268 



THE RUBBER INDUSTRY 



With regard to the estates under the first heading, the 

 actual expenditure on rubber has been very small, as it 

 was interplanted with coffee still under cultivation. In 

 any considerations of the plantations capitalized during 

 the boom period, allowance must be made for the large 

 area of waste-land acquired by the companies in addi- 

 tion, and out of all proportion to the extent planted with 

 rubber. A nominal sum of 5 per acre for this may be 

 taken as a fair deduction, thus reducing the cost under 

 the second class to ji per acre. Under the third 

 heading, the price given is the average cost per acre of 

 opening an estate and bringing it into bearing, but does 

 not include any premium paid for the acquisition of the 

 leasehold of the necessary land. It is difficult to esti- 

 mate the value of this premium, for if a Government 

 grant is obtained, the only payments are the survey fees ; 

 on the other hand, if the transfer of a lease from a 

 private individual is arranged, the value of the premium 

 may be anything from ios., or even less, to 5 sterling, 

 but as a general rule for rubber lands the average price 

 should seldom exceed i per acre. 



The cost of opening and maintaining 1,000 acres 

 under rubber in Java until the estate becomes self- 

 supporting should be about 288,000 guilders, equal to 



