BRAZIL AND THE EAST COMPARED 125 



practised in all details from the time of the collection 

 of the latex and scrap in the field to the date of ship- 

 ment for exportation. In Brazil the latex is carried 

 to a temporary shack and coagulated with the smoke 

 of the Urucury nut. No effort at cleanliness is 

 attempted, and grit, sand, and other foreign matter 

 from the dirty surroundings, invariably find their way 

 into the rubber to more or less extent. No systematic 

 effort is made to dry the rubber before shipment, and 

 it contains as a rule not less than 20 per cent, of 

 moisture, and not infrequently over 25 per cent. Very 

 little of the tree scrap is collected, and the cup coagu- 

 lations brought in are thrown on the mud floor of the 

 hut, there to remain until the accumulated quantity is 

 sufficient for delivery-. This scrap is shipped to the 

 market in a semi-putrid condition, and in that state 

 finds its way to Europe or the United States. Eco- 

 nomical methods are unknown on a Brazilian rubber 

 property, and consequently the loss in value on the 

 quality of fine rubber and quantity in the scrap from 

 the time the latex is extracted from the tree to the date 

 of sale is certainly not less than 10 per cent., and is 

 often very much greater. 



In the East transport to the port of shipment is easy 

 and inexpensive, no matter whether the production be 

 in Ceylon, Malay, Java, or Sumatra. In the Amazon 

 Valley the rubber properties are for the most part 

 situated on rivers far distant from Manaos or Para, 

 and the cost of steamer freight to one or other of those 

 ports is a considerable item in the cost of production. 



The total exportation of rubber from the Orient in 

 1913 was stated to be 56,000 tons. From the Amazon 



