he has tapped the trees and is back in his hut. He then proceeds 

 to cook and eat a scanty meal. At about 11 A.M., he again visits 

 the trees taking with him a vessel into which he pours the contents 

 of the cups. By i P.M., he is again in his hut. He then proceeds 

 to smoke the latex he has collected during the day. The latex 

 cannot be left standing over night, as fermentation sets in " entre- 

 fine " rubber is the result. It is almost invariably, therefore, 

 smoked each day as collected. By 2 or 2.30 P.M., he has generally 

 finished his day's work and can spend the rest of his time in idling, 

 hunting, or fishing as he pleases. On the following day he rests 

 the " estrada " which he worked the day before and works the 

 other. An active man sometimes w r orks four u estradas," two each 

 day. Such men are known to produce as much as 1 ton of rubber 

 in the season. It is on such performances as these that calcula- 

 tions quoted in prospectuses of rubber companies distributed in 

 the United Kingdom seem to be based. They are, however, quite 

 erroneous when applied generally. In a good place an average 

 man will make as much as 4 kilos, of rubber in a day, but it must 

 be remembered that he does not work all the year round, and that 

 he loses many days when it is raining or when he thinks it is 

 goining to rain. Any excuse is good enough to prevent a 

 11 seringueiro " from goining into his f< estrada." 



The season during which the " estradas " are worked lasts from 

 August till the begining of January. During the remaining 

 months of the year there is generally too much water in the forest 

 to allow the " seringueiros " to enter the " estradas." 



When considering the question as to whether British Companies 

 have here a good opportunity for the investment of capital the 

 following points should be borne in mind. Rubber is brought 

 down to Manaos at the present day from beyond Iquitos in Peru, 

 and from beyond Orton on the River Beni in Bolivia, and goods 

 are shipped to there from Manaos. A glance at the map will show 

 how remote are these places. It is reasonable to suppose that 

 natives of the country, who well understand the matter, would not 

 go and explore so far a field if workable forests existed nearer 

 home. The fact of their doing so, points to the probability that 

 most of the forest worth obtaining in the neighbourhood of Manaos 

 has already been taken up. Of course this does not mean that a 

 company could not purchase already opened up estates, in good 

 condition and do good business with them. But again certain 

 difficulties to be encountered should be remembered. The great- 

 est of these is the quantity and quality of the available labour 

 supply. A company would have to work un a large scale and 

 have a well ordered system. The labourers to be found in Manaos 

 are an extremely independent, not to say unruly class, and 

 although the comparative rarity of crime up country speaks well 

 for their conduct on the whole, yet they are so unused to obey any 

 sort of discipline that it would be very hard to work with an orga- 

 nised estate, especially as there is practically no legal authority 

 outside the towns and every man's will is, up country, a law unto 

 himself. 



