500 



The Supplement to the Tropical Agriculturist 



sion derived from a review of the whole ia one 

 of disappointment at the want of harmony in 

 their conclusions. The one point on which they 

 all are agreed is that bamboo yields excellent 

 cellulose, but scarcely any two agree, even ap- 

 proximately, on the yield, which has varied 

 from 33 to 50 per cent, on the soda consumption 

 which has been reported as low as 16 and as 

 high as 40 per cent, or on the bleaching powder 

 which has been quoted at from 9 to 40 per 

 cent." There have also been other differences of 

 opinion which Mr Raitt had either to harmonise 

 or prove did not exist. 



He has practically done the latter in his very 

 interesting Report, the only portion of which 

 that the general public is concerned with is the 

 general conclusions that are arrived at. In this 

 section Mr Raitt says that it is not necessary 

 to discuss the question of suitability of bamboo 

 fibre for the manufacture of paper. This has 

 already been fully demonstrated by previous in- 

 vestigators. Every one who has handled such 

 paper is agreed, he says, that it is admirably ad. 

 apted for the purpose, and especially so for high 

 class printing and illustration work requiring 

 a close and even texture and surface, and a 

 minimum of stretch and shrinkage under the 

 damping operation. The only serious objec- 

 tion hitherto made to it was the cost of bleach- 

 ing. With the two soda processes the cost 

 was admittedly prohibitive, but the sulphate 

 treatment removes this difficulty. Dealing not 

 long ago with the same subject, on the report 

 of an American expert, we found that he arrived 

 at the same conclusion. The question of the 

 suitability of bamboo pulp having been solved 

 altogether, the question as to the cost of pro- 

 duction for commercial purposes is then dealt 

 with at length, and on this point again Mr Raitt's 

 conclusions are the same as those of the Ameri- 

 can expert referred to, namely, that the pulp will 

 have to be made in a locality at or near the source 

 6f supply. He then says : — " With the industry 

 thus divided into pulp-making and paper-making 

 proper, the future expansion of the latter is as- 

 sured, and the extraordinary anomaly of a coun- 

 try teeming with raw materials and having good 

 natural facilities for manufacturing them, and 

 yet unable not only to supply its own demand 

 for the manufactured article, but actually hav- 

 ing to import partially manufactured material 

 with which to produce the small amount that 

 it does make, will cease." Not only will India be 

 able to meet its own demand, but it will, pos- 

 sibly, be ia a position to meet the demand of 

 Europe and the Far East.— M. Mail. ■ 



RUBBER INDUSTRY OF BOLIVIA. 



H.M. Legation at La Paz have forwarded a 

 translation of a report on the rubber industry 

 of Bolivia by the Argentine Charge d'Affaires 

 in Bolivia from which the following is taken :— 



In spite of the lack of meaos of commu- 

 nication necessary for the proper develop- 

 ment of the rubber industry, in has neverthe- 

 less made considerable progress during recent 

 years. Rubber is produced in three principal 

 regions, wis., the Colonial Territory of the North 

 East, the Department of La Paz, and the nor- 

 thern and eastern part of Santa Cruz de la 

 Sierra. 



In the Colonial Territory, on both sides of the 

 Lower Beni, there are 26 hectares (65 acres) 

 in exploitation, with an annual production of 

 22,000 arrobas (557,920 lb.— sic /). In the Upper 

 Bens and Madre de Dios regions there are 9 sta- 

 tions which produce an average of 13,000 arroba 

 (329,680 lb.) Beside these, numerous conces- 

 sions, and even establishments, exist, the exact 

 statistics of which cannot be obtained. 



In the Department of La Paz, rubber is found 

 principally in the Province of Larecaja, Munecas 

 and Caupolican. Here the dominant species 

 are " Bevea Brasiliensis " (Siphonia elastica), 

 and " Manigoba." The latter exists in great 

 abundance in a wild state in the Yungas, and 

 develops with prodigious rapidity, growing 4 

 to 6 metres (16 ft. to 19J ft.) in six months, and 

 reaching in three years a diameter of 15 centi- 

 metres (about 6 inches), which is sufficient to 

 permit the extraction of the rubber. The in- 

 dustrial centre of this region is the town of 

 Sorata, capital of the Province of Larecaja. 



THE LACK OF LABOUR 



hinders the making of plantations on a large 

 scale, which, according to the results obtained 

 in several trials, would increase the production 

 considerably since up to the ipresent the rubber 

 has only been obtained from natural forests. 



In the Department of the Santa Cruz, the 

 extent of rubber-bearing land is caclulated at 

 35,000 hectares (about 87,000 acres). The an- 

 nual production amounts to 120,000 kilogs. 

 (264,500 lb,), In this region the predominant 

 specie is the " Siphonia elastica." The species 

 known as "Peloto" also abounds, but the pro- 

 duct is inferior. The species which are found 

 in Cochabamba are not so good as those men- 

 tioned above. Moreover, the natural difficulties 

 and the lack of labour there have discouraged 

 almost all those who had applied for concessions 

 in that region, « ■ ■ . 



