6 THE RUBBER INDUSTRY 



Therefore the total Brazilian crop for the year ending 

 I June 30, 1913, was 47,000 tons, equal to 40 per cent, of 

 j the world's production. 



In order to understand the general conditions con- 

 nected with the rubber industry of the Amazon Valley, 

 it is necessary to realize and appreciate the vast area 

 covered by the rubber-producing districts. It extends 

 from the Atlantic seaboard on the east, and on the west 

 to the southern boundary of Colombia, at a point not 

 more than 150 miles in a direct line from the Pacific 

 Ocean, a total distance of some 3,000 miles. As far as 

 Iquitos in Peru, 2,400 miles from the Atlantic coast, 

 a regular service of steamers is maintained from Liver- 

 pool by the Booth Steamship Company, and beyond 

 that place the waterways are navigable for small craft 

 for some hundreds of miles. The valley formed by the 

 Amazon and its numerous tributaries is fan-shaped, 

 with the apex situated 100 miles to the east of Para, 

 where the river discharges into the Atlantic. At the 

 delta of the river the valley is some 200 miles wide, 

 and then it broadens out rapidly until reaching the 

 foot-hills of the Andes, where the extreme width exceeds 

 1,500 miles. This great area covers 2,400,000 square 

 miles approximately, and, in addition to Brazilian 

 territory, it embraces large sections of Bolivia, Co- 

 lombia, Ecuador, and Peru. A rough calculation 

 computes the waterways of the main rivers and their 

 tributaries navigable for ocean steamers and river craft 

 at 30,000 miles. These waterways, in addition to the 

 Amazon, include to the south the Rivers Tocantins, 

 Xingu, Tapajoz, Madeira, Madre de Dios, Beni, 

 Guapore, Marmora", Araguaya, Purus, Aquiry, Jurua, 



