Gums, Resins, 



488 



[June, 1910, 



in the low level country. In the foot 

 hills, at elevations from 2,000 to 5,000 ft. 

 above sea level, another rubber pro- 

 ducing tree was found. This was regu- 

 larly tapped, but, never cut down. It 

 gave a superior, and consequently higher 

 priced grade . of rubber, but in less 

 quantity. 



With regard to cost of transportation 

 and supply, it is possible that the former 

 may be reduced somewhat, as improved 

 means of communication are provided, 

 but it will never be cheap. So far as 

 production is concerned, that is diminish- 

 ing all the time, as is natural. Only a 

 little planting of rubber is being done in 

 South America in old and exhausted 

 sections. There are, it is true, enormous 

 reserves as yet untouched, but these are 

 being rapidly exploited and cannot, 

 of course, last indefinitely. All the 

 affluents of the Amazon are being con- 

 stantly worked by the rubber gatherers, 

 and we found that when we penetrated 

 the remotest portions of the country 

 and reached the Rio Madre de Dios, 

 taking two mouths on the trip, these 

 rubber g itherers were already on the 

 ground. Under the terms of a treaty 

 which Brazil concluded with Bolivia in 

 regard to the Acre region, the Brazi- 

 lian government agreed to build and 

 operate a railway parallel with the 

 Madera Falls, to afford an outlet for 

 the product of Bolivia ; and I believe 

 that steps are being taken to commence 

 this important work. Some English and 

 French rubber companies used to send 

 their product by the Madera River, but 

 lost a great quantity in doing so, The 

 construction of the railway referred to 

 will open up a vast section of new 

 country, principally in north-eastern 

 Bolivia, and will materially facilitate 

 the transportation, in both directions, of 

 both Bolivia and Peru. 



With regard to the labour employed 

 by the company, I may say that the 

 real workmen for packing or other un- 

 skilled labour were the Quechua Indians, 

 brought from the plateaus of the moun- 

 tains, who were fairly civilised ; but the 

 natives encountered in the forest country 

 were absolute savages, and undoubtedly 

 up to the time of which I speak the 

 majority had never seen white men. 

 These savages, of which there were a 

 number of tribes known generally as 

 " Uhunchos " wore practically no dress ; 

 the women adorned themselves with 

 tooth necklaces and nose pendants, and 

 many had their bodies painted. These 

 people lived mostly by hunting and 

 fishing and on the natural fruits of the 

 country, including some half-cultivated 

 bananas, which latter occasionally afford- 



ed our party an emergency food supply. 

 Some of these tribes were exceedingly 

 fierce and implacable, but, if well treat- 

 ed, they would be friendly. We had 

 no real difficulty with them at any 

 time, because perhaps we were constant- 

 ly on guard and well armed. They had 

 a wholesome respect for fire-arms. In 

 every new section of rubber country 

 opened up by the " Caoutcheros " these 

 savages were immediately "civilised" 

 according to the standard of the former; 

 they were taught the use of tobacco 

 and alcohol and robbed of their most 

 attractive women,— who, by the way, 

 were more often than not the cause of 

 inter-tribal wars. I am speaking, it 

 must be remembeied, of conditions as 

 they existed four years ago, during my 

 first trip to those regions. Association 

 with white men has doubtless had its 

 effect upon the native and changed (but 

 not necessarily improved) his character ; 

 and I dare say that to-day one would 

 have to go into still more remote parts 

 to see the real savage with all the 

 weird accompaniments of his aboriginal 

 state. 



I have, of course, made no attempt in 

 an extemporaneous talk like this to deal 

 in any detail with so large a subject as 

 that of the rubber industry, nor do I 

 desire to pose as an expert or authority 

 in this line. I have simply tried to give 

 you a sketch of the conditions as I 

 found them. 



NOTES ON CEARA RUBBER IN 

 GERMAN EAST AFRICA. 



By T. G. Thompson. 



(From the Agricultural Journal, British 

 East Africa, Vol. II., Part IV., 

 January, 1910.) 



Having just returned from a run 

 through the rubber districts of German 

 East Africa, I have pleasure in submit- 

 ting a few impressions and ideas from a 

 practical point of view. I had the agree- 

 able companionship of a friend who, 

 like myself, is interested in rubber grow- 

 ing, and whose knowledge of the verna- 

 cular was of much importance. 



Making Tauga our headquarters, and 

 fortified with letters of introduction, 

 the owners of a number oi very interest- 

 ing and important estates were inter- 

 viewed and the various operations 

 investigated. 



I should like to record a sense of the 

 friendliness with which we were 

 received, the willingness displayed to 

 give inf jrmation, and explain the minut- 



