108 THE RUBBER INDUSTRY 



the Straits Settlements ; and no direct contribution of 

 any kind in Ceylon, Java, or Sumatra. 



The question of the cost of production in the Amazon 

 Valley is a matter eliciting many differences of opinion 

 in Brazil and abroad. Individual views are coloured 

 by an imperfect general knowledge, and they reflect 

 the expenditure incurred in particular districts rather 

 than the average cost of gathering the total output, and 

 the subsequent expenses up to date of sale in Europe 

 or the United States. A careful investigation of all 

 the principal factors in the situation demonstrates that 

 the minimum average cost per pound of rubber sold is 

 28*3 pence in Europe or America, and 207 pence 

 previous to shipment, at Manaos or Para, before payment 

 of export duties, ocean freight, and foreign commissions 

 and charges. The details of this average cost are 

 instructive and not uninteresting. They are 



1. Maintenance of Collector. For the crop season 

 July i, 1912, to June, 30, 1913, the total production of 

 rubber, exclusive of caucho (castilloa), was 32,000 tons, 

 and the number of collectors employed 94,000, approxi- 

 mately. This gives an average per seringueiro of 

 750 pounds in round figures. It has been shown else- 

 where that the minimum value of the necessaries of 

 life, during the tapping season of seven months, for each 

 collector is 27 i6s. 6d., equal to 107 pence per pound 

 of rubber delivered, and to this must be added not less 

 than 10 per cent, for clothing and other essential 

 articles, bringing the total to 117 pence per pound. 



2. Transport to Manaos or Para. The cost of handling 

 and conveyance by land and river to the port of ship- 

 ment averages about one penny per pound. 



