HISTORY AND GENERAL CONDITIONS 5 



taken place, and is then collected and shipped without 

 undergoing any curative process. 



The gum of the Castilloa elastica is dealt with in 

 the markets of Manaos and Para under the designation 

 of caucho, but appears in the export returns as part of 

 the rubber shipments. It is obtained from the upper 

 river districts in Brazilian territory, and from Peru and 

 Bolivia. It formed in 1913 more than 23 per cent, of 

 the total rubber exports from the Amazon Valley ; but 

 it is unlikely that this proportion will be maintained in 

 future, for, apart from the deterrent effect of a very low 

 market price, the method of collection entails cutting 

 down the trees to obtain the latex, and the consequent 

 destruction of the source of supply. 



The total output of all grades of rubber from the 

 Amazon Valley for the twelve months ending June 30, 

 1913, was 43,362 tons. Of this amount, 31,362 tons 

 was produced on the upper rivers, including Bolivia 

 and Peru, and 12,000 tons in the districts of the Lower 

 Amazon and its tributaries. The percentages and 

 quantities of all classes for this period were 



Outside the Amazon Valley the Brazilian shipments 

 were 4,000 tons, in round figures, chiefly of the manihot 

 varieties, produced in Ceara and the adjacent States. 



