24 THE RUBBER INDUSTRY 



munication is dilatory and the subject of constant com- 

 plaints. The postal arrangements are sadly deficient, 

 and outside the principal towns the delivery of letters 

 is always uncertain, and frequently results in a delay of 

 months before they are received. 



Outside the more important towns social life can 

 hardly be said to exist. The distances between the 

 various homesteads on the rubber-producing properties 

 are too great to admit of any constant interchange of 

 friendly courtesies, and as a consequence the life on the 

 rivers is dull and monotonous to an extreme degree. 

 During the annual floods from, March to May, in the 

 great majority of localities, the only means of moving 

 about when leaving the dwelling-house is by canoe or 

 flat-bottomed boat, and the effect is that for all intents 

 and purposes the inhabitants are marooned for several 

 months in the year. The isolation under such condi- 

 tions is one of the most trying features of the situation 

 for all concerned, while for educated Brazilians or 

 foreigners it is a hardship of the most severe description. 

 Work is impossible during this epoch of the inunda- 

 tions, and, to add to the general misery, swarms of 

 insects are a continuous source of irritation by day and 

 night. In view of these circumstances it is not surprising 

 that a large proportion of the owners of rubber-pro- 

 ducing properties abandon their estates for six months 

 in the year, and migrate to Manaos or Para, leaving the 

 administration of their affairs in charge of managers 

 who, for the most part, are lacking in any high standard 

 of intelligence or sense of responsibility. > 



No adequate appreciation of the industrial situation 

 in Brazil is possible without due consideration of the 

 effect of the variation in the exchange value of the local 



