all the goods necessary to sustain him and his employes as well 
as supplying him with tools, utensils, wearing apparel and in 
fact, everything that may be necessary to his life in the 
seringaes. 
This supplying is done on credit, that is to say, against the 
remittance of rubber produced by the borrower and which is 
sold on its arrival by the merchant-trader to the exporting 
houses. : 
The merchant-trader thus requires large capital so as to meet 
the engagements that he assumes in the market with the great 
and numerous supplies, which he is obliged to make. 
It is incumbent on him also to transport the same for which 
he nearly always employs steamers of his own, in order to bring 
the merchandise to its destination in far-away regions, bringing 
back on the return trip the rubber collected by his aviados, i.e., 
his borrowers of the seringaes. 
The responsibilities assumed become due on the occasion of 
the arrival of the cargoes of rubber. In fact, it is exactly at 
this moment that the merchant-trader is most in need of 
money, because besides the imperious duty of .paying the 
amount of his debts and the immediate necessity which he has of 
furnishing new supplies to his clients the aviados, he has still 
yet expenses to disburse with the repair and fitting out of the 
steamers, which owing to the bad conditions in the navigation 
of the rivers return nearly always in a damaged condition; 
balances to pay to the seringueiros whose debts were relatively 
small or advances to make to those whose production was in- 
ferior in value to the supply sent, but who required a new re- 
source under the danger of otherwise not being able ever to 
liquidate their debt. 
Thus it is that the aviador or merchant-trader has no other 
remedy, but to sell without delay the rubber which has been 
consigned to him and that is the psychological moment for the 
decided action of the buyers. 
Reduced as to number, well informed about the business 
and in the possession of daily and direct notices from the con- 
suming markets, perfectly bound up to them by a question of 
mutual interest, they decide to make the price for the merchan- 
dise that is offered to them. It is not always that that price 
corresponds in reality to those of the foreign market, but the 
apprehension that seizes the merchant-trader that moved by their 
interests the buyers may resolve to retire the offer, does not 
permit him either to hesitate or resist. He hands over the mer- 
chandise with a small profit and not uncommonly with a loss. 
Treating of an article which up till to-day has been produced 
in asquantity inferior to the necessity of the industry, whose 
35 
