AGRICULTURAL BULLETIN 



OF THE 



STRAITS 



AND 



FEDERATE D MALAY STATES. 



No. 3.] MARCH, 1904. [Vol. III. Part [. 



A BRIEF RUBBER REVIEW 



Excluding Central America and Mexico about half the world's 

 supply of raw rubber is exported from South America. In his Con- 

 sular Report on the trade of Para for ihe year 1902, Mr. Consul 

 CHURCHILL states that the rubber exported from Para and Manaos 

 amounted to 26,933 tons. As the price of Para for that year, 

 which started at 2 s - 6d. fell to 2s. 1 id. and closed at 3$. Sd. would 

 be above $s., the total value approximates £10,000,000. An analysis 

 of these figures should be pleasant reading for all concerned in the 

 future of rubber in the Straits and Native States. 



Rubber is said to be found in Brazil over an area of at least, 

 1,000,000 square miles, a good authority considers this an under 

 estimate, but the collecting grounds arc graduallv becoming remote 

 and difficult of access. Of the Rubber shipped at Manaos a pro- 

 portion is reported as having come from far off Bolivia brought 

 down thousands of miles by intricate rivers, necessitating a good 

 deal of manual transport. W hat area is prospected to obtain the 

 1902 export it is difficult to say, it appears however that what is 

 shipped at Para and Manaos the two great centres, runs into 

 thousands of mile in respect of distance. A better idea of what 

 this really means may be obtained by calculating the probable out- 

 put per tree. 1 find it stated that 100 large trees in the best dis- 

 tricts of Brazil have given as much as one ton of rubber, that is 

 about 22 lbs. per tree. As much could be done here but with the 

 same result, viz., several years would elapse while the trees re- 

 covered before being fit for subsequent tapping. It is possible, for 

 the reason that trees in Brazil are indigenous and not cultivated 

 and whether trees recover from severe tapping does not concern the 

 rubber collector, more would be obtained in Brazil tree for tree than 

 would be attempted under cultivation, but as all trees in the vicinity 

 of rubber camps are tapped irrespective of size, the average result 

 could not be much different than from trees of uniform size. I 

 r consider Para Rubber under ordinary conditions is capable of 

 furnishing a gross average return in full bearing ol not less than 

 3 cwt. per acre, and I assume that there would not be less than 125 

 trees per acre. On this moderate estimate, to produce 26,933 tons 



