FUTURE PROSPECTS I43 



70,000 tons actually came in sight. Brazil contri- 

 buted about 1,600 tons less than that for 1909, and, 

 for reasons already stated, it is practically certain 

 that the output from that country — the cradle of the 

 industry — will not vary sufficiently to influence 

 supply for the next decade. In the case of planta- 

 tion rubber, the output estimated at 10,000 tons was 

 barely two-thirds of that total, the bulk being contri- 

 buted by the older and matured estates of the Mid- 

 East. As a matter of fact, it is to these estates that 

 we shall have to look for any increase of output until 

 1912. In that year about 125,000 acres of new 

 plantations will come into line as partly-bearing pro- 

 perties, and if we apply data already proved relating 

 to the probable yield from this great area, there 

 should be no difficulty in arriving at a fairly accurate 

 estimate of the contribution to the world's supply of 

 plantation rubber, not only for the period in question, 

 but for the next few years. Whether the market 

 will receive this huge and sudden increase of output 

 kindly or otherwise is a matter of more than senti- 

 mental concern for the new planter, and he should, if 

 possible, be prepared to deal with the situation as it 

 arises, always being careful never to ask too much 

 of his trees until they reach maturity. 



We do not possess at present any detailed or reli- 

 able knowledge regarding the plantation industry in 

 the Mid-East, and in the following figures we have, 

 therefore, made no attempt to do more than arrive 

 at an approximate idea, gathered from a mass of 

 verified and unverified data, issued from time to 

 time by companies, agents and others interested in 



