and cannot be pre- 

 pared. 



There are three established standard samples : First quality 

 crepe numbers 1, 2 and 3; and tliese terms, and no others, are 

 advised in selling contracts. 



INTERPLANTIXG COCONUT GRO\-ES WITH Rl-p.in:R. 



.•\ report comes from the Lunas Rubber Estate that owing to 

 the continued unsatisfactory conditions of its coconut harvest 

 the management has decided to interplant its coconut area with 

 rubber. The estimated crop for the next financial year is 175,000 

 pounds of rubber and 60,000 coconuts. 



A NEW DUTCH TRADING CORPORATION. 



.\ new company, with the support of. and in conjunction with, 

 the Netherlands Trading Co.. has been formed under the name 

 of the Holland-Ceylon Handels Maatschappij with a capital of 

 200 million, guilders ($80,000,000] and will conduct important 

 trading operations in the Far East. 



