510 MISCELLANEOUS SUBJECTS 



The result was that the natives, not recognizing frontiers 

 or distances, took the rubber to the neighbouring German 

 colony, and the merchants in the Company's Posts com- 

 plained bitterly of the decrease in their business. It was 

 thought that all the " boiled " rubber which might be met 

 with in the Territories could be seized purely and simply, 

 but the impracticability of this idea was recognized. At 

 last a Customs tariff was adopted; that is. an apparently 

 prohibitive export duty (20 per cent, ad valorem) was 

 established upon rubber extracted by " boiling," while 

 rubber extracted by " incision " was divided into two 

 classes, viz., impure with an export duty of 8 per cent., 

 and pure, with a duty of 3 per cent. In spite of this 

 tariff " boiled " rubber continues to constitute the 

 greater part of the exports, as will be seen from the 

 following statement, which should be compared with 

 that of Governor- Vilhena (Reports and Memoirs, 

 page 389). 



RUBBER EXPORTED FROM TERRITORIES (IN KILOS). 



Total 



I22,56J 



99,613 



204,364 



259,210 



169,655 

 186,731 



The impurities in the rubber obtained by incision 

 result from two causes imperfect processes, and methods 

 -employed to increase the weight. The merchants on 

 receipt of balls of rubber from the natives sometimes 

 cut them open to ascertain if ,they contain sand or other 

 foreign substance. 



The incision method employed by the Makondes is 

 described in the following words by an expert eye- 

 witness : 



" The Makonde region lies two or three days' march 

 W.N.W. from M'tumba and is easily reached from the 

 coast. According to Mr. Huddart's estimate, there are 

 at present (1907) about 200 square miles of forest that 

 are being tapped; surrounding this area is an extensive 

 belt containing a smaller proportion of vines, due to 

 its being of easier access to the native collectors and 



