102 
attempting  to  reach  the  property  in  a small  launch  by  the  Rio  i 
Madeira  route,  d'he  only  survivor  was  my  informant.  'I'he  large 
steamboat  carrying  tlie  Basques,  etc.,  never  got  to  the  Rio  Orton 
at  all,  nor  even,  I believe,  so  far  as  the  river  Acre.  The  Orton 
(Bolivia)  company  was  wound  up  a few  weeks  ago;  the  properties 
were,  I understand,  taken  back  by  Dr.  Vaca  Diez’s  widow. 
The  next  company  formed  in  England  was  the  Amazonas  Rub- 
ber Estates  Limited,  which  was  floated  towards  the  end  of  1897 
early  in  1898,  with  a capital  of  ^300,000,  to  work  estates  situated 
on  the  river  Teffe,  a tributary  of  the  Amazon  above  the  river  Purus. 
This  company  has  lost  the  whole  of  its  working  capital  ; it  has 
never  succeeded  in  getting  a ton  of  rubber  from  its  estates.  Rub- 
ber cutters  were  taken  there  and  buildings  and  stores  erected,  a 
steamboat  purchased  and  shipped  out,  etc.,  but  the  actual  collecting 
was  never  commenced.  The  company  is  still  in  existence,  and  1 
believe,  all  hope  is  not  yet  abandoned. 
Very  soon  after  the  formation  of  the  .-\mazonas  Rubber  Estates, 
l.td.  that  is,  early  in  1898,  the  Rubber  Estates  of  Para,  Limited, 
was  formed  with  a capital  of  ;^35o,ooo  to  work  estates  with  an  area 
of  over  284  square  miles,  situated  in  the  “Island,’’  district  of 
Anajas,  state  of  Para.  These  estates  were  acquired  from  the  Vis- 
conde  de  Sao  Domingos,  who  have  been  working  them  for  many 
vears.  The  number  of  full  grown  trees  was  estimated  at  1,300,000, 
which  number  has  scarcely  been  questioned.  In  the  three  years 
before  they  were  taken  over  by  the  English  company,  the  estates 
were  declared  to  have  produced  751  tons,  an  average  cf  250  tons 
per  annum,  of  the  annual  gross  value  in  Europe  or  the  United 
States  of  over  ^'90,000.  I have  n^  reason  to  doubt  that  these 
estates  actually  did  produce  the  quantity  of  rubber  given  above, 
but  the  largest  quantity  which  the  Eiigli.sh  company  ever  succeeded 
in  obtaining  was  60  tons,  during  last  season.  After  about  ;(i35,ooo 
of  the  working  capital  had  been  lost  during  the  two  years  follow- 
ing the  formation  of  the  company,  the  writer  was  asked  to  become 
a director  and  accepted,  d'he  working  capital  being  lost,  it  was 
necessary  to  reconstruct  the  company,  which  was  done  on  the  basis 
of  a capital  of  the  new  company  (The  Brazilian  Rubber 
Trust,  Limited)  taking  over  the  properties  and  paying  all  liabilities  ; 
of  the  old  company.  Since  then  nothing  that  experience,  heavily 
paid  for  in  the  pas’t,  could  suggest,  has  been  left  undone.  Every 
possible  economy  that  could  be  thought  of  was  urged  upon  the  j 
('ompany’s  employes  in  Brazil,  but  the  Brazilian  Rubber  Trust  h 
found  itself  unable  to  work  the  estate  profitably,  money  still  con-  | 
tinned  to  be  lost,  though  on  a much  smaller  scale  than  in  the  past,  (\ 
and  a few  months  ago  the  company  decided  not  to  remit  any  more|| 
money  to  Brazil,  but  to  lease  the  estates  to  a Brazilian  firm. 
has  been  done,  to  the  relief  of  every  director  of  the  company.  I 
'The  history  of  the  Belgian  company.  La  Bresilienne,  which  pur-f 
chased  estates  very  near  those  belonging  to  the  Rubber  Estates  oli 
l^ara,  is  similar  to  that  of  the  other  companies.  It  has  come  to* 
crrief  more  or  less  complete.  I believe  that  all  the  before  mentionedM 
companies  (and,  1 may  add,  all  the  comjiaiiies  that  have  been* 
